Kegel exercises are a way of strengthening the muscles that make up the pelvic floor. They involve tightening and relaxing the pelvic muscles repeatedly. Often, information about kegels is geared towards cisgender women (women who were assigned female at birth). But everyone has pelvic muscles! That means people of all genders can do and benefit from kegels. In this article, we’ll use gender-neutral language to talk about kegel exercises and how anyone can do them!
What are the advantages of kegel exercises?
Doing kegel exercises regularly can help people have more control over their orgasms, and make orgasms feel stronger. Some people find that doing kegels improves the feeling of sex for themselves and their partner. It can also lower the risk for incontinence, especially after giving birth or having certain surgeries (like a c-section or bottom surgery)! And by strengthening the pelvic muscles, it can lower the risk of pelvic floor pain.
Are there any risks to doing kegels?
Kegel exercises are easy to do, and don’t carry any serious health risks. Like most types of exercise, there can be a risk for muscle strain or fatigue if someone does them for several hours a day. But it’s not common for people to have health problems from doing kegels!
How do you do kegel exercises?
Kegel exercises are fairly easy, and can be done at almost any time!
To get started, first find where your pelvic floor muscles are. To do this, you can try going pee, and stopping the stream of urine part of the way through. You should feel muscles in your pelvis or groin area tightening as you do this. Those are your pelvic floor muscles!
To do kegel exercises, simply try flexing or “lifting” those muscles and then releasing them. You can start by lifting them for three seconds, then releasing them for three seconds, and gradually start flexing for longer periods of time. Try not to hold your breath while you’re doing this. Instead, breathe in and out like you would for another type of mild exercise.
You can do this sitting, standing, or lying down! If you’re just starting out, it can help to do them lying down at first. You can also start out doing shorter exercises, or alternate between short and long exercises. It all depends on what feels most comfortable for you! For more ways to do kegels, you can check out this guide.
Okay, I’m doing kegels. When will I notice results?
Most people notice that they have more control over their pelvic muscles after about 12 weeks of doing kegel exercises regularly. But everyone is different! Results from regular kegel exercises can include increased control over the bladder and rectum. It can also make it easier to control when you have an orgasm, and how long orgasms last.
