Exercise to Help Erectile Dysfunction?
You read that right. Exercise can help erectile dysfunction – and in this article, we’re going to show you how.
From aerobic exercises – including running, cycling, and swimming – to training that targets the muscles surrounding your penis, there are a number of workouts you can do to help reduce your risk of ED.
Remember that medicines such as Sildenafil, branded Viagra, and Tadalafil (Cialis) are hugely effective treatments, but they’re not a long-term cure. If you’re looking for a permanent erectile dysfunction cure, exercise may well be it.
Aerobic Exercise, Heart Health, and ED
It’s true: you can exercise your way out of erectile dysfunction. And why not? Your erections – and everything else going on with your penile and sexual health – are part of your body. If your body is suffering, your erections won’t be at their best. But, on the other hand, if you achieve good health overall, your erections will improve.
Why? Because erections are powered by your blood flow. And if your blood can’t flow as well as it should to where it is needed, you won’t enjoy the firm erections that every man deserves. This might happen due to high cholesterol or low or high blood pressure, or because of a range of other cardiovascular diseases or conditions.
What’s important to know, though, is that ED is seen as a “strong predictor” of heart disease – meaning that if you have ED, it’s quite likely that you will have (or develop) cardiovascular problems. According to one calculation, 75% of men with cardiovascular disease have ED and as many as 40% of obese men suffer from the condition too.
What Exercise for Erectile Health?
Here’s where aerobic exercise comes in. Activities such as walking briskly, jogging, or swimming help to strengthen your cardiovascular health. They have been found to reduce high blood pressure, lower cholesterol, and improve your insulin resistance. As a result, your blood flow should improve too – and that means improved erections.
Overall, studies show that exercise has a very positive impact on your sexual health. Where one famous study conducted at Harvard found that as little as half an hour walking a day can reduce the risk of ED by 41%, other studies have shown even more impressive results. A study into men who had recently had heart attacks, for example, found that daily exercise reduced ED risk by over 70%.
According to one recent review of studies, the optimal amount of exercise to tackle ED is 40 minutes of moderate to intense activity 4 times a week. After 6 months on this exercise regime, it was found that even those men who had not been able to have sex or masturbate for a long time could now achieve an erection.
While, crucially, these results are not guaranteed, the study is incredibly promising. Watch it, though: the researchers do insist upon moderate to intense physical activity. That means you sweat, become a bit red, and your heart rate and breathing increases.
Specific Erectile Dysfunction Cure Exercises
Aerobic exercise is one of the most important lifestyle changes you can make to boost your sexual function. Yet, it’s not the only type of exercise around that can help to cure ED.
Perhaps the most famous exercises specifically for sexual health are Kegel exercises – a specific workout that targets your pelvic floor muscles. You may have heard about these for other conditions, including premature ejaculation and urinary incontinence, and, in women, for redeveloping muscle tone after childbirth.
However, they can play a role in improving erectile function too. One study, for example, found that pelvic floor muscle exercises, continued over 6 months, helped 40% of men regain normal erectile function. A further 35.5% of men improved their erection problems.
So, What are Kegels?
Put simply, Kegel exercises are exercises that work the muscles in your pelvic floor. These muscles support the organs in your pelvis, like your bladder, bowel, penis (in blokes), and your rectum. But they can become weakened – by prostate cancer surgery, by diabetes, and by time. And weakened pelvic floor muscles can mean ED, premature ejaculation, and difficulty urinating.
When it comes to ED, what’s important is the role that Kegels play for your bulbocavernosus muscles – or the muscles that encircle the base of your penis. These muscles, in particular, are responsible for preventing blood escaping from your penis when you’re erect and for pumping during ejaculation. Kegels can help fight ED by strengthening these muscles.
How Do You Do Kegels?
The great thing about Kegels is that they are simple, effective, and discreet. That means that once you have nailed the technique, you can do these erectile dysfunction cure exercises wherever you are, with no one noticing.
So, how do you do them?
- First, isolate the muscles. The muscles that you use when you stop yourself urinating midstream are the ones you’re targeting.
- Once you know the muscles you’re after, start exercising. Simply, try squeezing the muscles for 3 seconds and relaxing for 3 seconds. Try 5 reps to start with. It’s easier to do these lying down at first.
- Refine the technique. Don’t hold your breath while doing it, and don’t squeeze your abs or thighs. You want to isolate that muscle.
- Keep practising. Aim for 3 sets of 10 reps a day. Once you have the technique down, you can do them anywhere.
Key Takeaways
Exercise is one of the most effective treatments for ED that exists. While it might be too much to call it an infallible erectile dysfunction cure, exercise improves your chances of satisfying sex. That means by tackling ED, for sure. But with exercises such as Kegels, you will be reducing the risk of premature ejaculation, incontinence, and other sexual dysfunctions too.
However, these things take time. If you want to see results right now, treatments such as unbranded Sildenafil, branded Viagra, and Cialis might be your best options. These can give a boost to your sex life while you work on your physical health.
¹The conversation – Erectile dysfunction: exercise could be the solution: https://theconversation.com/erectile-dysfunction-exercise-could-be-the-solution-108441
²Harvard Health Publishing – 5 natural ways to overcome erectile dysfunction: https://www.health.harvard.edu/mens-health/5-natural-ways-to-overcome-erectile-dysfunction#
³Isis Begot, Thatiana C A Peixoto, Laion R A Gonzaga, Douglas W Bolzan, Valeria Papa, Antonio C C Carvalho, Ross Arena, Walter J Gomes, Solange Guizilini (2015). A home-based walking program improves erectile dysfunction in men with an acute myocardial infarction: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25727080/
⁴Helle Gerbild, PT, Camilla Marie Larsen, PhD, Christian Graugaard, MD, PhD, and Kristina Areskoug Josefsson, PhD, RPT (2018). Physical Activity to Improve Erectile Function: A Systematic Review of Intervention Studies: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5960035/
⁵Grace Dorey, Mark J. Speakman, Roger C.L. Feneley, Annette Swinkels, Christopher D.R. Dunn (2005). Pelvic floor exercises for erectile dysfunction: https://bjui-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1464-410X.2005.05690.x
⁶manual.com – Kegel Exercises For Men: Do They Work?: https://www.manual.co/health-centre/penis-health/kegel-exercises
While we've ensured that everything you read on the Health Centre is medically reviewed and approved, information presented here is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. It should never be relied upon for specific medical advice. If you have any questions or concerns, please talk to your doctor.
