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Ejercicios de Kegel
Spain
¿Has oído alguna vez hablar de los ejercicios de suelo pélvico? Estos ejercicios, también llamados de Kegel porque su precursor fue un ginecólogo americano llamado Arnold Kegel, ayudan a fortalecer los músculos del suelo pélvico, y son cada vez más practicados por hombres y mujeres que encuentran beneficios notables en sus músculos pélvicos.
¿Quién puede practicarlos?
Los ejercicios de suelo pélvico se pueden practicar tanto por hombres como mujeres, aunque los beneficios que se obtienen son diferentes en ambos casos.
Se recomienda que se practiquen en mujeres embarazas para fortalecer los músculos que más adelante ejercerán un papel importante en el parto, así como durante el post parto para recuperar la fortaleza en la pelvis.
Las personas que sufran de pérdidas de orina, pues manejar la contracción y relajación de los músculos de suelo pélvico ayuda a controlar la expulsión de orina.
También se recomienda en hombres que sufran de eyaculación precoz, pues el control muscular de los músculos que sostienen los órganos pélvicos, ayudarán a ejercer un control mayor sobre la eyaculación para evitar que sea demasiado rápida.
Las personas que sufren de estreñimiento también se les recomienda que practiquen estos ejercicios, pues ayudará a un buen funcionamiento del tracto digestivo.
Mujeres que practiquen deportes de impacto, que puedan tener consecuencias a medio y largo plazo en los músculos del suelo pélvico, como pueden ser aquellas que realicen levantamiento de peso.
¿Cuáles son estos músculos?
Los músculos de suelo pélvico son aquellos que sirven de sostén la mayor parte de la pelvis. Son los músculos que sostienen los órganos pélvicos como la vejiga, útero y vagina en la mujer y el recto en ambos sexos.
Para facilitarte a encontrar estos músculos, existen varias técnicas que pueden resultarte de utilidad. La más sencilla es tocar con los dedos la zona del periné, que es la parte de piel entre el ano y la vagina o los testículos. Notarás como al contraer éstos músculos, el periné se eleva y contrae ligeramente. En tal caso estarás contrayendo los músculos correctos.
¿Cómo se practica este ejercicio?
La idea básica de este ejercicio es la contracción y relajación posterior de los músculos del suelo pélvico. Es importante localizar bien éstos músculos, pues muchas veces apretamos abdomen o glúteos en vez de contraer los músculos adecuados.
Son muchas las posturas en las que se puede practicar estos ejercicios, pero algunas posturas requieren de mayor práctica por lo que conviene comenzar con una postura sencilla como tumbada o sentada:
La postura tumbada es la más sencilla, pues ayuda a no contraer los músculos equivocados. Si lo practicas en posición tumbada, asegúrate que tu espalda mantenga su curvatura natural, no pegues toda la espalda contra el suelo. Una solución puede ser ponerte una pequeña toalla enrollada en la zona lumbar. Ten cuidado al levantarte después, no hagas un sobreesfuerzo que pueda generarte alguna pequeña lesión.
Si prefieres practicar este ejercicio en posición sentada, asegúrate de mantener la espalda recta, es preferible no apoyarse en un respaldo pues puede que genere una curvatura poco natural. Sentarse en una fit ball puede ayudarte a mantener la postura correcta para practicar este ejercicio. Las piernas deben estar ligeramente separadas.
Otras posturas más complejas que puedes ir practicando con el tiempo son tumbada boca abajo, procurando que la espalda no se arquee, en cuadrupedia apoyando brazos o antebrazos o incluso de cuclillas. Estas son más complicadas, pero sin duda pueden ser un buen ejercicio para fortalecer tus músculos pélvicos.
El ejercicio consiste en, junto a la respiración, contraer durante 10 segundos los músculos perineales, para después, levemente relajarlos mientras espiras. Repite este proceso varias veces, asegurándote de descansar entre uno y otro. Si al principio no llegas a 10 segundos no pasa nada, puedes empezar con menos tiempo e ir aumentando poco a poco.
Es importante que tengamos una respiración relajada, sin bloqueos intermedios, y acompañar la contracción de la inhalación de aire, y relajarlos lentamente durante la exhalación.
Conclusiones
Estos ejercicios nos enseñan a relajar y contraer los músculos de la pelvis, lo que tiene enormes beneficios para fortalecer la musculatura, tener más control de la vejiga, beneficios en la contingencia urinaria e incluso pueden mejorar la función sexual.
Si necesitas más ayuda con estos ejercicios no dudes en contactar con un profesional que podrá ayudarte a practicarlo las primeras veces. Además puedes encontrar muchos videos en internet que te darán una mejor visión de cómo practicarlos.
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In the UK, men on average die four to six years earlier than women. They also have a life expectancy of 79.1 years, are significantly less likely to attend routine health screenings, are more likely to delay seeking medical attention for concerning symptoms, and face higher rates of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, liver disease, and suicide.
The dietary patterns, movement habits, sleep, stress management, and relationship with healthcare that men establish can have a profound influence on health outcomes across the lifespan.
Cardiovascular Health
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of premature death in men in the UK, and men develop it on average ten years earlier than women. The protective effect of oestrogen that delays cardiovascular disease in premenopausal women does not apply to men, meaning that risk accumulates from earlier in adulthood.
The key modifiable risk factors for cardiovascular disease include:
high blood pressure
elevated LDL cholesterol
high triglycerides,
insulin resistance,
smoking
excess visceral adiposity
physical inactivity
chronic stress
poor sleep
alcohol use and diet quality
Most of these can be influenced by nutrition and lifestyle, meaning that the everyday choices men make have a significant and compounding effect on their long-term cardiovascular risk.
Dietary patterns most strongly associated with reduced cardiovascular risk include:
Mediterranean diet
diets rich in vegetables and fruit
wholegrains
legumes
olive oil
nuts
oily fish
Focus should fall on predominantly whole food dietary patterns that are balanced, high in fibre and low in saturated fats.
Specific nutrients with the strongest cardiovascular evidence include omega-3 fatty acids, which reduce triglycerides and inflammation, soluble fibre from oats, barley, chia seeds, legumes, certain vegetables and fruit, which reduces LDL cholesterol, potassium from vegetables and fruit, which supports healthy blood pressure, and extra virgin olive oil for its anti-inflammatory properties.
In the UK, men are encouraged to have regular blood pressure and cholesterol screenings from their forties onward, and earlier for those with a family history of cardiovascular disease. Many men have elevated cardiovascular risk markers like LDL cholesterol for years before any symptoms arise, making regular monitoring genuinely important rather than optional.
Type 2 Diabetes and Metabolic Health
Men are at higher risk of type 2 diabetes than women at equivalent body weights, partly due to the tendency of men to accumulate visceral fat (fat around the internal organs) rather than subcutaneous fat (fat beneath the skin).
Visceral adiposity is metabolically active and drives insulin resistance, inflammation, and cardiovascular risk in ways that subcutaneous fat does not to the same degree.
Type 2 diabetes is largely preventable and in its early stages often reversible through dietary and lifestyle change. The evidence for dietary approaches to improving insulin sensitivity and metabolic health consistently points toward reducing refined carbohydrate and added sugar intake, increasing dietary fibre, eating regular meals with adequate protein, fibre and fat to moderate blood glucose response, and regular physical activity.
Waist circumference is a more informative marker of metabolic risk than body weight or BMI alone. A waist circumference above 94cm in men is associated with increased metabolic risk, and above 102cm with substantially elevated risk.
This is worth knowing not as a point of shame, but as a practical piece of health information that is easy to measure and track.
Dietary quality improvements, increased physical activity, and better sleep can all improve insulin sensitivity and reduce visceral fat independently of changes in overall body weight.
Prostate Health
According to Cancer Research, 1 in 6 men in the UK will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime. When detected early, it is one of the most survivable cancers and so regular screening is particularly important for men over 50 and men with a family history of prostate cancer or with Black African or Caribbean heritage.
In epidemiological research, those who consume diets rich in lycopene, an antioxidant that gives fruits and vegetables like tomatoes, pink grapefruit and watermelon their red pigment, has been linked to a reduced risk of prostate cancer, though evidence is mixed.
Lycopene is significantly more bioavailable from cooked or processed tomatoes than raw, with tomato paste, passata, and canned tomatoes providing more absorbable lycopene than fresh tomatoes.
The overall dietary pattern matters more than any single nutrient. Higher vegetable, fruit and wholegrains intake, adequate zinc, and a predominantly whole food dietary pattern are associated with better prostate health outcomes. Diets high in processed meat and very high in saturated fat are associated with modestly increased risk in large prospective studies.
Testosterone and Hormonal Health
Testosterone levels in men decline gradually from the mid-thirties onward, with research suggesting an average decline of around 1 to 2% per year after age 40. This is a normal part of aging, but the trajectory and rate of decline are influenced by lifestyle factors, meaning that the choices men make in their thirties and forties meaningfully affect their hormonal health in their fifties and beyond.
Several nutritional and lifestyle factors are associated with better testosterone status. Adequate zinc intake is directly relevant: zinc is essential for testosterone synthesis, and deficiency is associated with reduced testosterone levels.
Good sources include shellfish, pumpkin seeds, and legumes. Adequate dietary fat intake, particularly from monounsaturated and saturated fat sources in moderate amounts, supports testosterone production, as testosterone is synthesised from cholesterol.
Vitamin D deficiency, which is widespread in the UK, is associated with lower testosterone levels so correcting any deficiency may improve testosterone status. Maintaining adequate vitamin D year-round through blood work to assess levels and supplementation when needed can therefore be relevant to hormonal health.
Chronic stress elevates cortisol, which directly suppresses testosterone production. This is one of several reasons why stress management is not separate from men's hormonal health but integral to it.
Sleep is equally relevant: testosterone is primarily produced during sleep, and research has found that even one week of sleeping five hours per night reduces testosterone levels by approximately 10 to 15% in young men, a reduction equivalent to ageing ten to fifteen years.
Sleep and Sleep Apnoea
Sleep affects testosterone, cardiovascular health, metabolic function, immune resilience, cognitive performance, emotional regulation, and physical recovery.
Sleep apnoea, a condition in which breathing repeatedly stops and starts during sleep, is significantly more common in men than in women, and is associated with fatigue, poor cognitive function, elevated cardiovascular risk, and reduced testosterone. It is frequently undiagnosed because the primary symptom is snoring combined with daytime sleepiness, which many men normalise. If you or your partner have noticed loud or irregular snoring combined with daytime fatigue, discussing this with a GP is worthwhile.
Seven to nine hours of quality sleep per night is the evidence-supported range for most adults. Consistent sleep and wake times, a cool dark bedroom, limiting alcohol, avoiding caffeine after midday, and managing stress are the most consistently evidence-supported sleep hygiene strategies.
Alcohol
Men in the UK drink more alcohol on average than women and are more likely to drink at hazardous or harmful levels. The NHS guidelines recommend no more than 14 units of alcohol per week spread across at least three days, with alcohol-free days each week.
Alcohol at higher intake levels is associated with liver disease, several cancers including colorectal and liver cancer, cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, depression, cognitive decline, impaired sleep, reduced testosterone, and reduced fertility.
The relationship between alcohol and health is not linear, and while low-level drinking has historically been associated with some cardiovascular benefits, more recent research applying Mendelian randomisation methods suggests that even moderate drinking carries some increased risk.
This is not about prohibition. It is about honest awareness that alcohol is one of the most significant modifiable risk factors for serious health conditions in men, and that staying within recommended guidelines meaningfully reduces long-term risk.
Engaging With Healthcare
One of the most impactful things men can do for their long-term health is engage proactively with healthcare rather than reactively. This means attending NHS health checks when invited (available to those aged 40 to 74), discussing blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood glucose screening with a GP, being aware of bowel cancer screening (offered to those over 60 in the UK), having conversations about prostate health from the mid-forties onward for those with risk factors, and not dismissing symptoms or delaying seeking help when something feels wrong.
Testicular cancer is the most common cancer in men aged 15 to 49 afd is highly treatable when caught early. Regular self-examination and prompt reporting of any lumps or changes to a GP are important habits. Skin cancer rates are higher in men partly due to lower rates of sun protection, and regular skin checks for changing moles or lesions are worthwhile.
Mental Health
Men are less likely to seek help for depression and anxiety, less likely to discuss emotional difficulties with friends or family, and more likely to manage distress through avoidance, alcohol, or other external coping strategies rather than directly addressing the underlying issue. These patterns can have devastating consequences when unaddressed, and they are deeply connected to social norms around masculinity that equate emotional expression with weakness.
The most important message regarding men's mental health is to reach out. To your GP, to a therapist, to a trusted friend, to a helpline and to engage in psychological therapies like CBT and ACT for mental health support.
Closing Thoughts
Men's health is shaped by the accumulation of daily choices across decades: what is eaten, how much movement happens, how sleep is prioritised, how stress is managed, how much alcohol is consumed, and whether medical or mental health care is sought when needed.
None of these are binary or all-or-nothing. Small, consistent improvements in multiple areas compound meaningfully over time.
This article is for educational purposes only and does not replace the advice of a qualified healthcare or nutrition professional. If you're experiencing persistent or severe symptoms, please consult your healthcare provider.
Sources:
https://www.nmcd-journal.com/article/S0939-4753(23)00385-X/fulltexthttps://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6906176/https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11958419/https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0960076021000716?via%3Dihubhttps://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8743653/https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2949789225000881https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1467-9566.13257
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