Kegel HeroHow to Find Your Pelvic Floor Muscles (Men)
To find your pelvic floor muscles, shorten your penis: draw its base up and in. The right squeeze pulls the base of your penis in and lifts your testicles. Your buttocks and thighs stay soft, and you keep breathing. In a 2022 ultrasound study of 35 young men, “shorten the penis” and “squeeze your anus” each made the bladder base lift in 33 of 35 men, or 94.3% (Ben Ami 2022).
Where are the pelvic floor muscles?
They form a bowl at the base of your pelvis, from your pubic bone to your tailbone. They surround the base of your penis and your anus. They support your bladder and bowel (St George’s NHS Trust, 2026).
It is a group, not one muscle. Cleveland Clinic counts 14 of them. You may have heard of “the PC muscle.” PC is short for pubococcygeus, one part of the group.
Which cues work best for men?
Ben Ami and colleagues (2022) gave six cues to 35 male physiotherapy students, average age 26. The men lay on their backs with their knees bent. An ultrasound probe on the lower belly showed if the bladder base moved up. The authors use that upward lift as the sign of a pelvic floor squeeze.
| Cue | Bladder base lifted (of 35 men) |
|---|---|
| “Shorten the penis” | 33 (94.3%) |
| “Squeeze your anus” | 33 (94.3%) |
| “Elevate the scrotum” | 32 (91.4%) |
| “Stop the flow of urine” (said as a cue, not while peeing) | 31 (88.6%) |
| “Squeeze your pelvic floor muscles” | 24 (69%) |
| “Draw in” (breathe out, lift, pull your belly button in) | 9 (25.7%) |
Stafford and colleagues (2016) tested four cues in 15 healthy men. “Shorten the penis” gave the most movement and activity at the muscle that closes the urethra. “Elevate the bladder” raised belly muscle activity and belly pressure the most. Both studies are small and tested healthy men.
Try these cues first:
- Shorten your penis. Draw its base up and in.
- Lift your testicles up toward your body.
- Squeeze as if you are holding in gas.
How can you check you found the right muscle?
Empty your bladder before each session.
- Lie on your back with your knees bent.
- Breathe normally. Use the first cue, hold for 3 or 4 seconds, then let go fully (Mayo Clinic Health System).
- Put a hand or two fingers on your perineum, the skin between your scrotum and anus. You should feel it tighten and lift away (Mayo Clinic Health System; St George’s; Healthify NZ).
- Stand naked at a mirror and squeeze. You should see a small dip above your penis, and your testicles should lift a little (Healthify NZ). The base of your penis may pull in slightly (North Bristol NHS Trust).
- Check that your buttocks, thighs and jaw stay soft, and that you still breathe (St George’s).
What should a Kegel feel like?
Kegels are not just clenching. A correct squeeze is an inward lift, not a push. St George’s compares the testicle lift to the feeling of going into cold water.
| Feels right | Feels wrong |
|---|---|
| The base of your penis pulls in | Your buttock cheeks clench |
| Your testicles lift a little | You hold your breath |
| A tightening around your anus | You push down or bear down |
| You breathe normally | You pull your belly in hard |
| Your muscles let go fully after | You squeeze your legs together |
Most of these signs come from North Bristol NHS Trust, Northern Care Alliance and St George’s. Keep breathing during every squeeze. Do not hold your breath, push down or brace your stomach.
Should you stop your pee to find the muscle?
Sources disagree. Mayo Clinic Health System suggests stopping midstream to check, at most once a month, because doing it often can build a habit of squeezing while you pee. North Bristol NHS Trust says not to practice stopping the flow, because it may interfere with emptying your bladder. To find the muscle, it suggests you imagine stopping your pee.
Kegel Hero’s position: Do not practise by stopping your urine stream. Use it once or twice only, to find the muscle.
Why do many men get it wrong at first?
Mayo Clinic Health System says about 40% of people do not do a Kegel correctly the first time. Vague cues may be one reason. In Ben Ami 2022, the general “squeeze your pelvic floor muscles” lifted the bladder base in 69% of men, and “draw in” in 25.7%. The authors advise specific cues, such as “shorten the penis,” instead.
Many men squeeze the wrong muscles at first. If you cannot feel the base of your penis pull in and your testicles lift after 2-3 weeks, ask a pelvic health physiotherapist to check you.
What can a pelvic health physio check?
- A physio can check your squeeze and design a plan for you (Healthify NZ).
- A physical therapist can use biofeedback to help you find the right muscles (Mayo Clinic Health System).
- The usual check is a rectal exam. Some physios also use ultrasound on the lower belly. In 28 men treated for prostate cancer, ultrasound agreed moderately with a rectal exam (r = 0.57). The authors say ultrasound works best once a rectal exam confirms a true squeeze (Nahon 2011).
When to see a doctor
- Squeezing should never hurt. Stop if you feel pain, and tell your doctor.
- Pelvic, genital or rectal pain, pain when you ejaculate, or chronic prostatitis: Strengthening can make some pelvic pain worse. See a doctor or a pelvic health physiotherapist first.
- See a doctor soon if you have blood in your urine, pain or burning when you pee, a fever, a weak stream, trouble emptying your bladder, or you cannot pee.
- After prostate surgery, do not train while you have a catheter. Restart only when your surgical team says it is OK.
How Kegel Hero fits
Kegel Hero is a pelvic floor muscle training app for iPhone, coming soon to the App Store. It opens with a short tutorial, “Find the right muscle,” that takes about a minute. It shows safety notes first, then the “shorten your penis” cue and two backup cues. You do 3 practice squeezes lying down while you follow a circle on the screen. Then it asks if you felt the base of your penis pull in and your testicles lift. If you are not sure, it suggests another cue. It has no mirror or touch check, so do those yourself. The app has no sensor, so it cannot see or check your squeeze. The planned US price is weeks 1–2 free, then $19.99 once, with no subscription and no account.
Questions
I feel it in my abs. Is that wrong?
Sources differ here. Northern Care Alliance says a gentle tightening in your lower belly is normal. St George’s says not to pull your tummy muscles in, and Mayo Clinic Health System says not to flex your belly muscles. Kegel Hero’s position: Keep breathing during every squeeze. Do not hold your breath, push down or brace your stomach.
Is it the same as clenching my butt?
No. “Squeeze your anus” means the ring of muscle around your anus, not your buttock cheeks. In Stafford 2016, “tighten around the anus” gave the most anal sphincter activity, and “shorten the penis” the most urethral sphincter activity. Use both.
Can I check in the mirror?
Yes. Stand naked at a mirror and squeeze. You should see a small dip above your penis, and your testicles should lift a little (Healthify NZ).
What does a pelvic health physio do?
They check your squeeze and build a plan (Healthify NZ). They may use a rectal exam, ultrasound or biofeedback (Nahon 2011; Mayo Clinic Health System).
Sources
- Ben Ami et al. 2022, verbal cues in healthy young men (IJERPH) 35 men; bladder base lifted on ultrasound in 25.7% to 94.3% of men, by cue (Table 2).
- Stafford et al. 2016, cues and pelvic floor activation in men (PubMed) 15 men; “shorten the penis” best for the urethral sphincter, “tighten around the anus” for the anal sphincter.
- Mayo Clinic Health System, Kegels are for men, too About 40% of people get it wrong at first; stop midstream at most once a month; perineum check; biofeedback.
- St George’s NHS Trust, Pelvic Floor Exercises for Males, 2026 (PDF) Anatomy, cold-water feeling, perineum check, do not pull your tummy in.
- North Bristol NHS Trust, Pelvic floor exercises for men, 2024 Penis base pulls in, testicles rise; do not practice stopping urine.
- Northern Care Alliance NHS, Men: A guide to your pelvic floor muscles, 2026 Gentle lower-belly tightening is normal; do not pull your stomach in or squeeze your legs.
- Healthify NZ, Pelvic floor training for men, 2022 Mirror check: small dip above the penis; two-finger check; a physio can check you.
- Cleveland Clinic, Pelvic Floor Muscles 14 muscles, including the pubococcygeus.
- Nahon et al. 2011, ultrasound of the male pelvic floor (PubMed) 28 men; ultrasound vs rectal exam r = 0.57.