Kegel Exercises

 For men who are trying to find a simple, concrete way of dealing with premature ejaculation, Kegel exercises may present a solution.  This is probably the single most commonly recommended method of combating PE that doctors advise their patients to try.  Kegel exercises are named for their creator, Dr. Arnold Kegel, who first published them in 1948.  They are also called pelvic floor exercises or PC muscle exercises.  The muscles which they work out are the “pubococcygeus” muscles which are located on the pelvic floor—the “PC” muscles.  Kegel exercises can be performed by both men and women and have different applications for each sex.

But my pregnant wife did Kegel exercises—so how can they help me?”  That’s what you might be thinking if you’re familiar with Kegel exercises, since they are commonly associated with women.  The reason that pregnant women are told to do them is that they can strengthen the muscles used during delivery, making the process a little less stressful.  Kegel exercises also may help to prevent uterine prolapse in women.  The possible health benefits for men are numerous as well though.  Kegel exercises can be used to treat prostate pain and swelling which come about as a result of benign prostatic hyperplasia and prostatitis.

Kegel exercises control the flow of both urine and semen.  That’s why they are prescribed to men and women who suffer from urinary incontinence.  If you’ve never tried doing Kegel exercises before you may wonder where the heck your pubococcygeus muscles are, but the fact that they control the flow of urine makes them easy to locate.  Next time you’re urinating, try to stop the flow of your urine in mid-stream.  If you succeed, you’ll have done so by contracting the pubococcygeus muscles.  These are the same muscles you need to work out in order to combat premature ejaculation.

Incidentally, not only are these the muscles which control the flow of semen when you ejaculate, but they’re also the muscles that provide you with the pleasurable contractions that occur when you have an orgasm.  So if you work out the pubococcygeus muscles by doing Kegel exercises, you’re not only going to gain control over your ejaculation and be able to last longer during sex, but you are also potentially going to experience greater levels of sexual gratification.  Along with gaining more control over your pelvic muscles, this exercise will lift up your testicles and strengthen neighboring muscles.

If you find your pubococcygeus muscles during urination, you’re going to want to start doing Kegel exercises, but not while you’re standing over the urinal.  Urinary retention can become an issue if your regularly do your Kegel exercises while urinating.  So instead, save them for other times of day.  What times of day?  It doesn’t really matter all that much since you don’t actually need to set aside time in your busy schedule to do these exercises.  As you’ll discover, no one can tell whether you’re doing them or not, so you can do them anytime, anywhere.  As a rule, make sure that when you’re doing Kegel exercises, you are not using other muscles in your legs, abdomen or buttocks to supplement your contractions.  If you’re holding your breath during your contractions, odds are you’re using other muscles, so make sure you’re breathing normally.

What would constitute a useful set of daily exercises?  Try contracting your PC muscles for a count of five and then releasing them over a count of five.  Once you get used to doing this, repeat the contractions and releases ten times.  Do three sets of these each day.  You can vary your exercises by doing rapid contractions and releases instead of holding them, or by doing sets with different amounts.  It’s partly a matter of preference—many different variations are helpful to men in combating erectile problems.

Some men find it easier to do Kegel exercises while lying down to start out, while others may find it easier while sitting down (for example, if you learned how to locate the muscles while sitting on a toilet, you might find this easier in the future).  Eventually you should get used to finding the muscles and exercising them, and then it may be easier to find them and contract them while standing up as well.  You may not be able to hold your contraction for a full five seconds at first—you may only be able to hold the contraction briefly, but this is something else you’ll get better at with time and effort.
You don’t need to do Kegel exercises all day long—all you need to do is about three sets of ten a day, just as stated—you don’t need to work up from that indefinitely—just as you don’t really need to do that with other types of exercises.  A lot of people think they need to constantly increase what they’re doing in order to continue to benefit, but really moderation is generally sufficient (and healthier) with any exercise.

It can be liberating to realize that the muscles involved with ejaculation are, well, muscles.  Like all the other muscles in your body, if they’re untrained, they’re not going to be very powerful, and you’re not going to have a lot of control over them.  But just as you can train the muscles in your arms, legs or abs to become stronger and more effective, you can do the same thing with your PC muscles.
Most men struggle with premature ejaculation, but what is the reason?  To some extent it seems to have an evolutionary basis—males who were able to ejaculate faster among our distant ancestors probably had an easier time passing on their genes.  But it’s also the simple result of a lack of training.  You certainly don’t come into the world with toned muscles.  You have to build them up with hard work.  It’s the same thing for the muscles you use during sex.  Integrate Kegel exercises into your daily routine and pretty soon you should start gaining control over your ejaculation.