When it comes to your performance in the bedroom, did you know that your exercise routine can have a huge impact?
The stronger your core, pelvic floor and leg muscles are, the more intense your orgasm will be and the added flexibility will allow you to hold your favorite sex positions for longer.
While regular exercise is a good place to start, which ones should you incorporate into your fitness routine to get the most out of your sex life and maximise pleasure for both you and your partner?
Megan Fleming, PhD, Certified Sex and Relationship Psychologist at Lovehoney, has researched the top exercises that will improve your stamina beneath the sheets and enlisted a personal trainer for further comments on each exercise.
Top Exercises For Women:
Pilates
Lovehoney comments: Pilates like Yoga, is great for strengthening, lengthening and endurance. Also, like Yoga and other Martial Art Practices, Pilates has significant mental health benefits.
Pilates and other exercises that work the pelvic floor muscles, increase blood flow, and vasocongestion, are all important in building sexual arousal. Pilates also increases awareness and proprioception for greater sensation.
Lovehoney Rating: 5*
Fitness instructor comments: increased muscle strength and tone, particularly in your abdominal muscles, lower back, hips and buttocks (the ‘core muscles’ of your body) Pilates uses your whole body.
Not only does this type of body conditioning encourage long and lean muscles for an overall sleek look, it also focuses on the strengthening of your pelvic floor muscles. Stronger pelvic floor muscles contribute to improved sexual sensation and a stronger orgasm.
Plank
Lovehoney comments: Planks are considered essential in core fitness programs, great for building core strength and endurance. I don’t know of a sexual position that doesn’t benefit from core muscle strength.
Lovehoney Rating: 5*
Fitness instructor comments: The plank is a full-body exercise, meaning it targets muscles of the upper body, core, and lower body.
This exercise can be made harder by holding it for longer or adding weight to the back. Holding a plank is one most effective ways to increase your endurance and stamina at the gym and in the bedroom.
Planks give your arms staying power for missionary or other on-top positions. They also strengthen your core, which helps to improve thrust and supports your back to prevent injury.
Squats
Lovehoney comments: A toned butt leads to better sex on many levels, it both looks and feels sexy. Not to mention power in the legs and buttocks are helpful for women on top sexual positions.
Lovehoney Rating: 4*
Fitness instructor comments: These use many of the lower body muscles: glutes, quads, hamstrings, hip flexors and calves.
Squats increase blood flow to the pelvic region, which may energize your libido to make orgasms more intense. They’re an incredible exercise for enhancing sex because doing squats will strengthen your lower body for a more powerful thrust whether you’re top or bottom.
Top Exercises For Men:
Kegels
Lovehoney comments: Kegels are beneficial for men and women. They strengthen the pelvic food muscles and stronger muscles lead to stronger orgasms. Kegels also increase blood flow leading to firmer erections and can help with ejaculatory control.
Lovehoney Rating: 5*
Fitness instructor comments: Pelvic floor muscle exercises, will help you improve your sexual experience. erections will be firmer as the flow of blood into the groin improves.
The exercises will help delay ejaculations as you will better be able to contract the muscles. They are also known to help men in controlling their orgasms and increase testosterone production.
Swimming
Lovehoney comments: Swimming is another great exercise like yoga or cycling. Swimming is great for cardio and endurance training as it is for conditioning almost every muscle group with less stress on joints than many other exercises.
Lovehoney Rating: 5*
Fitness instructor comments: Great all over body workout great for stamina and cardiovascular. You need a good level of fitness for swimming but can change stoke to help build up that stamina.
It’s low impact and can help your body get into great shape. It’s been said to lower anxiety and stress levels. Getting into the water for a refreshing swim gets the blood flowing and releases endorphins.
Research has also suggested that swimming is a fantastic exercise to tone the pelvic floor muscles, which can heighten the sexual experience. As mentioned, swimming increases libido by reducing stress – one of the main causes of low libido.
Yoga
Lovehoney comments: A 2010 study in the Journal of Sexual Medicine found that yoga improves all aspects of the sexual response cycle, desire, arousal (erections) and orgasm (through better ejaculatory control).
Additionally, there are many physical and mental health benefits of yoga, including reducing stress and anxiety, better sleep, and mindfulness.
Lovehoney Rating: 5*
Fitness instructor comments: Build muscle strength and increase flexibility, increase blood flow with deep controlled breathing. Yoga again uses all muscles in the body and is great for posture.
Yoga increases body awareness, which helps reduce anxiety and increase blood flow to the genital area. It also helps rid the body of toxins that affect sexual performance.
Men can boost their sexual experience through yoga by engaging their pelvic floor through Mula Bandha. They say practising yoga can Prolong ejaculation. You can start at beginners level and work you eat up work practice.