You often hear most people say they exercise to stay fit and avoid health conditions such as diabetes and heart disease. However, in recent years, various studies have shown that regular exercise could impact your sex life.

Regular exercise in men lowers the risks of erectile issues, according to research. In the study, men in everyday activities showed better sexual function and satisfaction than physically inactive men.

For women, those involved in rigorous exercises showed more sexual arousal, satisfaction, and desire than women who weren’t physically active.

The scientific reason behind how exercises impact your sex life is because they lead to an increased blood flow. Beyond this, regular exercises improve your stamina, flexibility, and strength, which all contribute to intimacy.

Focusing your exercises on strength training comes with added advantages because it increases the level of testosterone in your body, which helps increase sex drive in both genders.

There is also a mental aspect to it, as exercising regularly can help enhance self-esteem because it boosts your confidence.

If your sex life has been a bit dull and you’re looking for natural methods to improve it, then here are five exercises you can try.

Swimming

Swimming is categorized as an intense workout because it uses all your muscles and senses simultaneously.

According to research conducted by Harvard University, swimmers over 60 years demonstrated a sex drive similar to 40-year-olds. This improved sex drive results because swimming immensely increases your sexual life because of how intense it can be. These are ways swimming boosts your sex life:

• Endurance – Swimming drastically improves stamina. The different strokes of swimming require you to use your hands, hips, and legs constantly. These movements help improve your stamina because it is competitive and requires a lot of energy. Swimming also requires you to control your breath since you can’t breathe underwater. This breathing ability helps with expanding your lung capacity and, in turn, improves stamina levels. Endurance gives you the confidence needed to last long in bed.
• Improves blood flow – The stretching of muscles in swimming facilitates the flow of blood through the vessels. As a result, swimming is an excellent cardiovascular exercise that improves the health of the heart.

Sex organs require a lot of blood to function correctly. Improved blood flow keeps you healthy, and your body produces more libido as a result.

• Strength and flexibility – These are two factors needed to sustain sex. Sex is an exercise, and your body needs to be physically fit to indulge effectively. Swimming presents the best platform to develop both strength and flexibility. You build strength because you have to push your weight through the water, which requires muscle power. Also, the constant stretching of muscles and bones helps make you flexible.
• Reduces stress – High levels of stress can dampen your sex life. The discomfort that comes with stress blocks the body from releasing any libido, which enhances sex. Swimming is a fun exercise that helps release hormones that make you feel good in your blood. Once you’re less stressed, you’re able to relax more and enjoy your sex life

Abdominal exercises

A strong core plays a massive role in your sex life.

Your core is central to all your body actions, and having it in good shape significantly improves your experience during sex. As a result, it is crucial to ensure that you keep your abdominal muscles firm. Firm abdominal muscles are better because having abdominal fat can prevent smooth blood flow to your sex organs.

That’s the reason why research shows that obese people are at high risk of erectile dysfunction. So, it would help if you worked out your abdomen regularly because a flexible and strong stomach can work wonders.

The most effective exercise to develop the core is planks. It strengthens the deepest part of abdominal muscles quickly because it requires you to carry your whole body. A full-body plank improves your core and increases your flexibility and balance to support your total body weight. Having a good balance is an excellent skill to have, which could elevate your sex life.

Here are tips on how to plank correctly:

Lie flat on your stomach

• Rest on both elbows as you slowly lift your body
• Lift your body till your toes are stretched out
• Ensure your body is in a straight line with your elbows locked
• Look forward and try to hold your breath as you count down
• You can start with ’10 seconds and begin increasing the time as you get comfortable
• Do 5-10 reps of planks each day

Aside from planks, sit-ups can be a good substitute exercise to help strengthen the abdominal muscles.

Kegels

If you are overwhelmed with which exercises to focus on, Kegel exercises are a good place to start. Kegel was initially created to help people regain voluntary control over urination. However, it has become one of the most popular sex-enhancing exercises as it strengthens your pelvic muscles.

Traditionally, women rely on Kegels more as it helps tighten their vagina and improve their orgasm experience. However, men also use Kegels exercises to help reduce their chances of premature ejaculation and improve erections.

Despite the vast popularity of Kegel exercises, research shows about 50% of people don’t do them right. Here’s a short guide on how to perform Kegel exercises:

• Make sure to find the pelvic muscle – This is the critical part. Finding the pelvic muscle takes you halfway.
• Simply put, the pelvic muscle is what enables you to stop urinating whenever you want voluntarily.
• Men will find a contraction at the base of the penis, somewhere close to the torso. For women, they’ll feel it with a lifting of their vagina.
• To get an idea of the location of the muscle, try to simulate stopping urine, and you’ll feel a lifting. The area which lifts is the pelvic muscle.
• Contract the pelvic muscle – Now that you’ve found the pelvic muscle, the real work begins.
• Lift the pelvic muscle as you contract and count for up to five seconds, then you release for five seconds.
• As you contract for long, you will start to feel the tension in your hips, which hints you are doing it right.
• Repeat the contraction and releasing exercise 10-15 times continuously. You can increase the number of reps as you can contract for longer.
• Make Kegels a habit – To see the benefits of Kegel exercises, you must make it a habit you practice long term. You can do one set of 10-15 Kegels at least three times a day to achieve the best results. The beauty of Kegel exercises is that they can be done anywhere without anyone noticing. You can do it in your car when in traffic, in your bed, or you can get it done even while in your chair at the office. It’s a fast and convenient exercise that will boost your sex life

Yoga

Yoga exercises give a lot of staying power to your muscles as you can stretch them properly.

As a result, your body becomes more flexible, allowing you to be fitter for sex. Yoga improves your mental and physical state making your sex life more appealing.

With Yoga, most of the focus is on the mental aspect as you learn to relax more. A good sex life depends heavily on the state of mind. The happier and bubbly you are, the more enjoyable your sex life will be.

Yoga exercises help you get there. Breathing and meditation help release stress and feel good about yourself.

• Yoga contributes to your cognitive function as it sharpens your mind. As your brain works better, you can focus more during sexual activity, which enhances the experience.
• Another benefit from yoga exercises is that you develop rhythm, which is crucial in your sex life. Yoga exercises demand that you count and synchronize your body movement with your breathing.

Jogging

Research shows that couples who sweat together stay together. So, if you want to optimize your sex life, your practices shouldn’t be exclusive to you. Instead, it’s wise to involve your partner because a good sex life requires both parties to be at the top of their game.

Various studies prove that a physical workout with your partner sparks some form of attraction. Seeing each other burn calories and sweat takes your romance to another level. The attraction even increases post-workout, consequently improving your sex life due to the arousal spark.

• Even during the exercises, you must coordinate each move with your partner to even improve the attraction. Exercises such as jogging are easy for couples to engage in together since there aren’t any clear obstacles.
• To tighten the emotional connection more, the two of you can set the pace for each other as you jog. Running on the same page helps synchronize your actions, emotions, and feelings, according to research.
• If jogging seems like a stretch, both of you could start with walking at an achievable level. The key is to make sure you’re united in the workout.

It’s the unity that will eventually transform your sex life because you, alongside your partner, will be fit and emotionally connected.

References

White, J.R., Case, D.A., McWhirter, D., et al. Enhanced sexual behavior in exercising men. Arch Sex Behav 19, 193–209 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01541546

“Exercises for Better Sex.” WebMD, www.webmd.com/sex-relationships/ss/slideshow-better-sex-exercises. Accessed 24 Aug. 2021.

“How Exercise Can Improve Your Sex Drive.” Healthgrades, 25 Aug. 2016, www.healthgrades.com/right-care/sexual-health/how-exercise-can-improve-your-sex-drive.

‌”Does Being Fit Affect Your Sex Life?” Healthline, 30 July 2019, www.healthline.com/health/healthy-sex/fit-sex#calories-burned-during-sex. Accessed 24 Aug. 2021.

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