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Kegel exercises: How many sets do you do per day?

Posted by davidbrandi01 @davidbrandi01, Feb 9 11:39am

Vanita Gaglani book says no more than 8 sets per day. I am at week 4 following her book. I have to say that there was some soreness in the lower pelvic area. I actually quit for 3 days. But back on target now. My question to you is how many sets per day do you do ? I can only get 3 a day with 10 counts on each exercise.

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trusam1 | @trusam1 | Feb 10 8:56am

I started out for 2 months following Gaglani's book. During that time, I switched to a minimalist approach as things improved. Standing, 5 x as long as I could hold (i got up to 12 sec), then 20 as fast as I could, usually within 10-12 sec. That got me dry within 3-4 months following surgery. I still do that lying down as part of 30 minute daily stretching.

I was/am very fit to begin with...weight lifting x 45 min 2-3 x / week, and swim, bike, and/or run everyday for 1-2 hours, so maybe pelvic floor was already fairly well toned.

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1 reply
davidbrandi01 | @davidbrandi01 | Feb 10 11:12am
In reply to @trusam1 "I started out for 2 months following Gaglani's book. During that time, I switched to a..." + (show)
@trusam1

I started out for 2 months following Gaglani's book. During that time, I switched to a minimalist approach as things improved. Standing, 5 x as long as I could hold (i got up to 12 sec), then 20 as fast as I could, usually within 10-12 sec. That got me dry within 3-4 months following surgery. I still do that lying down as part of 30 minute daily stretching.

I was/am very fit to begin with...weight lifting x 45 min 2-3 x / week, and swim, bike, and/or run everyday for 1-2 hours, so maybe pelvic floor was already fairly well toned.

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Thanks , a therapist from australia recommends that same approach . I am only 1 month with little improvement, will give it another month.

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cmkeeley | @cmkeeley | Feb 11 9:47am

I tried to do 6 day. The last 2 weeks were a lot to do. At 10 weeks things were good.

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graybeard46 | @graybeard46 | Feb 11 11:11am
In reply to @smoore4 "I find Easy Kegel - https://easykegel.com/ - to be really helpful, mostly for the reminders, but..." + (show)
@smoore4

I find Easy Kegel - https://easykegel.com/ - to be really helpful, mostly for the reminders, but also the squeeze/rest timers and ability to make it easy/med/hard.

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Most of the above comments seem to be from those who had successful prostate surgery, I had no issues until I started radiation now I can’t go more than 90 minutes without urinating and dripping, hope when radiation is over I can be continent once again?

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chippydoo | @chippydoo | Feb 11 11:54am
In reply to @survivor5280 "I spent three months working my pelvic floor and what Jeff says is pretty close to..." + (show)
@survivor5280

I spent three months working my pelvic floor and what Jeff says is pretty close to what my routine has been: 10 sets of quick engage and release, 5 sets of engage and hold for 10 seconds and release for 10 seconds. I do that 3-4 times a day while I'm working or watching TV or whatever.

What I've learned is that releasing properly is more important than simply engaging. You should always fully release for at least as long as you held it, you don't want to overwork the engagement. To ensure a full release just relax and take a big deep belly breath, that should make sure you are fully released before you engage again.

Don't try to do a marathon and go for 20 seconds or anything, 10 is fine. I did this both as kegels and as actual workouts (engaging the pelvic floor while doing weighted exercises like squats) and my pelvic floor therapist said I had one of the healthiest she's seen and, as a result, so far zero ED and not a single drop of incontinence.

You got this!

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I'm doing 10-minute ones during radiation with a full bladder. And the staff has learned to get out of my way when I jump off the island lol. I refuse to get thrown off the table again for bladder time out.

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davidbrandi01 | @davidbrandi01 | Feb 11 1:47pm
In reply to @chippydoo "I'm doing 10-minute ones during radiation with a full bladder. And the staff has learned to..." + (show)
@chippydoo

I'm doing 10-minute ones during radiation with a full bladder. And the staff has learned to get out of my way when I jump off the island lol. I refuse to get thrown off the table again for bladder time out.

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I have learned that being horizontal is best. In my lounge chair and sleeping in bed there is little if any at all drips. At night I can wear a pad and it’s near dry in am. However I do get urge around 3:00 am and run to toilet , breathing puffs and then it’s Niagara Falls over the center of the toilet.

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chippydoo | @chippydoo | Feb 11 2:41pm
In reply to @davidbrandi01 "I have learned that being horizontal is best. In my lounge chair and sleeping in bed..." + (show)
@davidbrandi01

I have learned that being horizontal is best. In my lounge chair and sleeping in bed there is little if any at all drips. At night I can wear a pad and it’s near dry in am. However I do get urge around 3:00 am and run to toilet , breathing puffs and then it’s Niagara Falls over the center of the toilet.

Jump to this post

I'm currently doing salvage radiation and find it easier to control urgency if I slouch in my chair in the waiting room rather than sitting straight up. The one positive is we can evacuate a full bladder in about 3 seconds lol.

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