Pelvic Floor: exercise plan

Leaking when you cough, sneeze, laugh or jump is common, not compulsory. Pelvic floor training is the first treatment to try, and it works well for many people who stick with it.

How to use this

Who it's for: women and men who leak urine when they cough, sneeze, lift or exercise (stress incontinence), including men after prostate surgery.
Not for: pelvic pain, pain with sex, or pain passing urine or opening your bowels. Some people’s pelvic floor muscles are too tight, and extra squeezing can make things worse. Get assessed first.
Pain rules: these exercises shouldn’t hurt. If they do, stop and see your GP or a pelvic health physio.
How often: 3 sets a day, every day.
How long: at least 3 months. If it’s helping, keep going for good.
Based on: the Cochrane review of pelvic floor training for women (2018), NICE incontinence guidance, the RACGP’s HANDI guide, and the National Continence Helpline guides for women and men.

Your exercises

Find the right musclesSit or lie with your thighs, tummy and buttocks relaxed. Squeeze the ring of muscle around your back passage as if holding in wind, and lift it up and in. Men: in a mirror, the base of the penis should draw in and the scrotum lift. You can check by slowing your urine stream, but no more than once a week.Practise until you feel a clear squeeze and lift
Strong squeeze and holdSqueeze and lift, hold for 8 seconds, then fully let go and rest 8 seconds. Can’t hold for 8? Hold as long as you can and build up. Breathe normally; don’t clench your buttocks or thighs.8–12 squeezes = 1 set; 3 sets a day
Change positionStart lying down, where it’s easiest. As you get stronger, do sets sitting and then standing, where your pelvic floor has to work against gravity.Spread your 3 daily sets across lying, sitting and standing
The knackSqueeze and hold your pelvic floor just before and during anything that makes you leak: coughing, sneezing, lifting, swinging a golf club.Every time, until it’s automatic
Make it harderWhen your current level feels easy, hold a little longer, add more squeezes, or shorten the rests between them.Once your current level is easy

Tips: fewer strong squeezes beat lots of half-hearted ones. Link your sets to daily habits (brushing teeth, waiting for the kettle, red lights). Most people notice a change within 3 months.

Stop and see your GP or physio if

You’re not sure you’re doing the squeezes right, or can’t feel the muscles working
No change after 3 months of regular training
Pain in the pelvis, with sex, or when passing urine or opening your bowels
Sudden urges and dashing to the toilet, burning, or blood in your urine
A bulge or heavy, dragging feeling in the vagina
New leaking with back pain, numbness around your bottom or leg weakness (same day, go to emergency)

Want a supervised program?

A pelvic health physio (women’s or men’s health physio) can check you’re using the right muscles, often with an internal or ultrasound check, and build your program. Supervised training works better than going it alone, and doing it wrong may do nothing. Men having prostate surgery: ask your surgeon or GP about seeing a men’s health physio around the time of surgery. The research in men is less clear than in women, but training is low-risk and widely recommended. If you have a chronic condition, ask your GP about a GP Chronic Condition Management Plan (GPCCMP): it gives a Medicare rebate for up to 5 allied health visits a year (including a physio). The free National Continence Helpline is 1800 33 00 66.

Evidence and more information

Reviewed 29 October 2026. General education, not personal medical advice. Everyone is different, so check with your GP or physio if you’re unsure an exercise suits you.

maladywise.com/exercises/pelvic-floor/