The science
Every number on this site comes from one of the papers below. Where a figure is quoted, it is quoted as the paper reports it; where the site simplifies, the simplification is noted. Sahara's twelve-week plan follows the home-exercise pattern used in these trials; where a study used clinic equipment Sahara does not have, the entry says so. Where the evidence is weak or mixed, the entry says that too.
Why it isn't your fault
A population study in the Netherlands examined the pelvic floor of 199 men by hand. Only 42 (21%) had muscles working completely normally. Of the 66 men with no symptoms at all, 53 still had something off, most often a muscle that would not fully relax or could not squeeze hard. The authors note there is no standard test for the male pelvic floor; a routine check-up doesn't include one.
Notenboom-Nas FJM, Knol-de Vries GE, Beijer L et al. Exploring pelvic floor muscle function in men with and without pelvic floor symptoms: a population-based study. Neurourology and Urodynamics 2022;41(8):1739–1748.
MRI scans of 163 men aged 17 to 92: the main pelvic-floor muscle, the levator ani, was thinner the older the man. A separate study of 74 healthy men found squeeze strength falling with age; a Korean study of 86 men did not. This is the "tends to get weaker with age" on the site. No study has shown that this thinning causes erection or timing problems on its own.
Komemushi Y, Komemushi A, Morimoto K et al. Quantitative evaluation of age-related changes to pelvic floor muscles in magnetic resonance images from 369 patients. Geriatrics & Gerontology International 2019;19(8):834–837. · Gundling F, Seidl H, Scalercio N et al. Influence of gender and age on anorectal function. Digestion 2010;81(4):207–213.
Being told to "do kegels" is not the same as being shown. In 35 young men watched on ultrasound, cues like "shorten the penis" or "lift the scrotum" got over 91% to contract the right muscle; "draw in" got 25%, and a plain "squeeze your pelvic floor" did not work. A second study, with fine-wire recordings in 15 men, found the words used decide which muscles fire. This is why Sahara's first session teaches the cue before any training starts.
Ben Ami N, Feldman R, Dar G. Verbal instruction for pelvic floor muscle contraction among healthy young males. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 2022;19(19):12031. · Stafford RE, Ashton-Miller JA, Constantinou C et al. Pattern of activation of pelvic floor muscles in men differs with verbal instructions. Neurourology and Urodynamics 2016;35(4):457–463.
Firmness
How the muscle helps. Blood fills the penis when its blood vessels relax. The ischiocavernosus and bulbospongiosus, the pelvic-floor muscles at its base, then squeeze: in nine men, voluntary contractions raised the pressure inside the penis by 100 to 525 mmHg, well above blood pressure, and the bulbospongiosus presses on the vein that drains it. That squeeze is what turns full into hard. The muscles fire in bursts, with stimulation or on purpose; they are not holding the whole time.
Clement P, Giuliano F. Anatomy and physiology of genital organs: men. Handbook of Clinical Neurology 2015;130:19–37. · Lavoisier P, Courtois F, Barres D, Blanchard M. Correlation between intracavernous pressure and contraction of the ischiocavernosus muscle in man. Journal of Urology 1986;136(4):936–939. · Vein compression: Dorey G et al. British Journal of General Practice 2004;54:819–825 (introduction).
A randomised controlled trial in 55 men with erection problems, aged 22 to 78. Men taught pelvic-floor exercises by a physiotherapist, with biofeedback, for three months scored 7 points higher on the standard erection questionnaire (17.2 against 8.4) than men given lifestyle advice only. The advice-only group then trained too. At six months, counting every man including the 22 who left early, 22 were back to normal and 19 had improved: 41 of 55. This is the "3 in 4" on the site. The six-month figure has no untrained comparison group, and the men's desire for sex did not change; their satisfaction with sex and orgasm did improve.
Dorey G, Speakman M, Feneley R, Swinkels A, Dunn C, Ewings P. British Journal of General Practice 2004;54(508):819–825. Trial design: BJU International 2005;96(4):595–597.
150 men whose erections faded because blood drained out too fast were randomised to vein surgery or to five weekly sessions of pelvic-floor training. Surgery did no better, and 42% of the men who trained were satisfied enough to turn the operation down. A later Belgian series of 51 men found the same pattern: 24 back to normal and 12 improved, with the best results in men whose problem was blood leaving too fast. Both used clinic sessions; the second also used electrical stimulation, and it had no comparison group.
Claes H, Baert L. British Journal of Urology 1993;71(1):52–57. · Van Kampen M, De Weerdt W, Claes H et al. Physical Therapy 2003;83(6):536–543.
A 2019 systematic review of ten trials of pelvic-floor training for erection problems and for finishing too soon: all the erection trials showed improvement. The trials were small and of low to moderate quality, and no best programme was identified. For balance: a 2024 meta-analysis of exercise trials found aerobic exercise helped erections clearly and found no significant effect in its pelvic-floor subgroup.
Myers C, Smith M. Pelvic floor muscle training improves erectile dysfunction and premature ejaculation: a systematic review. Physiotherapy 2019;105(2):235–243. · Chen Z, Wang J, Jia J et al. Andrology 2024;12(8):1632–1641.
See a doctor as well. Erection problems are strongly linked to heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes. In the largest early survey, of men aged 40 to 70 near Boston, about half reported some degree of erection trouble, and age, heart disease and diabetes were the strongest links. Training the muscle helps; it does not rule that out. Feldman et al., Journal of Urology 1994.
Lasting longer
How the muscle helps. Finishing is set off by a reflex in the spinal cord, and the bulbospongiosus carries it out with rhythmic contractions. The studies below teach men to feel these muscles and to relax them on purpose as they get close; the researchers put the gain down to that control, not to raw strength. A 2025 study found men who finish too soon had pelvic floors as strong as other men's.
Clement P, Giuliano F. Handbook of Clinical Neurology 2015;130:19–37. · Lyu Y, Gong J, He H et al. Sexual Medicine 2025;13(5):qfaf081.
A clinical study of 40 men aged 19 to 46 who had always finished within a minute and had tried creams and tablets without success. After a 12-week pelvic-floor programme, 33 of 40 gained control, and average time went from 31.7 seconds to 146 seconds, about two and a half minutes. This is the "8 in 10" on the site. The programme was three one-hour clinic sessions a week, with biofeedback and electrical stimulation; there was no comparison group, and only 13 men were followed to six months (they had kept most of the gain).
Pastore AL, Palleschi G, Fuschi A et al. Therapeutic Advances in Urology 2014;6(3):83–88.
The same clinic randomised 40 such men to the pelvic-floor programme or to dapoxetine, a tablet taken before sex. 11 of 19 who trained gained control. The tablet gave bigger gains in time. Three years after the programme, a later review of 122 men who completed it found 56% of the 95 still followed up had kept control. The first study of the method, in 1996, reported 11 of 18 men gaining control.
Pastore AL et al. International Journal of Andrology 2012;35(4):528–533. · Pastore AL et al. Asian Journal of Andrology 2018;20(6):572–575. · La Pera G, Nicastro A. Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy 1996;22(1):22–26.
About 1 in 5 men say they finish sooner than they want (22.7% of 12,133 men in the US, Germany and Italy), and only 9% of them had ever asked a doctor. Finishing within a minute from the very first time, the pattern in the studies above, is much rarer: 2.3% in a survey of 2,593 Turkish couples. A 2026 meta-analysis of five randomised trials found pelvic-floor training alone added less time than dapoxetine or combined treatment.
Porst H et al. European Urology 2007;51(3):816–823. · Serefoglu EC et al. Journal of Sexual Medicine 2011;8(2):540–548. · de Oliveira FA et al. Journal of Sexual Medicine 2026;23(6):qdag131.
After-dribble: how common it is
A questionnaire survey of 3,034 men aged 20–59 in Hokkaido and Tokyo, answered by 2,839. Post-micturition dribble was reported by 17.1% overall: 11.5% of men in their twenties, 13.2% in their thirties, 19.4% in their forties and 26.9% in their fifties. This is the "17% of men" and the "one in four by their fifties" on the site.
Hinyokika Kiyo (Acta Urologica Japonica) 1997;43(6):407–410. In Japanese, with an English abstract.
A community survey of men aged 40–79 in Shimamaki-mura, Hokkaido, run in 2007–08 with a validated questionnaire. Post-micturition dribble was reported by 13.6% of men in their forties, 39.0% in their fifties, 44.2% in their sixties and 41.2% in their seventies. This is the "over 40% of men in their sixties and seventies" on the site. Its fifties figure is higher than the 1997 survey's, a different town and a different decade.
Kobayashi K, Fukuta F, Masumori N. Prevalence of post-micturition dribble in Japanese men and its relationship with benign prostatic hyperplasia/lower urinary tract symptoms. Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms 2019;11(2):O38–O41.
A 2019 review of what is known about post-micturition dribble in men: the mechanism (urine left in the bulbar urethra after voiding, normally cleared by the bulbocavernosus muscle), prevalence across population studies (5.5–29%), and the line the site quotes: the condition "seems to be outside of physicians' and researchers' interests".
Yang DY, Lee WK. A current perspective on post-micturition dribble in males. Investigative and Clinical Urology 2019;60(3):142–147.
After-dribble: training the muscle
A randomised controlled trial in men with post-micturition dribble. After three months of supervised pelvic-floor training and three further months of home exercise, 27 of 36 men (75%) were asymptomatic, three more had improved, five dropped out and one was unchanged. This is the "75% symptom-free after six months" on the site.
Dorey G, Speakman M, Feneley R, Swinkels A, Dunn C, Ewings P. Urologic Nursing 2004;24(6):490–497.
The design of the same trial: 55 men randomised to pelvic-floor exercises with biofeedback and lifestyle advice, or to lifestyle advice alone, for three months, after which the advice-only group crossed over to training. The training group was ahead at three months; that is the "advice-only group was clearly behind" on the site.
Dorey G, Speakman MJ, Feneley RCL, Swinkels A, Dunn CDR. BJU International 2005;96(4):595–597.
An earlier randomised trial: 49 men with post-micturition dribble assigned to pelvic-floor exercises, urethral milking, or counselling for twelve weeks. Pelvic-floor exercises reduced the amount of dribble the most.
Paterson J, Pinnock CB, Marshall VR. Pelvic floor exercises as a treatment for post-micturition dribble. British Journal of Urology 1997;79(6):892–897.
A literature review of the prevalence, causes and treatment of post-micturition dribble in men, which reports the higher prevalence figures found in older men.
Dorey G. Prevalence, aetiology and treatment of post-micturition dribble in men: literature review. Physiotherapy 2005;91(2).
After-dribble: short-term measures
A systematic review and meta-analysis of eleven studies comparing urination sitting and standing. In men with lower urinary tract symptoms, sitting left about 25 ml less urine behind (post-void residual −24.96 ml, 95% CI −48.70 to −1.23), the only difference that reached significance; flow rate and voiding time trended the same way. In healthy men, no difference on any measure. This is the "sit down" advice in the articles; the site never claims a stronger stream from it.
de Jong Y, Pinckaers JHFM, ten Brinck RM, Lycklama à Nijeholt AAB, Dekkers OM. Urinating standing versus sitting: position is of influence in men with prostate enlargement. A systematic review and meta-analysis. PLoS One 2014;9(7):e101320.
Bladder control
143 men aged 42 to 88 with an overactive bladder were randomised to eight weeks of bladder training with pelvic-floor exercises or to a bladder drug. Trips to the toilet fell from 11.3 to 9.1 a day with training and from 11.5 to 9.5 with the drug, an equal result, and night-time trips fell more with training.
Burgio KL, Goode PS, Johnson TM et al. Behavioral versus drug treatment for overactive bladder in men: the MOTIVE trial. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society 2011;59(12):2209–2216.
After prostate surgery
208 men still leaking one to seventeen years after prostate removal were randomised to eight weeks of pelvic-floor and bladder training or to wait. Leaks fell from 28 to 13 a week (55%) with training, against 24% in the men who waited, and the gain held at a year.
Goode PS, Burgio KL, Johnson TM et al. Journal of the American Medical Association 2011;305(2):151–159.
In the first months after surgery the picture is less clear. A 2025 meta-analysis of 13 trials found that starting training with biofeedback before the operation meant fewer men leaking at three and six months. The 2023 Cochrane review of 25 trials calls the overall value of training after surgery uncertain: most men improve over the first year whatever they do, and the trials are small.
Brea-Gómez B et al. European Urology Focus 2025;11(5):767–781. · Johnson EE, Mamoulakis C, Stoniute A, Omar MI, Sinha S. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2023;4:CD014799.
Why the app runs the plan
Training works when it gets done. In 31 trials of 1,817 women with stress leaks, 56% of those who trained were cured, against 6% who did not. The hard part is keeping it up: in the erection trial above, 22 of 55 men left before the end, and the authors pointed to the commitment of daily exercise. Across 12 randomised trials of 1,647 women, women using a training app were 42% more likely to keep training than women given usual care, and in one trial of 123 women an app alone cut leak scores clearly against a waiting list.
Dumoulin C, Cacciari LP, Hay-Smith EJC. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2018;10:CD005654. · Zhao W, Cui X, Bai L. Frontiers in Public Health 2026;14:1859960. · Asklund I, Nyström E, Sjöström M et al. Neurourology and Urodynamics 2017;36(5):1369–1376.
PubMed (Cochrane)Full text (app meta-analysis)PubMed (app trial)
In men: a 2026 randomised trial of 62 men having prostate surgery compared a structured app that stepped the training up in modules with physiotherapist-guided training. At three months, 74% of the app group were dry against 21%, and more of them kept training. The app's developer was an author; the analysis was done by an independent statistician. A large UK trial found four one-to-one therapy sessions after prostate surgery did no better than usual care at a year, so the evidence for a structured plan is about getting the training done, not about who supervises it.
Barakat B, Addali M, Hijazi S et al. Cancers 2026;18(9):1333. · Glazener C et al. The Lancet 2011;378(9788):328–337.
What Sahara adds
The Full Strength Protocol: twelve weeks at 5 minutes a day, counted for you, holds that lengthen on schedule, a missed session moved to the next day, and a daily 1–10 rating so the change is measured instead of guessed at. Sahara is an education and training tool, not medical advice. Pain, blood, fever or a sudden change need a clinician first.