Sex Is Good Exercise!

Sex is good for your health. Most people enjoy sex for its own sake, but a recent study suggests that men who have sex at least three times a week cut their risk of a heart attack in half.

Researchers started out studying the benefits of vigorous exercise, looking at an activity lasting 20 minutes or longer and making the exerciser sweaty or out of breath. Most of the men they questioned thought that sex fit this description just as well as soccer.

This surprised the scientists, but they decided to study the issue. About 2,400 men in the town of Caerphilly in Wales were questioned about their habits, including how often they had sex?once, twice or three times a week or more. Then they were followed up for ten years. Those who reported the most frequent sexual activity were only half as likely to suffer a stroke or heart attack during that time.

The doctors conducting the study concluded that intercourse is good exercise. Other research has shown that even walking briskly for 20 minutes at least three times a week can help ward off such cardiovascular crises, so that explanation may be adequate. But there may even be something else at work.

A great deal of research points to the benefits of social interaction and social support in helping heart health. While many different types of relationships may be supportive, the relationship with a partner willing to engage in sex three times a week or more often is likely to be very close indeed.

Promiscuity isn’t likely to have such health benefits. Japanese scientists recently announced that people engaging in adulterous relations were more susceptible to fatal strokes.

Regular Exercise Gives Energy For Sex And Everything Else

The surest way to whet sexual appetite and increase sexual activity is through physical exercise. Potent medicine, aerobic exercise revs up hormones, flushes stress, whittles away fat and rejuvenates the body, filling us with renewed vigor, greater confidence and the glow of good health. Regular exercise also increases blood flow to the genitals, priming men and women for sex.

“Beginning a fitness routine has made a difference in our sex life,” remarks 42-year-old Mary Jane Platt, a mother of three. “Since we began strength training together, we have so much more energy for each other. It’s wonderful.”

Mary Jane’s experience isn’t unusual. A University of California study of middle-aged, sedentary men found that after just one hour of exercise three times a week, the men demonstrated improved sexual function, more frequent sex and orgasms and greater satisfaction.

Similarly, researchers at Bentley College in Massachusetts found that women in their 40s engaged in sex more often (about seven times per month), and enjoyed it more than a sedentary group of peers. Since sex can be an act of endurance, improving cardiovascular fitness with aerobic activity such as walking, running, cycling or swimming for at least 30 minutes, three times per week, will help both partners perform longer and more often.

Push-ups and sit-ups or crunches are also beneficial exercises to add to an aerobic routine. They strengthen the shoulders, chest and abdominals, all of which are utilized during sexual intercourse. Keeping these muscles strong helps increase strength and stamina, adding to prolonged, more pleasurable sex.

“Warm Ups” for Sex — Practice the Squeeze
Unlike the muscles in our arms or legs, sex muscles are rarely active during the course of the day. However, by strengthening these “secret” muscles, couples can enjoy more intense sex. Kegel exercises firm the muscles of the vagina, helping women gain muscle control (to grip the penis) and reach orgasm more easily.