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Topics: Health
Callum Jones
A healthcare professional has explained the surprising benefits of a pelvic exercise that can improve your sex life as well as your overall health.
While women have long been doing kegel exercises, a doctor has previously recommended men to take part in the pelvic floor exercise for a variety of different reasons that can benefit your health.
Known as 'penis kegels', the simple exercise can be incorporated into your usual exercise routine and is said to help in the bedroom, including reducing the risk of erectile dysfunction hitting.
Urologist Dr Ashwin Sridhar told Metro: "The pelvic floor muscles act like a hammock supporting your internal organs. So, when these muscles are strong, they provide several health benefits."
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The health expert went on to say that kegels can prevent post-urination dribble, as well as help manage pain for those who suffer with prostatitis and BHP, an enlarged prostate.
Doing such exercises can also improve pelvic stability and lower back support.
Dr Sridhar went on to explain it's not just overall health that can improve from partaking in the exercise, but also performance in the bedroom.
"Strong pelvic floor muscles directly influence the mechanics of erection and ejaculation," he went on to explain.
"The pelvic floor muscles help trap blood in the penis to maintain an erection. Strengthening them can lead to harder, longer-lasting erections."
First of all, you need to find the relevant muscle, and there's two methods to find this, according to the doctor.
The first sees you stopping yourself from passing gas, and the muscle you squeeze to pull your backside inwards is the one you need.
You can also find the correct muscle when you're urinating and it involves stopping mid-flow. If you manage to stop, then you've successfully found the muscle.
Next up, the kegel comes into play, which you can do either standing, sitting or lying down.
Dr Sridhar told Metro that you need to squeeze said muscle and to imagine you're 'trying to lift your scrotum upwards into your body'.
"Your body should look completely relaxed from the outside; the work is all internal," he added to the outlet.
Health experts say you should perform ten repetitions of the exercise in a row, doing so in three sets across the day.
Dr Sridhar added: "While squats and glute bridges help the general area, the standard Kegel is the most effective isolation exercise for these specific muscles."