Pelvic floor and the gym: lifting, squats and running for men

This page is for ordinary gym training: squats, deadlifts, presses and runs. It sits alongside our main guide to Kegel exercises for men, which covers the squeeze itself. We're not physios or strength coaches, and we don't coach heavy, max-effort lifting. Where good evidence in men is thin, we say so.

Should you Kegel when lifting?

A light lift of the pelvic floor with the effort, yes. A hard Kegel held through the whole set, no need.

The NHS physiotherapy leaflet for men says: "Tighten the pelvic floor muscles before lifting anything heavy or if you are going to sneeze or cough."¹ It's written for men doing pelvic-floor exercises in everyday life, not for a barbell, and it doesn't say how hard to squeeze.

In GoBeast's strength sessions the cue is the same on almost every move: breathe out and lift the pelvic floor gently as you push, then let it go at the top or as you lower. The voice cues are "Squeeze as you rise" and "Lower slowly". We keep it gentle on purpose. A full-strength squeeze held through a set leaves no room to let go between reps, and it makes breath-holding easy. That timing is our design, not a protocol from a trial.

Breathing and bracing

Bracing means stiffening your trunk before you lift. People do it in two ways. Some brace while breathing out through the effort. Others take a big breath and hold it through a heavy rep, which is common for near-maximal lifts.

GoBeast doesn't coach the held-breath brace. Every strength move in the app cues you to breathe out on the effort, and the core sessions add: "If you catch yourself holding your breath, make it easier." It's the same pattern the NHS leaflet uses for a slow Kegel: breathe in, tighten on the breath out, then keep breathing normally.¹

We haven't found good research on what a held-breath brace does to a man's pelvic floor, so we won't call it harmful or harmless. If you lift heavy and brace that way, the checks are the same as for anything else. No leaks, no pain, nothing that worries you. If one of those turns up, see a doctor, and ask about a pelvic-floor physiotherapist.

When to breathe out and lift, move by move

GoBeast's strength work is bodyweight. If you lift weights too, we'd use the same timing with a load you can move while breathing out through the hardest part. A deadlift is a loaded hip hinge, so we'd time it like the hinge below.

A quick check after each set:

• You breathed out through the hardest part of every rep.
• The lift was gentle, not a hard clench.
• You let go between reps.
• Nothing leaked and nothing hurt.

Don't bear down

Bearing down means pushing down and out, the way you might strain on the toilet. It's the opposite direction to a Kegel, which draws up and in.

You may be bearing down if you feel pressure pushing down and out as you move the weight. Drop the weight until you can breathe out through the hardest part of the rep, and think of a light lift as you push. The same slip shows up in Kegels too: it's number 4 on our list of Kegel mistakes men make.

We haven't found research on bearing down during lifts in men. For context only: the NHS leaflet lists "straining to poo due to chronic constipation" among possible risk factors for pelvic-floor weakness.¹

Squats and your pelvic floor

Do squats strengthen the pelvic floor in men? We haven't found a study in men that tested it, so we won't say they do. Squats train your legs and hips. Kegels are the exercise for the pelvic floor itself.

What we can say is that the pelvic floor rarely works alone. The authors of one lab study in men write that pelvic floor muscles "have been shown to operate synergistically with a wide variety of muscles". In their own small study of healthy men, the pelvic floor switched on when the men squeezed their buttocks, but not when they moved a finger.² That study didn't test squats, and switching on isn't the same as getting stronger.

This is how GoBeast cues a bodyweight squat:

1. Stand with your feet a little wider than your hips, toes turned slightly out.
2. Sit your hips back and down as far as is comfortable, chest up, knees following your toes.
3. Breathe out and lift the pelvic floor as you rise.
4. Let go at the top, then go again.

Keep your heels down and only go as low as you can with a flat back. Stop if your knees or back hurt.

The longer Legs sessions in GoBeast also use a deep, supported squat as a warm-up, for letting go rather than lifting. Sink as low as is comfortable, holding a doorframe or sturdy chair if you like, and let the pelvic floor soften as you breathe in.

For the bridge, our guide to the glute bridge vs the Kegel has form cues and a short routine.

Running and your pelvic floor

You don't need to squeeze while you run. In a small lab study of 17 adults, 9 of them men, the pelvic floor muscles were "active during walking and jogging, with greater activity at faster speeds".³ Being active isn't the same as being trained, and the study didn't measure strength.

GoBeast's running sessions don't ask for a squeeze. The cue is to run at a pace where you could still talk in short sentences, with your shoulders loose and your steps short and light. If you need to walk for a minute, walk.

Leaking while you run, or after, is a reason to see a doctor before you start pelvic-floor training, not something to push through.

Leaks or pain when you lift: see a doctor

Leaking happens to strong men too. In a Norwegian survey of 204 male powerlifters and Olympic weightlifters, 9.3% reported urinary leakage, and most said they didn't know how to train the pelvic floor.⁴ It was a single self-reported survey, and it doesn't show that lifting caused the leaks. The NHS leaflet lists "leaking urine during activity" among the symptoms of pelvic-floor weakness.¹ Neither source means you should diagnose yourself.

See a doctor if:

• You have new or changing urinary symptoms, like a weak stream, straining, peeing more often or at night, or new leaks. See a doctor before starting pelvic-floor training.⁵
• You have pain during or after exercise in your pelvis, genitals, perineum or bottom. Stop strengthening and get checked.^6,7
• You have a lump, swelling or change in shape of a testicle. See a doctor. Sudden, severe pain in a testicle, or testicle pain with feeling sick, being sick or tummy pain, means going to an emergency department now.⁸
• There is blood in your pee. Ask for an urgent doctor's appointment.⁹
• You can't pee at all. Get urgent medical help today.⁵

Should you stop lifting with a tight pelvic floor? We can't answer that for you. It's a question for a doctor or a pelvic-floor physiotherapist who has examined you. Pelvic-floor strengthening isn't right for everyone. If you have pain in your pelvis, genitals, perineum or bottom, pain when you ejaculate or pee, or trouble starting to pee, your pelvic floor may be too tense rather than too weak, or something else may be going on. Guidelines advise against Kegel-style strengthening for pelvic pain with a tender pelvic floor. Stop, see a doctor, and ask about a pelvic-floor physiotherapist.^6,7 Our guide to a tight or hypertonic pelvic floor explains more.

How GoBeast helps

GoBeast is a voice-guided Kegel trainer for men, with strength and cardio sessions on the side.

• Strength sessions with a tiger trainer, as part of GoBeast Pro: Core, Glutes, Legs, Posture, Full body and a floor-free Desk session, 10, 20 or 30 minutes long. A voice cues the lift on the rise and the let-go on the way down.
• Short Kegel sets between the strength moves, done on their own with your buttocks soft.
• Cardio levels that run from brisk walks to 20 minutes of easy running.
• A let-go set at the end of every session, and a Pain button that stops the session and switches you to a relax-first path.

If you'd rather practise the squeeze on its own first, the free Kegel timer counts you through a session in your browser. Comparing apps? Here's how the main Kegel apps for men compare.

Questions