Kegels for men: how to do them right, with a 12-week plan

What kegels do for men

Your pelvic floor is a sling of muscles between your tailbone, pubic bone and sit bones. In men it supports the bladder and bowel, helps close off the urethra, and wraps around the base of the penis. It works every time you hold in urine, stop gas, get an erection or ejaculate.

A kegel is simply a deliberate squeeze and release of those muscles. They’re named after Dr. Arnold Kegel, a gynecologist who described them in the 1940s — which is why many men assume they’re only for women. They aren’t.

Should you strengthen or relax first?

Before you start, one important check. Kegels help a pelvic floor that is weak. Some men have the opposite: a pelvic floor that’s tight and won’t switch off. Squeezing more can make that worse.

Start with relaxation instead if you have:

• pain in the perineum, testicles, penis, groin or tailbone
• a slow or hesitant stream
• pain during or after ejaculation
• symptoms that got worse when you tried kegels before

If that’s you, begin with reverse kegels and read our pelvic pain page.

How to find the right muscles

Try one of these — you only need one that works for you:

1. The gas test. Imagine you’re in a quiet room and need to hold in gas. Squeeze the muscles that would do it.
2. The stream test. Next time you pee, try to slow or stop the stream for a second. Those are the muscles. Do this only to learn — not as a regular exercise. NIDDK warns that habitually stopping urine can keep the bladder from emptying and may raise infection risk.
3. The mirror test. Standing in front of a mirror without clothes, do a squeeze. The base of the penis should pull in slightly and the testicles should lift a little.
4. The finger test. NIDDK and Mayo Clinic also describe placing a finger in the anus and squeezing as if holding in urine; tightness around your finger means you’ve found the right muscles.

The best cue for most men is to combine the first two: “stop gas and stop pee at the same time.”

How to do a kegel, step by step

1. Get comfortable. Start lying on your back with knees bent. It’s easiest when the muscles don’t have to fight gravity.
2. Breathe in and let your belly soften.
3. Breathe out and squeeze. Lift and tighten the pelvic floor. Mayo Clinic suggests starting with a 3-second squeeze; Cleveland Clinic suggests a count of five.
4. Relax fully for at least as long as you squeezed. Feel the muscles drop back down.
5. Repeat. Build to 10–15 in a set.

How many and how often

Two respected sources give slightly different numbers, and both are reasonable:

Source	Hold / relax	Reps	Sets
Mayo Clinic	3 s / 3 s to start	10–15 per set	At least 3 a day
Cleveland Clinic	Count of 5 / count of 5	3 × 10 or 2 × 15	About 30 reps a day

A good plan uses two types of squeeze:

• Slow holds build endurance — the muscles’ ability to hold for longer, which helps with leaking and support.
• Quick squeezes (a one-second squeeze and release) train fast reactions — useful when you cough, lift or stand up, and for the end-of-stream squeeze that stops dribbling.

The most common mistakes

Mistake	Fix
Squeezing glutes, thighs or belly instead	Put a hand on your belly and glutes; they should stay soft
Holding your breath	Breathe out as you squeeze; count out loud
Skipping the relax phase	Relax for as long as, or longer than, you squeeze
Pushing down instead of lifting	You should feel an upward lift, not a bearing down
Doing hundreds at once	Short, regular sets beat marathons; tired muscles cheat
Practicing by stopping your pee	Use it only once to find the muscles
Giving up after two weeks	Changes take one to three months

A 12-week progression

Weeks	Position	Slow holds	Quick squeezes	Sets a day
1–2	Lying down	10 × 3 s hold, 3 s relax	—	2–3
3–4	Lying and sitting	10 × 5 s hold, 5 s relax	5	3
5–8	Sitting and standing	10 × 8 s hold, 8 s relax	10	3
9–12	Standing, walking, before lifting	10 × 10 s hold, 10 s relax	10	3
12+	Anywhere	Maintain	Maintain	1–2

Only move up when the current level feels easy and you can fully relax between squeezes. If you get pelvic aching, drop back a stage and add a few reverse kegels at the end of each set.

Benefits: what the evidence really shows

Kegels for men have genuine evidence behind them for some goals — and none for others. Here’s an honest summary:

• Leaking after prostate surgery. The strongest evidence. NICE recommends offering supervised pelvic floor training to men with stress incontinence after prostatectomy, continued for at least three months. See training after prostatectomy.
• Dribbling after peeing. In a randomized trial of 49 men, 12 weeks of pelvic floor exercises reduced after-dribble more than urethral milking did, and counseling alone didn’t help. See post-void dribbling.
• Erection firmness. In a randomized trial, men with erection problems did pelvic floor exercises with biofeedback plus lifestyle advice; at six months 40% had regained normal function and 35.5% had improved. See pelvic floor exercises for ED.
• Ejaculation control. Some supportive studies, mostly supervised programs with biofeedback and electrical stimulation. See how to last longer.
• Penis size. No. There is no evidence that kegels change size, and we won’t suggest otherwise.

Fitting kegels into your day

The hardest part isn’t the exercise — it’s remembering. A few ideas that work for many men:

• Link it to something you already do: brushing your teeth, the first coffee, the commute, the start of each work meeting.
• Use a timer or app reminder at the same times each day.
• Do one set lying down before you get up in the morning, when you’re relaxed and can focus.
• Use waiting time: red lights, lines, the kettle. Nobody can tell.
• Squeeze with purpose: before you lift, cough, sneeze or stand up. That turns the exercise into a real-life habit.

Missed a day? Just carry on. Consistency over weeks matters far more than any single session.

Track your progress

A simple way to see progress: every two weeks, time how long you can hold a good-quality squeeze and how many quick squeezes you can do before they get sloppy. The strength self-test walks you through it.

Frequently asked questions

How many kegels should a man do a day?

Mayo Clinic suggests working up to 10–15 kegels per set, at least three sets a day. Cleveland Clinic suggests about 30 a day, holding for a count of five and relaxing for five. Start with fewer and build up; quality matters more than numbers.

How long does it take for kegels to work for men?

Cleveland Clinic says it takes one to three months of regular practice for kegels to begin to have an effect. For leaking after prostate surgery, NICE recommends at least three months of supervised training before judging results.

Do kegels make you bigger?

No. There's no evidence that kegels change penis size. They train the muscles around the base of the penis, which may help with control, dribbling and erection firmness for some men — but not size. Be wary of anyone who promises otherwise.

Can men do kegels anywhere?

Yes. Once you can do them lying down, you can do them sitting at a desk, standing in line or in the car. No one can see them. Many men link a set to a daily habit like brushing teeth or a commute.

Is it bad to do kegels while peeing?

Stopping your stream once can help you find the muscles, but don't make it a habit. NIDDK warns that regularly stopping urine mid-flow can keep the bladder from emptying fully and may raise the risk of infection.

Can kegels be harmful for men?

For most men they're safe. But if your pelvic floor is already tight — with pelvic pain, a slow stream or pain after ejaculation — kegels can make things worse. Start with reverse kegels and relaxation in that case.

Sources

1. Kegel Exercises — NIDDK
2. Kegel exercises for men: Understand the benefits — Mayo Clinic
3. Kegel Exercises for Men: Benefits & How To Do Them — Cleveland Clinic
4. Lower urinary tract symptoms in men: management (CG97) — NICE
5. Randomised controlled trial of pelvic floor muscle exercises and manometric biofeedback for erectile dysfunction (Dorey et al.) — British Journal of General Practice, 2004
6. Pelvic floor exercises as a treatment for post-micturition dribble (Paterson et al.) — British Journal of Urology, 1997

This page is general education about exercise, not a diagnosis or treatment plan. Talk to a clinician about symptoms that are new, severe or getting worse.