Reverse Kegels are a way to practice letting your pelvic floor muscles relax and lengthen. Start with a comfortable position and an easy inhale, then allow the area around your anus and behind your scrotum to soften. The movement is small. Don’t bear down, hold your breath, or push as if you’re trying to force a bowel movement.
For men who notice a lot of clenching, learning to release may be useful. Clenching alone doesn’t tell you whether you have a pelvic floor disorder. Reverse Kegels alone aren’t a proven fix for premature ejaculation. Pelvic pain or trouble urinating deserves an assessment before you add more exercises.
Reverse Kegels vs. regular Kegels
A regular Kegel contracts and lifts the pelvic floor. A reverse Kegel focuses on the release. The same muscles need to perform both movements as part of normal bladder, bowel, and sexual function.
Your pelvic floor sits at the base of your pelvis. Think of the area between your pubic bone at the front, your tailbone behind you, and the bones you sit on. In men, a contraction can feel like closing around the anus and lifting behind the scrotum. Relaxation lets that effort go.
“Drop” is a common cue, but it can be misleading if you interpret it as an instruction to push something out. You’re looking for less effort in the muscles. You don’t need a dramatic movement to show that you’ve done it.
If you notice yourself clenching during the day, pause for an easy breath and see whether you can let that tension ease. You don’t need to add a squeeze first.
How to do reverse Kegels without straining
Try this away from sex or a bathroom visit, when you can pay attention without rushing. If you have ongoing pelvic symptoms, use your clinician’s instructions instead of building a routine around a general exercise description.
Get comfortable and notice your breathing
Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet supported. Rest a hand on your lower ribs or belly so you can notice the movement of breathing. Let your shoulders settle.
Take an easy breath through your nose. Allow your lower ribs to widen and your belly to rise without forcing it outward. Exhale without squeezing your belly flat. Your breath should feel comfortable throughout; a larger breath isn’t automatically a better one.
Add a gentle release on the inhale
As you breathe in again, imagine the area around your anus widening and the area behind your scrotum softening. Let your pelvic floor move with the breath.
Cambridge University Hospitals teaches men to coordinate this release with inhalation and specifically cautions against pushing down. That gives you a useful way to check the exercise: if you have to brace your abdomen or bear down to create the sensation, ease off.
On the exhale, let your ribs and belly return to rest. Don’t add a deliberate Kegel or try to keep forcing the pelvic floor lower. Repeat with a few comfortable breaths, then stop and notice how you feel.
If you can’t feel a “drop”
The sensation can be hard to identify. A small release after a gentle contraction may make the difference clearer, provided contracting is comfortable for you. Imagine briefly holding back gas, then let that effort go completely.
Skip that comparison if squeezing hurts or your clinician has told you to avoid it. You can work on easy breathing without first creating more tension.
Avoid repeatedly testing yourself by stopping your urine stream. The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases advises against making this a regular exercise because it can interfere with emptying your bladder.
If you keep wondering whether you’re relaxing or pushing, a pelvic floor physical therapist can check your technique. You don’t have to settle the question by trying harder at home.
What to do when the exercise feels wrong
Use these checks to spot straining or symptoms that mean you should stop.
| What you notice | What to change |
|---|---|
| You hold your breath or brace your abdomen | Return to normal breathing and stop trying to force the movement. |
| You push downward as if straining on the toilet | Reduce the effort. Use the idea of letting go around the anus rather than pushing out. |
| You squeeze your buttocks or press your thighs together | Let those muscles rest and choose a more supported position. |
| You feel pain, increasing pressure, or worsening urinary symptoms | Stop the exercise and ask a clinician for advice. |
| You feel very little and keep adding effort | End the practice. Ask for a technique check if the uncertainty continues. |
You don’t need to monitor your pelvic floor all day. The aim is to recognize unnecessary clenching and release it, then return your attention to what you were doing. If you keep increasing the effort to feel more, return to ordinary breathing.
Practice noticing tension with The Coach
Last Longer in The Coach app includes breathing exercises and body scans for noticing tension. Its personalization quiz is the first step toward an app plan.
Should you combine reverse Kegels with regular Kegels?
Strengthening and relaxation have different jobs. A pelvic floor that needs strengthening still needs time to release between contractions. A painful or overactive pelvic floor may need a different starting point from one being trained for urine leakage.
Cleveland Clinic cautions that too many Kegels can increase tension or worsen symptoms. If your current routine leaves you sore, don’t add an equal number of reverse Kegels and assume the two will cancel each other out. Stop the painful exercise and have the routine checked.
For men whose clinician has recommended strengthening, this sequence makes room for relaxation in the routine:
| Part of the routine | What to practice |
|---|---|
| Before strengthening | Settle into a comfortable position and notice an easy breath. |
| During the prescribed Kegel set | Contract as instructed, then allow a complete release before the next repetition. |
| After the set | Return to comfortable breathing and check that you aren’t still gripping. |
| If symptoms appear | Stop and discuss the response with the clinician who set the plan. |
Keep the hold times, repetitions, and frequency your clinician gave you. This sequence adds attention to the release between contractions without increasing your prescribed exercise load.
There isn’t one reverse-Kegel schedule that fits everyone. A few easy breaths can serve as a technique check; a clinician can help you decide whether regular practice is appropriate, how often to do it, and what symptoms to monitor.
If you’re learning the contraction for the first time, our explanation of Kegel exercises for men covers that movement in more detail. The release should remain part of it.
Do reverse Kegels help premature ejaculation?
Pelvic floor training has shown promise for ejaculation control. Reverse Kegels alone, however, haven’t been shown to make men last longer.
Researchers reviewing the evidence in 2019 found encouraging results across pelvic floor training studies. They also found that the studies differed enough in their methods and exercise plans that they couldn’t identify one best routine. The studies were of low to moderate quality.
In a 2026 review of men with premature ejaculation, pelvic floor exercises alone improved the time to ejaculation during vaginal intercourse less than medication or combined approaches did. Some combined routines included diaphragmatic breathing. These comparisons don’t establish whether reverse Kegels alone help premature ejaculation.
Finishing sooner than you want also doesn’t prove that your muscles are tight. If it keeps happening and bothers you, discuss it with a doctor or sexual medicine clinician. They can help assess what’s contributing and explain the available options.
During sex, avoid turning pelvic floor practice into another task you have to perform perfectly. If you notice yourself gripping, slow down or pause enough to breathe comfortably. Don’t strain downward to hold off ejaculation. Our guide to lasting longer in bed puts pacing and arousal awareness in a broader context.
Signs to discuss with a pelvic floor specialist
A pelvic floor that doesn’t relax well can be associated with pain or pressure in the pelvis, difficulty starting a urine stream, constipation, and pain during sex or ejaculation. These symptoms overlap with other conditions, so a checklist can’t tell you the cause.
Tell a clinician what you’ve noticed, when it happens, and whether exercise changes it. “I feel pressure after every Kegel session” is more useful than deciding in advance that your pelvic floor is either weak or tight.
An assessment may include checking how you contract and relax, alongside questions about bladder, bowel, and sexual symptoms. A pelvic floor physical therapist may use movement guidance, relaxation work, or biofeedback to help you understand what the muscles are doing. The plan depends on the findings.
Seek emergency care immediately if you suddenly can’t urinate or develop sudden, severe testicle pain. Stop exercising and get help rather than trying to relieve these symptoms with breathing or stretching.
If you’ve recently had pelvic or prostate surgery, follow your surgical team’s rehabilitation advice. Instructions written for general relaxation shouldn’t replace the plan for your recovery.
Pelvic floor relaxation with The Coach
The Coach’s Last Longer program combines breathing practice, awareness of arousal, and exercises for noticing and releasing body tension. Relaxation is part of that training alongside pelvic floor contraction.
You learn to notice what happens as arousal builds: whether you hold your breath, grip your thighs, or tighten your abdomen. Guided breathing exercises help you practice a comfortable rhythm, while body scans focus your attention on areas of tension. You can work on these skills away from the pressure of sex.
The app is one option for structured intimate-wellness practice. It can’t examine your pelvic floor or determine why you have pain or urinary symptoms. Those questions belong with a clinician.
Explore Last Longer in The Coach app
If you want to continue with Last Longer, start with The Coach’s personalization quiz. It opens with a Kegel exercise challenge and leads to checkout for the paid app.
Sources
- Cambridge University Hospitals (2024). Male chronic pelvic pain. Pelvic Health and Obstetric Physiotherapy Department. https://www.cuh.nhs.uk/documents/2645/Male_chronic_pelvic_pain_Version4_July_2024.pdf
- University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust (2025). Pelvic floor relaxation. Patient information. https://www.plymouthhospitals.nhs.uk/display-pil/pil-pelvic-floor-relaxation-5338
- Pelvic floor relaxation guide (2020). Patient information hosted at tyntesfield.nhs.uk; author not stated. https://www.tyntesfield.nhs.uk/_common/getdocument?id=306681
- National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (2021). Kegel exercises. https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/urologic-diseases/kegel-exercises
- Cleveland Clinic (2025). Kegel exercises for men. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/22211-kegel-exercises-for-men
- Cleveland Clinic (2022). Hypertonic pelvic floor. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/22870-hypertonic-pelvic-floor
- Myers C, Smith M (2019). Pelvic floor muscle training improves erectile dysfunction and premature ejaculation: a systematic review. Physiotherapy. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30979506/
- de Oliveira FA, et al. (2026). Efficacy of pelvic floor muscle training in the management of premature ejaculation: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. The Journal of Sexual Medicine. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42132359/
- National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (2019). Symptoms and causes of urinary retention. https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/urologic-diseases/urinary-retention/symptoms-causes
- NHS (2025). Testicle pain. https://www.nhs.uk/symptoms/testicle-pain/
