Kegel Exercises: How to Do Them Right (Women and Men)

Did you know that Kegel exercises aren’t just “a pregnant women’s thing”? They were designed in 1948 by a gynecologist to treat female urinary incontinence, yes, but today we know urologists also recommend them to men, for example after prostate surgery. Here’s how to do Kegel exercises properly, step by step, whether you’re a woman or a man.

What Kegel exercises are and where they come from

Kegel exercises consist of consciously contracting and relaxing the pelvic floor muscles, the muscle group that supports the bladder, the uterus (in women) or the prostate (in men), and the rectum. In 1948, gynecologist Arnold H. Kegel published the study “Progressive Resistance Exercise in the Functional Restoration of the Perineal Muscles” in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, documenting how actively training these muscles helped restore their function after the weakening caused by childbirth. Almost 80 years later, it remains the basis of non-invasive treatment for urinary incontinence, in both women and men. If you’d like to understand how this muscle group works in general first, start with what the pelvic floor is, how it works and how to strengthen it.

How to identify the right muscle (before you start)

The most common mistake when starting Kegel exercises is contracting the abdomen, buttocks or thighs instead of the pelvic floor. There are two simple ways to identify the right muscle:

• Stopping your urine stream: next time you pee, try to stop the flow halfway. The muscle you use for that is your pelvic floor. Do it only once, as a test: doing it regularly can encourage urinary infections because the bladder doesn’t empty properly.
• Anal-vaginal contraction: imagine you’re trying to hold in gas and, for women, also squeeze as if holding a tampon in. That feeling of “lifting inward” is the right contraction.

In men, the usual reference is the same feeling of stopping the urine stream, together with a slight lift at the base of the penis without moving the buttocks or abdomen.

Step-by-step routine: how to do Kegel exercises

1. Empty your bladder completely before you start.
2. Get into a comfortable position: sitting, lying down or standing, whichever you prefer.
3. Contract your pelvic floor muscles, as if holding in urine or gas.
4. Hold the contraction for 3 to 5 seconds, without tensing your abdomen, buttocks or thighs.
5. Relax for the same length of time you held the contraction.
6. Repeat the contract-relax cycle 10 to 15 times per set.
7. Do 3 sets a day, for example morning, afternoon and evening.

Benefits of Kegel exercises

Practiced regularly, Kegel exercises offer documented benefits: they reduce urine leaks when you cough, laugh or exercise; they speed up pelvic floor recovery after pregnancy and childbirth (we cover this in detail in the pelvic floor in pregnancy and postpartum: safe exercises); they improve sensation and control during sex, in both women and men; and in some cases they’re recommended as preparation before pelvic surgery to speed up recovery afterwards. None of these benefits is immediate: consistency over several weeks is what makes the difference.

Kegel exercises for men: why they matter too

Although historically they’ve almost always been associated with women, Kegel exercises are a routine part of male urological rehabilitation, especially after prostate surgery, where they help restore bladder control. They’re also recommended for erectile dysfunction related to pelvic floor weakness and as general prevention from a certain age. The contraction technique is practically the same as for women: identify the muscle by stopping the urine stream as a one-off test, then practice sets of contract-relax without tensing other muscle groups. If you have specific medical questions, your urologist can confirm the technique and adapt the routine to your case.

Kegels with a trainer: when to take the next step

Once you’ve mastered the basic contraction, a pelvic floor trainer with progressive weight, such as the Sileu Kegel, lets you progress in a controlled way: you start with the lightest stone and increase the weight as you gain strength, just as you’d progress in any other muscle training. Before inserting it, wash the accessory well with warm water and mild soap, use a water-based lubricant to make insertion easier and always find a relaxed position. If you’re comparing this type of trainer with other options on the market, we have a specific analysis in Kegel balls vs. Kegel trainer: what the evidence says.

Common mistakes that delay results

Three mistakes explain most cases where someone “doesn’t notice any improvement” after weeks of practice: contracting the wrong muscles (abdomen or buttocks instead of the pelvic floor), holding your breath during the contraction instead of breathing normally, and lack of consistency, doing the exercises only on some days instead of building them into your daily routine. If you’re unsure whether you’re activating the right muscle, a weighted trainer gives you immediate physical feedback: if you feel the weight of the accessory and manage to hold it, you know the contraction is right.

Keep the accessory’s hygiene as part of the routine too: wash the trainer with water and mild soap after each use, or with a specific cleaner such as the Sileu Cleaner Spray, and store it dry in a clean place until the next session.

When do you see results, and what does the scientific evidence say?

With consistent practice, many people notice fewer urine leaks within the first 2-3 weeks of training, although full improvement usually takes several months to consolidate. The evidence supports this routine: a Cochrane review (Woodley et al., 2020) of 46 trials and 10,832 women found that pelvic floor training significantly reduces the risk of urinary incontinence in pregnancy and postpartum, with very few adverse effects described. You can read the full review on PubMed. If you already have frequent urine leaks and want to understand the causes, see mild urinary incontinence: why it happens and how to improve it, and if you’re not sure whether your pelvic floor is weakened, check the signs in signs of a weak pelvic floor (and what to do).

The key, as with any muscle training, is consistency over intensity: three short, well-done sets every day far outperform one long, occasional session. You don’t need equipment, extra time or to go anywhere: you can practice them on the bus, watching TV or waiting for the kettle to boil.