--- title: Why More People Should Do Pelvic Floor Exercises description: They're not just helpful for pregnancy—or even just for women. Pelvic floor exercises strengthen important muscles that naturally weaken with age. canonical: https://time.com/article/2026/06/09/who-should-do-pelvic-floor-exercises/ author: Stacey Colino article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2026-06-09T12:00:03.890Z article:modified_time: 2026-06-09T12:00:07.933Z article:section: Health og:title: Why More People Should Do Pelvic Floor Exercises og:description: They're not just helpful for pregnancy—or even just for women. og:url: https://time.com/article/2026/06/09/who-should-do-pelvic-floor-exercises/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7c2e5f5ca7ff1b23/6a231bae5a493d3aff05d275/Pelvic_Floor_Exercises.png?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Pelvic Floor Exercises.png og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Why More People Should Do Pelvic Floor Exercises twitter:description: They're not just helpful for pregnancy—or even just for women. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7c2e5f5ca7ff1b23/6a231bae5a493d3aff05d275/Pelvic_Floor_Exercises.png?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Why More People Should Do Pelvic Floor Exercises by [Stacey Colino](https://time.com/author/stacey-colino/) ## Stacey Colino Colino is a contributor for TIME. Jun 9, 2026 12:00 PM UTC  Photo-Illustration by TIME (Source Image: Tara Moore—Getty Images) by [Stacey Colino](https://time.com/author/stacey-colino/) ## Stacey Colino Colino is a contributor for TIME. Jun 9, 2026 12:00 PM UTC When people hear about the importance of maintaining their [pelvic floor](https://time.com/6318265/vagina-whisperer-sara-reardon-pelvic-floor-therapy/), there’s a good chance that pregnancy comes to mind. It’s famously recommended that women do pelvic floor exercises, such as [Kegels](https://time.com/5228035/dr-ruth-kegels-benefit-sex-life/), during pregnancy to support the uterus, improve bladder control, and speed up recovery during the [postpartum period](https://time.com/6967372/postpartum-care-america-essay/). But these exercises aren’t just important during times of [fertility](https://time.com/6253707/fertility-testing-difficult/)—and they’re not just for women, either. “Honestly, many adults could benefit from pelvic floor exercises,” says Dr. Elisabeth Sebesta, an assistant professor of urology at Vanderbilt Health in Nashville. Pelvic floor muscles naturally weaken with age, but “unfortunately, most people don’t appreciate that they have a pelvic floor muscle group until something goes wrong with it.” That could mean experiencing urinary or bowel problems (such as leakage), pelvic pain or pressure, or other unpleasant symptoms. There can be many different causes of pelvic floor dysfunction, including pregnancy and childbirth, traumatic injuries to the pelvic area (from a bad fall or a car accident, for example) and pelvic surgery (such as hysterectomy or prostatectomy). “While most women assume the pelvic floor is not affected until childbirth, even young, healthy women can experience pelvic floor dysfunction as a result of impaired body mechanics such as with poor posture or even emotional stress,” says Dr. Fareesa Khan, division director of female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgery at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. Here’s what to know about pelvic floor health—and how to improve yours. ## What is the pelvic floor? The pelvic floor is a group of muscles and tissues that act like a sling or hammock to support pelvic organs—such as the bladder, bowel, vagina, cervix, uterus, and prostate—and help keep these organs in their proper place. Pelvic floor disorders can occur when these muscles and tissues are too weak or too tight or don’t facilitate the proper functioning of these organs for other reasons. In addition to pregnancy and childbirth, [menopause](https://time.com/tag/menopause/) is another time when hormonal changes can hasten decline of the pelvic floor muscles. This decline can increase the risk of developing urinary or fecal incontinence, pelvic pain, problems with sexual function, and pelvic organ prolapse (a condition in which a pelvic organ drops down from its proper position), explains Tracey Nweze-Thomas, a pelvic floor physical therapist with Memorial Hermann Health System in Houston. **Read More**: [_How to Know Whether to Greet Someone With a Hug, Handshake, or Wave_](https://time.com/article/2026/06/04/how-to-greet-someone-hug-handshake-wave/) One of the best ways to prevent these problems is to do pelvic floor exercises. But these exercises also can help treat some of these conditions, in both women and men, which “could mean restored confidence, improved muscle strength and function,” Nweze-Thomas says. There’s growing recognition that men would benefit from doing pelvic floor exercises, too. Research has found that doing pelvic floor exercises can help with[ erectile dysfunction](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1324914/),[ premature ejaculation](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41090039/), and[ urinary incontinence](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7146723/), especially after prostate surgery. In women, a[ ](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0301211525010607)2025 [meta-analysis](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0301211525010607) of 21 studies found that doing pelvic floor exercises can relieve vaginal discomfort, improve urinary incontinence, and even improve overall quality of life in postmenopausal women. Regularly doing pelvic floor exercises has been shown to[ improve sexual satisfaction and lubrication in postmenopausal women](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12449232/) and even[ reduce vaginal dryness](https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00404-025-08267-1) that’s unrelated to sex, most likely by improving blood flow to the genitals, says Khan. “Strengthening the pelvic floor can improve tone in the area, which may improve muscle contractions \[that\] occur during orgasm,” explains Khan. “Pelvic floor therapy can also improve the responsiveness of the pudendal nerve which supplies sensation during intercourse.” With pelvic floor physical therapy, exercises that target the specific muscles are performed, depending on the problem: For example, this might include strengthening the muscles that control urination or help maintain an erection, or relaxing tight muscles that might be involved in pelvic pain. ## How to do pelvic floor exercises The key to doing pelvic floor exercises effectively is to engage the proper muscles. If you’re experiencing pelvic pain, sexual discomfort, or incontinence, experts recommend going to a pelvic floor specialist for an evaluation and to figure out which exercises to do. “It’s not all just Kegels—there are specific muscles that can be targeted and specific techniques,” says Sebesta, like contracting and relaxing certain muscles. “It’s a lot more nuanced than one might think.” It also requires patience and commitment. “It takes three to six months of consistent training to see the full benefits,” says Sebesta, “and just like any other exercise program, you have to continue to do it or the progress will eventually reverse.” **Read More**: [_How to Clean Your House Like an Oncologist_](https://time.com/article/2026/06/03/what-oncologists-do-at-home-to-reduce-cancer-risk-chemicals/) For people who don’t have bothersome symptoms but want to take preventive steps to strengthen their pelvic floor, Kegels may be the way to go. To do Kegels correctly, try to squeeze and tighten the muscles that control the flow of urine. (To identify the right muscles, stop your flow of urine midstream without using any other muscles—but don’t make this type of interruption a habit, since you’ll risk causing bladder problems, Sebesta recommends.) “Most people can benefit from performing regular pelvic floor muscle exercises, doing as little as three sets of ten daily,” says Dr. Lisa Hickman, a physician in urogynecology and reconstructive pelvic surgery at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. “These can be performed lying down, which reduces the impact of upper body weight, in a seated position, or standing. Try to hold the contraction for up to ten seconds, then completely relax before performing the next contraction.” If you’re unsure whether you’re performing Kegel exercises properly, discuss this with your health-care provider. Once you know you’re doing them correctly, you may incorporate Kegels into your daily regimen, says Hickman. You can do this by performing a set of these exercises before getting out of bed in the morning or before turning in for the night, while you’re stopped at a stoplight in the car, or during commercial breaks while you’re watching TV, she adds. If you can make them part of your daily routine, she says, they’re likely to become a habit—and give you the most benefit. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/article/2026/06/09/who-should-do-pelvic-floor-exercises/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/article/2026/06/09/who-should-do-pelvic-floor-exercises/"},"headline":"Why More People Should Do Pelvic Floor Exercises","datePublished":"2026-06-09T12:00:03.890Z","dateModified":"2026-06-09T12:00:07.933Z","description":"They're not just helpful for pregnancy—or even just for women.","url":"https://time.com/article/2026/06/09/who-should-do-pelvic-floor-exercises/","keywords":["Exercise & Fitness","freelance","Evergreen"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7c2e5f5ca7ff1b23/6a231bae5a493d3aff05d275/Pelvic_Floor_Exercises.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Stacey Colino","jobTitle":"Colino is a contributor for TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/stacey-colino/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7c2e5f5ca7ff1b23/6a231bae5a493d3aff05d275/Pelvic_Floor_Exercises.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Pelvic Floor Exercises.png","caption":"","creditText":"Photo-Illustration by TIME (Source Image: Tara Moore—Getty Images)","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/exercisefitness/","name":"Exercise & Fitness"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/article/2026/06/09/who-should-do-pelvic-floor-exercises/","name":"Why More People Should Do Pelvic Floor Exercises"}}]}] ```