Kegel Tips - Toward a Total Guide

[HotRod]

I'm starting this thread because I think I've made some progress with Kegels. I've also amassed some tips from other online reading over the years, but never found anything that stands as a complete guide to Kegeling for men.

The PC muscle can be elusive and I've read posts from PEers who have hurt themselves by doing too many Kegels or sort of given up because it didn't come naturally.

I consider myself a Kegel novice, but I think I've got a pretty good start.

I was awarded post of the week here a while back for a reply I posted to a question about Kegels. I'm going to cut and paste some of that reply below along with some addition info. Nope, I'm not going for post of the week again, just thought this might be helpful for future inquiries about Kegels.

I hope others will add their tips over time too....


LOCATING
Here's the best thing: the next time you urinate, stop your urine midstream. Then start peeing again. And stop again. Do this several times whenever you pee. Use this technique whenever in doubt. If you can stop and start your urine like this, you have good basic control of the muscle. If you can't stop your urine, there's a good chance you're incontinent. But if you're not regularly pissing your pants, you're probably in average shape. Don't despair if Kegels don't come easily. There's a learning curve here.

Pay attention to what it feels like when you stop your urine. Be aware of the space between the anus and the testicles. This area is called the perineum. You might feel some sensation there. It may be very slight especially in the beginning. I experience the sensation as a fullness. It feels like the muscle is squeezing down around the part of the penis that extends back into the body.

I find that the sensation is not always possible to acheive. It may depend on what position my body is in. For instance, I can usually feel it when I'm lying on my back in bed in the morning. And sometimes the slight pressure on that area when I'm sitting helps me to concentrate on the perineum and feel the sensations better.

Sometimes I can only squeeze the PC for a second. With some repetitions I am able to squeeze a few a little longer. And then for some reason I can sometimes have lots of control and hold the contractions for several seconds. This is something that has changed for me over time and I count it as progress.

A more invasive approach to finding the PC is to gently insert something cylindrical and healthy into the anus, a finger is a good start. Wear a latex glove or condom over your finger and use plenty of lubrication. Petroleum jelly is a good idea. When you squeeze the PC you can feel it gripping your finger slightly.

Some men may be uncomfortable with putting anything into the anus, and it's not necessary to getting control of the muscle, but it will give you a solid familiarity with your own anatomy with practice. You can also learn where your prostate gland is and this is all good stuff to know for a variety of reasons.


ISOLATING/CONTROLLING
Suck your thumb, or press your tongue against your hard palate right behind the back of your top teeth and suck on it. You don't need to apply intense pressure. Moderation.

For some strange reason this will help you control the PC - some sort of transferred biofeedback. Try it.

I find that I can get a much deeper and controlled grip with the PC when I do this.

At first it will be difficult to hold the PC for very long. Don't despair. In time you will train yourself to feel the sensations of the contracted muscle and to hold it longer.


TRAINING VS. OVERTRAINING
I believe that much of the advice about practicing Kegels (even from reputable sources) actually advises you to overtrain. This will cause frustration and injury. There's no reason to do 500 Kegels in a day, nor to do Kegel's continuously throughout a day - at least not when you're starting out. Kegel champions may spend many hours a day obsessing over the exercise, but you don't need to make this a preoccupation in order to get effective results. Nor do you ever need to attain to the status of champion.

The same good principles of weight training or any other form of physical training apply to these muscles.
Try starting a running program by running a marathon. You'd destroy yourself. The best approach is to go out for a quarter mile and then walk a quarter mile. Pay attention to your body and run a little more if you feel like you can handle it. Move slow and pace yourself. Build slowly, and incorporate periods of rest.

I've felt the effects of overtraining the PC. It causes a lack of control and it's frustrating. Better to concentrate on 20 or 30 slow reps and come back to it after a day of rest with a positive memory of the experience.


FOCUS
Just because you CAN do Kegels anywhere anytime doesn't mean you SHOULD.

As with any exercise, concentration is key.

You need to be able to set some time aside for the purpose of practicing Kegels - time when you won't be distracted and can focus on the sensations and count repetitions.

Kegeling while driving or sitting at your desk trying to work will only provide distractions to your progress. You'll probably find Kegeling more frustrating if you're trying to concentrate on rush hour traffic at the same time.

Yeah, I know there are some people who will disagree with this who find Kegeling in the car convenient. Hat's off to them! I find Kegeling in the car possible, but inevitably distracted by the need to brake, downshift, make a lane change - oh how many reps was that? How many sets did I do? I found this conducive to overtraining and losing track of my progress.
My personal habit is to do Kegel's on my back first thing in the morning in bed while I have a warm up pack for my PE session.

I'm going to leave it at that for now.

[timesbechangin]

Wow this is an amazing post! I consider myself a pretty experienced "Kegeler" but I learned quite a bit here. Thank you.

[Iguana]

Great work!!! I smell post of the month!

[remek]

Originally Posted by Iguana

Great work!!! I smell post of the month!

I agree! Great post, HR. It's perfect timing too - as I was just about to pick a post of the month.

I also added a reference and a link to this thread in our Kegel guide: Kegel exercises for men! - Penis Enlargement Gym

Thank you. I head about this before, but I never tried it:

Suck your thumb, or press your tongue against your hard palate right behind the back of your top teeth and suck on it. You don't need to apply intense pressure. Moderation.

For some strange reason this will help you control the PC - some sort of transferred biofeedback. Try it.

To my surprise, it does seem to help with focusing the pelvic floor muscles.

[HotRod]

Thanks everyone. I'm glad this went over so well.

I am a PE beginner, but I've been doing Kegels for a while. I'm still looking for the big PC payoff. I do think Kegels have helped me a little with fuller erections.

I'm still recovering from my vasectomy - almost two weeks ago now - I saw the doc for the follow up on Monday. He was impressed with my recovery, less than average bruising, puncture scar is healing nicely. I'm still a little tender on the left side so I've decided to keep babying myself and will resume a PE routine soon.

[control]

Great post hotrod!

[eos]

Originally Posted by HotRod

I'm starting this thread because I think I've made some progress with Kegels. I've also amassed some tips from other online reading over the years, but never found anything that stands as a complete guide to Kegeling for men.

The PC muscle can be elusive and I've read posts from PEers who have hurt themselves by doing too many Kegels or sort of given up because it didn't come naturally.

I consider myself a Kegel novice, but I think I've got a pretty good start.

I was awarded post of the week here a while back for a reply I posted to a question about Kegels. I'm going to cut and paste some of that reply below along with some addition info. Nope, I'm not going for post of the week again, just thought this might be helpful for future inquiries about Kegels.

I hope others will add their tips over time too....


LOCATING
Here's the best thing: the next time you urinate, stop your urine midstream. Then start peeing again. And stop again. Do this several times whenever you pee. Use this technique whenever in doubt. If you can stop and start your urine like this, you have good basic control of the muscle. If you can't stop your urine, there's a good chance you're incontinent. But if you're not regularly pissing your pants, you're probably in average shape. Don't despair if Kegels don't come easily. There's a learning curve here.

Pay attention to what it feels like when you stop your urine. Be aware of the space between the anus and the testicles. This area is called the perineum. You might feel some sensation there. It may be very slight especially in the beginning. I experience the sensation as a fullness. It feels like the muscle is squeezing down around the part of the penis that extends back into the body.

I find that the sensation is not always possible to acheive. It may depend on what position my body is in. For instance, I can usually feel it when I'm lying on my back in bed in the morning. And sometimes the slight pressure on that area when I'm sitting helps me to concentrate on the perineum and feel the sensations better.

Sometimes I can only squeeze the PC for a second. With some repetitions I am able to squeeze a few a little longer. And then for some reason I can sometimes have lots of control and hold the contractions for several seconds. This is something that has changed for me over time and I count it as progress.

A more invasive approach to finding the PC is to gently insert something cylindrical and healthy into the anus, a finger is a good start. Wear a latex glove or condom over your finger and use plenty of lubrication. Petroleum jelly is a good idea. When you squeeze the PC you can feel it gripping your finger slightly.

Some men may be uncomfortable with putting anything into the anus, and it's not necessary to getting control of the muscle, but it will give you a solid familiarity with your own anatomy with practice. You can also learn where your prostate gland is and this is all good stuff to know for a variety of reasons.


ISOLATING/CONTROLLING
Suck your thumb, or press your tongue against your hard palate right behind the back of your top teeth and suck on it. You don't need to apply intense pressure. Moderation.

For some strange reason this will help you control the PC - some sort of transferred biofeedback. Try it.

I find that I can get a much deeper and controlled grip with the PC when I do this.

At first it will be difficult to hold the PC for very long. Don't despair. In time you will train yourself to feel the sensations of the contracted muscle and to hold it longer.


TRAINING VS. OVERTRAINING
I believe that much of the advice about practicing Kegels (even from reputable sources) actually advises you to overtrain. This will cause frustration and injury. There's no reason to do 500 Kegels in a day, nor to do Kegel's continuously throughout a day - at least not when you're starting out. Kegel champions may spend many hours a day obsessing over the exercise, but you don't need to make this a preoccupation in order to get effective results. Nor do you ever need to attain to the status of champion.

The same good principles of weight training or any other form of physical training apply to these muscles.
Try starting a running program by running a marathon. You'd destroy yourself. The best approach is to go out for a quarter mile and then walk a quarter mile. Pay attention to your body and run a little more if you feel like you can handle it. Move slow and pace yourself. Build slowly, and incorporate periods of rest.

I've felt the effects of overtraining the PC. It causes a lack of control and it's frustrating. Better to concentrate on 20 or 30 slow reps and come back to it after a day of rest with a positive memory of the experience.


FOCUS
Just because you CAN do Kegels anywhere anytime doesn't mean you SHOULD.

As with any exercise, concentration is key.

You need to be able to set some time aside for the purpose of practicing Kegels - time when you won't be distracted and can focus on the sensations and count repetitions.

Kegeling while driving or sitting at your desk trying to work will only provide distractions to your progress. You'll probably find Kegeling more frustrating if you're trying to concentrate on rush hour traffic at the same time.

Yeah, I know there are some people who will disagree with this who find Kegeling in the car convenient. Hat's off to them! I find Kegeling in the car possible, but inevitably distracted by the need to brake, downshift, make a lane change - oh how many reps was that? How many sets did I do? I found this conducive to overtraining and losing track of my progress.
My personal habit is to do Kegel's on my back first thing in the morning in bed while I have a warm up pack for my PE session.

I'm going to leave it at that for now.

Iguana, I think you are the expert, figure this out, I start Kegeling and my PC muscle is quite strong, I was practicing(Masturbating) to hold my semen while reaching the point of no return, I squeeze it 3-4 time to hold back my semen, the result is instead of holding, I shoot out the semen in great intensity, could you or any one for that matter educate me how to do it (control it), I want to do the reverse hold it not shoot it.

Thank you in advance for your advice.
EOS

[Dicko]

Great thread HotRod. Just a small thing, I think you are talking about the BC muscle. :P

[remek]

Originally Posted by Dicko

Great thread HotRod. Just a small thing, I think you are talking about the BC muscle. :P

I think we're really talking about the pelvic floor muscles. . . at least according to my research.

Not 1, not 2, but a whole set of them. The IC muscle and BC muscle play the most dominant roles when we Kegel, but there are other muscles used too (possibly even the PC muscle to some degree). But hey, call the muscles whatever you want - the PC muscle, the BC muscle, the love muscle, the sex muscle, the muscle that makes my dick go up and down - I don't care

[slanker]

So which type of kegel exercises are better, doing short reps i.e. 100 3 second hold or doing 5 minute holds and holding for as long as you can? Which type of exercise keeps blood pumped in the penis?