Can a specific set of exercises cure erectile dysfunction, curb premature ejaculation, and make your orgasms more intense? Doctors say yes!
Just 9 minutes a day — while you’re in traffic, while you’re at your desk, while you’re standing in line — can achieve significant results. Read on to find out how exercise can help erectile dysfunction.
Brian L. Steixner, M.D., director of the Institute for Men’s Health at Jersey Urology Group, recently told GQ Magazine that there’s not a day that goes by that he doesn’t teach at least five guys how to exercise their pelvic muscles with Kegel exercises.
How to Do A Kegel Workout
A Kegel workout is easy to learn and discreet to practice:
- Locate the right pelvic muscles. You can do this in one of two ways. You can either pretend that you are trying to avoid passing gas, or try to stop your urine stream while urinating. The muscle that you use for both of those actions is the correct muscle to exercise, your bulbocavernosus. If these recommendations do not work, think of clenching your anus closed.
- Practice contracting your muscles. You will want to begin by lying on your back to get the hang of it. Once you are lying down, concentrate on contracting that same muscle that you identified in step one. Later, you’ll be able to do this exercise in a variety of positions.
- Contract and relax. Focus on your pelvic muscles and contract them for 3 to 5 seconds. Then relax for 3 to 5 seconds. Repeat.
- Focus. As you contract your pelvic floor muscles, make sure to focus on just the muscles that you identified earlier. Flexing the muscles of your abdomen, thighs or buttocks will make the exercises less effective. If you like, you can place a hand on your stomach to see if you are tightening those muscles.
- Keep extending the time. Aim to increase the length of contractions and relaxations over time, practicing every day and working your way up to 10-second contractions and relaxations.
The Nine-Minute Workout
Your goal, as you progress, is to do at least three sets of Kegel workouts every day, each for approximately three minutes at a time.
In your car, in an elevator or during a television commercial break, aim to contract and relax for three full minutes of contraction and relaxation in 10-second increments. You will be completing nine contractions and relaxations per workout.
Spreading your workouts throughout the day will be more effective than doing them all at once, and since these are stealth exercises, there is no reason that you can’t do them during your next conference call.
Plan a routine of three 3-minute Kegel sessions linked to activities that you do every day. One model would be:
- Session 1: While you brush your teeth in the morning. Contract for 10 seconds, release for 10 seconds. Repeat 9 times.
- Session 2: On your lunch break. Contract for 10 seconds, release for 10 seconds. Repeat 9 times.
- Session 3: Relaxing in the evening, watching television or reading. Contract for 10 seconds, release for 10 seconds. Repeat 9 times.
You may choose to add additional sessions throughout the day, but staying consistent will help you make your Kegel exercises a habit.
Does it Really Work?
The science is clear and positive on the effects of Kegels. One study of men ages 20 and older, conducted by the urologists of BJU International, showed that 40 percent of men kicked ED completely by performing Kegels for six months. Another 35.5 percent significantly improved their symptoms.
Overall muscle tone is important in men’s health, but men also benefit from exercises that specifically target pelvic muscles, including the bulbocavernosus muscle. The bulbocavernosus muscle, located between the penis and anus, directs blood toward the penis when it contracts. During sexual activity, this muscle is responsible for getting blood into, keeping blood in, and letting blood out of the penis.
Like any muscle, when the bulbocavernosus is weak, it does not function effectively. Blood flow, penile rigidity, and erections can be negatively affected by the inability of the pelvic muscles to contract or stay contracted.
The muscles of your pelvic floor are the key to good blood flow in your penis, the main component of achieving and maintaining an erection. This is why doctors recommend that you exercise them for good sexual health.
Other Benefits of Pelvic Floor Exercise
Increased blood flow to the penis is not the only advantage to building strong muscles in your pelvic floor. Regular practice of Kegel exercises will also provide additional benefits, including:
- Helping regulate urinary incontinence and preventing unwanted urination
- Helping regulate fecal incontinence and preventing unwanted defecation
- Preventing the “dribble” after urination
These problems are common among men who have had surgical removal of the prostate, have diabetes or suffer from an overactive bladder.
When Can You Expect Results?
Medical specialists say that a regular program of nine minutes a day, every day will yield positive results in as early as two weeks. Some effects of your increased muscle strength, such as less frequent urine leakage, will occur first, while positive effects in your ability to achieve and maintain an erection can appear from within six to sixteen weeks.
If exercise consistently, spreading the nine-minute workout over the day for several months, yet don’t see results, don’t despair. Your doctor may recommend biofeedback as a way to train you and your muscles to exercise most effectively.
In this type of biofeedback, your doctor places a sensor into your rectum, and then as you relax and contract your pelvic muscles, a monitor shows how effective your actions are. This can help you maximize the workout by targeting the right muscles.
You Can Start Today
Exercise, diet, and pharmaceutical options are all available to help men manage their sexual health and enjoy fulfilling sexual relationships. Consider starting a plan of Kegel workouts today.
If you have questions for a pharmacist about pharmaceutical remedies, don’t hesitate to contact eDrugstore for a convenient and private online consultation about your sexual health.
Elizabeth Nichols is an experienced and flexible author with extensive experience in both popular media and academic publishing. She specializes in health, medical and travel writing.