Can You Do Too Many Kegels? What Sources Say

Can you do too many Kegels? According to the public sources we checked, yes, you can overdo them. Cleveland Clinic says doing too many can increase muscle tension, and it's better to do fewer squeezes correctly than many incorrectly. This guide sums up what the sources say, and the two habits that matter most: a full relax, and stopping if anything hurts.

What the sources say about overdoing it

Cleveland Clinic says that doing too many Kegel exercises can increase muscle tension. It suggests doing fewer repetitions correctly rather than many incorrectly, and to stop if you feel pain.
MedlinePlus, from the U.S. National Library of Medicine, says that overdoing the exercises can lead to straining when you go to the toilet.
MedlinePlus also says not to do Kegels while passing urine more than twice a month. The North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust leaflet limits its stop-the-flow check to once a fortnight.

None of these sources says "more is better". Each gives a set size and a number of sets a day, which you'll find side by side in How many Kegels a day?.

The relax is part of the exercise

Every Kegel ends with a release. Pelvic Floor First says to relax the muscles after each squeeze, before the next one. The NTH leaflet has a 2-minute rest between its slow and fast squeezes.

In practice:

Let go fully at the end of every squeeze, and notice the release.
Don't shorten the relax to fit more squeezes in.
Keep breathing the whole time, as every source above says.

If you'd like a session that is only about letting go, see Reverse Kegel, which covers pelvic floor relaxation with slow breathing.

If anything hurts

Stop. Pain during or after the exercise isn't something to push through. Cleveland Clinic says to stop if you feel pain and to contact a healthcare provider if pain comes after exercising. Pelvic Floor First lists pain during pelvic floor exercises among the reasons to see a health professional.

If anything hurts, or if you have any symptoms or health questions, speak with a doctor or pelvic health physiotherapist. They can look at how you do the exercise and what's right for you. A website or an app can't.

How Steady is set up

These are facts about the app, not advice:

Built-in sessions are short. The longest, Advanced, is about 4 min 24 s. Beginner is about 1 min 28 s. Steady 28 days run from 60 s to about 4 min 5 s.
Every round ends with a relax. In every built-in plan the relax is at least as long as the squeeze. In Long holds it's 15 s after a 3 s squeeze and a 12 s hold.
Your own numbers are yours. In Your routines (Pro) you choose squeeze 1–10 s, hold 0–15 s, relax 1–20 s and 1–30 rounds. Steady doesn't recommend, check or rate them.
Steady counts days, not effort. Your streak counts days with at least one finished session. Extra sessions on the same day still count as one day.
Steady doesn't measure your muscles. It can't tell whether a squeeze was too strong or too long. It only times the phases and records the sessions you finish.

A simple check

Before each squeeze, ask yourself three things: am I breathing, are my stomach, buttocks and thighs relaxed, and did I let go fully last time? If the answer to any is no, slow down. The steps are in How to do it, and the free Kegel timer lets you set a longer relax if you want one. It stores nothing.

Every source on this page, with the date we checked it, is listed on Sources.

For the whole picture in one place, see Pelvic floor exercises for men.

In the app

Steady times each squeeze, hold and relax with cues you can feel and hear, and records the sessions you finish on your phone. It doesn't set targets or judge a session.