| At the Midwest Institute of Sexology, we teach
a variety of "sexercises" – ways to enjoy your body and improve
its capacity for sexual pleasure.
Perhaps the most basic of these is "Kegelling."
These notes will help you to understand kegel exercises and to integrate
them into your daily routine.
Kegel exercises serve to tone and strengthen the
pubococcygeus or "PC" muscles which form the floor of the pelvis.
The health of these muscles plays a vitally important role in sexual
arousal and climax, as well as in other aspects of bodily functioning.
Why should men do kegel exercises regularly?
- kegel exercises increase the bloodflow to the genital area,
and so support sexual arousal mechanisms.
- kegel exercises strengthen and tone the muscles that are involved
in ejaculation, and so men who Kegel can, if they do some additional
work with themselves, gain greater control over the timing of
their ejaculations.
- kegel exercises prevent incontinence and other problems that
are often associated with aging.
Why should women do kegel exercises
regularly?
- kegel exercises increase the bloodflow to the genital area,
and so support sexual arousal mechanisms.
- kegel exercises strengthen and tone the muscles of the vaginal
canal, and so women who Kegel can, if vaginal stimulation is their
choice, and if they do some additional work on themselves, improve
their capacity to orgasm by means of vaginal play, in terms of
both the intensity and the frequency of their orgasming.
- kegel exercises are essential to the treatment of sexual difficulties
such as vaginismus and dyspareunia (pain on vaginal intercourse).
- kegel exercises prevent incontinence, prolapses, and many other
problems of the pelvic floor that are often associated with aging.
- kegel exercises strengthen and tone the musculature of the pelvic
area in a way that can make vaginal delivery during childbirth
easier.
How do I find my PC muscles?
- go to the bathroom and sit on the toilet (men, it is also a
good idea to sit for this).
- in the middle of your stream of urine, stop and start the stream
several times. The muscles you use to do this are your PC muscles.
At first, you may find that you are also squeezing your anal muscles;
as you become experienced with kegel exercises, try to separate
out the muscle groups that you are able to exercise by squeezing.
How do I do regular
kegel exercises?
- now that you have located your PC muscles, you can exercise
them while your bladder is completely empty.
- first, try squeezing your PC muscles as hard as you can for
a count of three seconds. Then let them relax. To begin with,
see how many times you can do this before the muscles feel tired.
- now figure out a suitable exercise routine just as you would
if you were trying to tone and strengthen a different muscle group
by going to the gym every other day. For example, suppose you
start by being able to do only five strong squeezes; try doing
three sets of five once or twice a day for a week, and then try
increasing this to three sets of eight strong squeezes.
- if you work up to three sets of thirty or more strong squeezes,
you are probably healthy enough for most purposes, and need only
to maintain this level of fitness by doing these three sets four
times a week (instead of once or twice a day).
- we also recommend that you experiment by varying the type and
timing of the PC squeezing you do as you train these muscles:
slow clenches, many quick flutters, and so on. This will make
you more familiar with these muscles – notice also when your abdominal
muscles or your anal muscles feel like they also want to join
in the exercise.
- remember, you should try to separate out kegel exercises from
anal squeezing. If you are in doubt, go back a refind your PC
muscle while urinating. Or consult one of our Institute's faculty.
- once you are skilled at kegel exercises, you should be able
to do them without anyone else knowing what you are doing... boring
meetings at work, tedious lectures at conferences, and other daily
events all become opportunities to work quietly on improving your
sexual health!
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