Most men are told to "do kegels" and nothing else. Then they squeeze everything and wonder why nothing changes. Here is what a kegel actually is and how to do one right.
A kegel is small. It is a gentle squeeze and lift deep inside the pelvis. Nothing on the outside of your body should move.
Squeezing your abs, clenching your glutes, and holding your breath is not a kegel. It is straining, and it can push down on the very muscles you are trying to train.
The urine cue. Imagine you are urinating and need to stop mid-stream. The muscles that would shut off the flow are your pelvic floor. Use it as a picture. Do not practice it on the toilet.
The gas cue. Imagine holding back gas in an elevator. That squeeze is the back part of your pelvic floor.
The lift cue. Picture the pelvic floor as an elevator. Draw it up one floor. Not ten. A gentle lift.
Try all three. One of them usually clicks.
Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat. Gently squeeze and lift. Hold for two to three seconds. Let go completely and rest for ten seconds.
Do five of those, three times a day. It looks like too little. It is not. You are teaching your brain to find the muscle, and that comes before strength.
Dr. Meg Cochran, DPT shows the first pelvic floor exercise for men, lying down, with the cues that make it click.
Bearing down instead of lifting. If it feels like pushing out, it is backwards.
Holding your breath. If you cannot breathe and hold the squeeze together, you are squeezing too hard. Dial it back.
Squeezing your abs. Put a hand on your belly. If it tenses, the wrong muscles are helping.
Doing too many too soon. More is not better. This muscle tires like any other.
Only doing slow holds. You also need quick squeezes. Those are what catch a cough or a sneeze.
Once you can find the muscle every time, the work gets harder in a set order. Longer holds. Then sitting. Then standing. Then walking. Lying down is where you learn it. Standing and moving is where you need it.
Letting go matters as much as squeezing. End each session with a few slow belly breaths and let the pelvic floor soften.
The most practical use of a kegel is timing. Squeeze, then cough. Squeeze, then stand. Squeeze, then lift. Pelvic floor therapists call this the Knack.
If you have pelvic pain, or you cannot tell whether you are squeezing the right muscle at all, see a pelvic floor physical therapist before you add more repetitions. A written instruction cannot watch you do it.
How to find one: Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy: Do You Need It?
Then timing matters. Do not do kegels while a catheter is in. Start once it is out and your surgeon clears you.
The full version for you: Kegel Exercises After Prostate Surgery and Exercises to Do Before Prostate Surgery.
How to Stop Leaking After Prostate Surgery
Kegel Exercises After Prostate Surgery: How to Do Them Right
Exercises to Do Before Prostate Surgery
When Can You Exercise After Prostate Surgery? Walking, Lifting, Golf, Running
The First Week After Prostate Surgery: What to Expect
Recovery After Prostate Surgery: A Week-by-Week Guide
Pads for Men After Prostate Surgery: What to Buy and How to Leave the House
Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy After Prostate Surgery: Do You Need It?
Dr. Meg Cochran is a licensed Doctor of Physical Therapy specializing in pelvic floor rehabilitation, and treats men after prostate surgery through Where You Are Physical Therapy in Oxford, Mississippi.
This article is educational and is not medical advice, a diagnosis, or a substitute for in-person care. Follow your surgical team's instructions. If you have urgent symptoms including severe pain, fever, unexpected bleeding, or a sudden change in function, contact your healthcare provider.
The first week after prostate surgery, written out step by step by Dr. Meg. What to do with the catheter in. What to skip. What to have in the house. Enter your email and it opens right away.
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Educational content. Not medical advice.
The Prostate Recovery Quick Start is Dr. Meg showing you the first exercises on video, from before surgery through week 4, with the two sheets to print. Open it on any phone, tablet, or computer, from anywhere. It is educational, not physical therapy.
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