Fitness and Your Sex Life

Fitness and Your Sex Life

Posted on 10 October 2009 by Frederick

GET FIT, AND HAVE BETTER SEX — HOW EXERCISE HELPS IN THE BEDROOM

We talk a lot about fitness on BodyRock, and lifestyle is a huge part of that. The better you live, the better you exercise — it’s all connected. And there’s no reason to exclude what goes on in the bedroom (or elsewhere) from that — so let’s talk about it!

We’ve heard, like you have, that fitness gives you amazing benefits between the sheets — that by exercising regularly, you’ll notice a serious improvement in both the quality of your sex life and your sex drive in particular.

It’s pretty difficult to find someone, married or single, committed or unattached, who doesn’t want this. Increased sex drive and better performance, especially for couples who have been together for a long time (but for anyone, really), is a great thing to have, and if it’s really true that exercise can do all these things — we want to know about it.

So: besides the anecdotal chatter about ‘bedroom gymnastics’ — does fitness really improve your sex life?

YES INDEED, IT MOST CERTAINLY DOES

The research out there confirms it, but not always in the way you’d expect. It’s a little less about the straight empirical benefits of exercise, and more about the great things that happen between your mind & body when you start working out.

Inevitably, the more you exercise, the more your body image improves. This counts for everyone — men and women alike. The better your workouts, the better the results, and the better your self-image. And if you feel really good about your body, it’s inevitable: you’re going to have better, more frequent sex. It just works.

But hang on — is it all about the mental connection? Well, no: not exactly. As you’re about to see, there are plenty of physical explanations as to why fitness equals great sex.

THE GOOD, PHYSICAL STUFF TOO

Endorphins. It’s a known fact that mood-improving endorphins get released when you work out, which pull down your stress levels (excellent for a kick-ass boudoir session) and also release those ever-important hormones into your bloodstream and up to your brain. So that increased desire for mind-blowing sex isn’t just confidence you’re feeling — it’s a natural high, too.

Your stamina gets better. While sex is about lots of things, being able to perform at a consistent level for a good amount of time makes it extremely enjoyable to both partners. When you’ve got the strong, consistent energy that comes from a high overall fitness level, it’s just far easier to have great sex.

Blood flow increases. Regular exercise means your body knows how to distribute blood more evenly and more efficiently — to every part of your body. That means more arousal for both sexes, and — as research shows — more consistent orgasms for women. That’s never, ever a bad thing.

You know your body more. If you spend a good amount of time exercising during the week, you’ll simply feel your body more. If you’re just starting out, ask anyone who works out regularly — being in full possession of our bodies is one of the best benefits of working out. Since sex is better when you can really sense yourself, it naturally follows that exercise is the best way to pull that off.

TAKE IT EASY

Before you rush to the bedroom and start tearing those clothes off, just keep one thing in mind — if you’re really going for it, and exercising to the absolute maximum of your capabilities, you might be too tired to have sex. If this becomes a pattern, especially after you’ve been working out for a while — change your routine.

Being too tired for sex, which is one of life’s great pleasures, is no good, and being consistently tired for it means you’re likely over-exercising. Make sure you draw a distinction between intense exercise, and excessive exercise.

Yep, we provide some pretty intense workouts on this site. Research proves they’re some of the best for improving your bedroom fun, as they work dozens of muscle groups and don’t drain all your energy reserves — but anything taken to a heavy, heavy extreme will have unforeseen consequences. So don’t overdo it, and in your pursuit of a great body, remember to stay sensible and keep your life balanced.

Best,

Frederick

Fat-Burning Moves

1.) Shorten Rest Periods.
Progressively shaving seconds off your rest period can help to raise your metabolism. Just don't go too low, warns Joe Stankowski, C.P.T., a trainer in Grand Rapids, Mich. "You need a minimum of 30 seconds' rest or you risk burning out," he says. The one exception: circuit training, which requires no rest between sets.

2.) Train the Whole Body.
If you've been following a split routine — upper-body exercises one day, lower body the next — condense both into one day. Your growth hormone levels will spike, and that burns fat.

3.) Alternate Sets.
Do a set of a lower-body exercise followed by an upper-body one, such as a squat and then a row. This way, one muscle group has time to recover while you train another one.

4.) Increase Lifting Speed.
You can more calories by doing explosive exercises like plyo pushups (where you push yourself into the air) and box jumps, or by using lighter weights and lifting them more explosively on the upward phase of the movement.

5.) Decrease Reps.
Most guys' workouts are based around the idea of 10 reps per set. But according to Jim Smith, C.S.C.S., a strength coach in Sayre, Pa., you'll get a much bigger spike in metabolism by reducing your reps and tacking on an additional set. Try sets of six to eight reps.

Power Up Your Diet

• Eat like a caveman. If the contents of your plate (while alive) didn't walk, swim, or grow in the dirt 10,000 years ago, don't make them a fixture of your diet. Processed foods have been linked to more health risks than any other fare.

• Eat protein at every meal — this is the simplest way to keep your metabolism going, loose fat, and support your muscle. Never eat a meal that consists entirely of carbohydrates.

• Try to eat every three to four hours, or around five meals a day. Always eat breakfast, and try to eat before you feel hungry.

• Eliminate calorie-containing drinks, especially non-diet soda and juice, from every one of your meals

• Eat fat! It will make you leaner — especially the unsaturated kind found in most cooking oils. Pour it into your protein shakes (you won't taste it) or uses it on salads — dietary fat raises your muscle-building testosterone and helps you burn body fat.

Run The Riight Way

In any sport, optimizing your form will lead to better performance and fewer injuries. That is especially true in running, says Tim Hilden, a trainer and physical therapist at the Boulder Center for Sports Medicine in Boulder, Colo. Protect you muscles and joints and become a more efficient runner with his tips:

1.) Lighten Up
Running "hard," or striking your feet on the ground with maximum force, increases the levels of force sent through the body. This can cause new injuries—or worsen existing conditions—creating an uncomfortable running experience. To run more lightly, concentrate on softening the sound your foot makes when it hits the ground.

2.) Watch the Lean
Leaning too far forward increases the load to the front of your knee and limits proper arm movement, which can slow you down. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and lean forward at the ankles until your weight just shifts to the balls of your feet. This is your ideal running angle.

3.) Use Your Arms to Drive Your Legs
Your upper and lower body should always be in sync. Just watch elite sprinters. Move your arms briskly when you run, and your legs will perform at their best. You'll also burn more calories.

4.) Watch Your Cadence
Keep a brisk rhythm. Your muscles will end up being better engaged, and you'll actually use less effort, allowing you to go farther. Focus on making each step quicker without going faster and shortening the amount of time that your foot is in contact with the ground.

5.) Check Your Gait
If you experience any kind of pain, something is wrong. Even if you don't hurt, there may be flaws in your gait that can be corrected. Work on your form, invest in some new shoes, and if that still doesn't help, go see an expert at a running specialty shop who can evaluate you professionally.

Get Stronger And Longlasting Musxles

Strength is the foundation of nearly all physique and performance goals. When you're strong, you more easily gain muscle size, lose fat, run faster, hit harder, play longer, and move more living room furniture for your wife. We've rounded up 10 no-questions-asked tips to help you make everything in your life feel just a little bit lighter.

1.) Own the "big four."
The squat, deadlift, bench press, and shoulder press are the best strength-building exercises, period. The chinup and row are great moves too, but don't make them the focus of your workout — they can be assistance lifts to complement the bench and shoulder press, keeping your pulling muscles in balance with the pressing ones.

2.) Use barbells first.
Forget all the fad equipment. The barbell is king, the dumbbell is queen, and everything else is a court jester — it may have its place, but it's not essential. Start your workouts with barbell exercises, such as the "big four," as described above. Barbells let you load a lot of weight, and lifting heavy is the first step toward getting stronger. Once your heaviest strength exercises are out of the way, you can move on to dumbbell and body-weight training.

3.) Keep it simple.
Some trainers make their clients lift with a certain rep speed, like three seconds up, one second down. But know this: There's no need to count anything but reps during a set. Simply focus on raising and lowering your weights in a controlled manner, pausing for a one-second count at the top of the lift. Using an arbitrary tempo can lessen tension on your muscles or force you to use varying amounts of weight, slowing your progress. The only way to be sure you're getting stronger is if your loads consistently increase.

4.) Maintain a log.
Write down your exercises, sets, reps, and the fate of each workout. Keep track of your best lifts and the most reps you've done with a certain weight on an exercise. Constantly strive to improve those numbers.

5.) Don't overdo it.
Try to stick to three or four lifts per workout. Keeping your workouts short helps you take advantage of hormonal surges. When you do too many exercises in a session, at least some of them get done half-assed. All you need is one main lift per workout (one of the big four), one or two assistance lifts (for keeping the body in balance and further strengthening the muscles that perform the main lift), and then core or specialty work at the end (ab exercises or some forearm or calf moves, depending on your goals). Doing any more lessens your results.

6.) Think five.
You should rotate many different rep ranges in your workouts, but sets of five seem to offer the best blend of muscle size and strength gains. If you're pushing through one of the big four moves, you'll find that your form often breaks down after five anyway.

7.) Add weights slowly.
The main reason people plateau and stop gaining strength is that they go too heavy for too long. Abandon your ego and do your main lifts using 10% less than the most weight you can lift for the given rep range. Increase the weight each session — but by no more than 10 pounds — and stick with the same lifts. You'll rarely plateau again.

8.) Take to the hills.
Cardio is a must if you want to be lean and healthy, but long-distance running or cycling increases levels of hormones that break down muscle tissue. To get stronger while getting leaner, do cardio in short, intense bursts. Go to a moderately steep hill and sprint to the top, then walk back down. When you're ready, sprint again. In your first workout, do only half as many sprints as you think you could. In your next workout, do two more sprints than you did the first time. Continue adding two sprints to your workouts until you can't improve anymore. Then do sets of sprints.

9.) Balance your training.
Whatever you do for one side of the body, you must do for the other side. Follow that rule in your workouts and you should be able to avoid injury and muscle imbalances. If you're doing squats (mainly a quad exercise), also do Romanian deadlifts (which hit the hamstrings hard). Your chest exercises should be balanced with back-training lifts. You don't necessarily have to do your balance work in the same session, but it should be done in the same week. In general, follow a ratio of two-to-one between your pulling-and-pushing movements. So if you bench-press on Monday (and most of the world seems to), you can do chinups on Tuesday and bent-over lateral raises on Thursday, for example. Every other pressing exercise you do should follow this formula.

10.) Do it right. Form is key.
You may think you know how to perform the big four, but you could probably get more out of them. Here are some quick pointers for each one.

Squat: Begin the squat by pushing your hips back as far as you can. Keep your lower back arched and you should feel a stretch in your hamstrings. When your hips are bent, begin bending your knees and squatting low. This is what you need to squat maximal weight.

Deadlift: Use the same stance you would to perform a jump — your legs should be narrowly placed. When you bend down to grab the bar, keep your hips down and your back straight, with your shoulders directly over your knees.

Bench Press: Start with your head off the bench. Keeping your feet steady, grab the bar and pull your body up off the bench and forward, so that when your butt comes down on the bench your lower back is very arched. Squeeze your shoulder blades together. Your range of motion should be significantly shorter for stronger pressing.

Shoulder press: Flare your lats when the bar is at shoulder level. It will allow you to use more weight.

BOOST YOUR METABOLISUM

Drink More Water
When researchers measured people's metabolic rate before and after downing about 16 ounces of water, they found a rise in calorie-burning capability. The water had a lasting effect as well: Even after 30 minutes, drinkers were using 30% more calories than those who stayed dry.

Eat, Then Sweat
You must eat to get lean. Digesting food and absorbing and storing nutrients requires energy. Severely restricting calories dials back your metabolic rate. Plus, starving yourself eventually drives your body to break down muscle tissue to satisfy energy needs, further lowering calorie-burning. Boost the burn by working out just after eating a meal or substantial snacks.

And Eat Again
Divide daily calories into three meals and two snacks. Research suggests men who eat more frequently throughout the day are leaner than those who consume meals at irregular times.

Pack in the Protein
Protein keeps you fuller longer. Plus, your body uses more calories digesting protein than it does breaking down carbs or fat. High-quality protein from foods such as eggs, lean meat, poultry, seafood, and dairy also ups levels of the amino acid leucine in your body, which is essential for maintaining muscle and burning calories.

Consider Caffeine
A Harvard study of more than 19,000 men found those who got 200 milligrams of caffeine a day (the amount in four cans of cola or eight ounces of coffee) were less likely to gain weight over a 12-year period than those who didn't. Caffeine helps stimulate fat use, especially during exercise.

BURN FAT IN 30 DAYS

It's an oversimplification to say fat can be as easy as "one, two, three" (not to mention it's a terrible cliche). But there may be at least a modicum of truth to it with the 3-2-1 program — a new strategy for getting ripped. By alternating three segments of cardio with two segments of weight training and one segment of core during a single workout, you may be able to rev up your metabolism and burn even more calories than you would by following a regular routine.

3-2-1 Workout

Start with 10 minutes of cardio (on any machine). Warm up for two minutes, then work at a pace that keeps you at 75% of your max heart rate (find it by subtracting your age from 220) for seven minutes. Spend the last minute working at a lighter pace.

Now do a circuit of three exercises for 20 reps each. For instance, do squats followed by bench presses and shoulder presses. Then rest 30 seconds. Repeat twice more.
Do interval cardio. For example, warm up for one minute on a treadmill and then sprint for 30-45 seconds, followed by a 45- to 60-second lighter pace. Repeat four to five times and then cool down with a minute of walking.

Do 20 reps of three different exercises, such as incline dumbbell flyes, followed by split squats, and then overhead triceps extensions. Rest 30 seconds.
Repeat the interval cardio.

Finish with four to five core exercises done for about 30 reps each. Rest 30-60 seconds and repeat for two more circuits. Swiss-ball crunches, full situps, or bicycle situps are all fine.

The Best Fat-Burning Moves

1.) Shorten Rest Periods.
Progressively shaving seconds off your rest period can help to raise your metabolism. Just don't go too low, warns Joe Stankowski, C.P.T., a trainer in Grand Rapids, Mich. "You need a minimum of 30 seconds' rest or you risk burning out," he says. The one exception: circuit training, which requires no rest between sets.

2.) Train the Whole Body.
If you've been following a split routine — upper-body exercises one day, lower body the next — condense both into one day. Your growth hormone levels will spike, and that burns fat.

3.) Alternate Sets.
Do a set of a lower-body exercise followed by an upper-body one, such as a squat and then a row. This way, one muscle group has time to recover while you train another one.

4.) Increase Lifting Speed.
You can more calories by doing explosive exercises like plyo pushups (where you push yourself into the air) and box jumps, or by using lighter weights and lifting them more explosively on the upward phase of the movement.

5.) Decrease Reps.
Most guys' workouts are based around the idea of 10 reps per set. But according to Jim Smith, C.S.C.S., a strength coach in Sayre, Pa., you'll get a much bigger spike in metabolism by reducing your reps and tacking on an additional set. Try sets of six to eight reps.

REAL FAT BURNING MOVES

1.) Shorten Rest Periods.
Progressively shaving seconds off your rest period can help to raise your metabolism. Just don't go too low, warns Joe Stankowski, C.P.T., a trainer in Grand Rapids, Mich. "You need a minimum of 30 seconds' rest or you risk burning out," he says. The one exception: circuit training, which requires no rest between sets.

2.) Train the Whole Body.
If you've been following a split routine — upper-body exercises one day, lower body the next — condense both into one day. Your growth hormone levels will spike, and that burns fat.

3.) Alternate Sets.
Do a set of a lower-body exercise followed by an upper-body one, such as a squat and then a row. This way, one muscle group has time to recover while you train another one.

4.) Increase Lifting Speed.
You can more calories by doing explosive exercises like plyo pushups (where you push yourself into the air) and box jumps, or by using lighter weights and lifting them more explosively on the upward phase of the movement.

5.) Decrease Reps.
Most guys' workouts are based around the idea of 10 reps per set. But according to Jim Smith, C.S.C.S., a strength coach in Sayre, Pa., you'll get a much bigger spike in metabolism by reducing your reps and tacking on an additional set. Try sets of six to eight reps.

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Lose Weight Faster

Combine weights and cardio into one workout


You're probably used to doing cardio and weight workouts separately, and that's fine. But doing both in the same session raises your metabolism and gives you an extra day to recover, since you won't need to go back the next day to do the other workout. Jim Smith, C.S.C.S., a strength coach in Sayre, Pa., offers three ways to set up a highly effective all-inclusive workout.

1.) TRY CARDIO BETWEEN SETS
Go about your weight workout as normal but instead of resting between sets, perform light cardio such as jumping rope, doing jumping jacks, or hitting a heavy bag for between 60 and 90 seconds.

2.) ALTERNATE INTERVALS
Perform a set and then do some highly intense activity for 15 seconds, followed by a 45-second easy bout for recovery. Then go back to the weights for another set. You can pair your lifting with any kind of cardio — a treadmill sprint, intervals on an exercise bike, or with a jump rope, etc.

3.) TRY A CIRCUIT
Start with compound movements, followed by isolation lifts. For instance, do a squat, followed by a lunge, hamstring curl, and leg extension. Do not rest until after the last exercise and then rest two to three minutes. You'll get an awesome pump while burning lots of calories.

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LITTLE CHANGE CAN LOSE WEIGHT:

We all know that losing weight requires some changes in our eating habits. But many of us avoid making those changes for one obvious reason: It seems too darned hard.
Well, here's a simple, novel approach endorsed by top nutritionists: Make just one change. For the next month, focus on a single improvement, whether it's doubling your fruit intake, adding some protein or switching to nonfat milk.
"Small changes can make a big difference," says Melanie Polk, M.S., R.D., director of nutrition education at the American Institute for Cancer Research. For instance, if you drink 3 cups of milk a day for a month, the switch from reduced-fat to nonfat will save you 3,000 calories -- nearly enough to lose 1 pound!
What's more, changing one habit at a time gives you a sense of success: You'll see results and be able to stick to your plan. Soon, the habit will be second nature. Then you'll be inspired to add another change, and another. This works far better than a drastic dietary overhaul, which leads to feelings of failure and deprivation. "People end up regaining all the weight they've lost, often even more," says Jonelle Rowe, M.D., a physician with the Office on Women's Health in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
When you make dietary changes step by step, you lose weight at a sensible pace and develop habits you can keep. "Dieting for weight loss shouldn't be an event," says Seattle nutritionist Susan Kleiner, Ph.D., R.D. "It's not something you gear up for, do for an intense period of time and then you're done. You need to make lifestyle changes that will be yours for the rest of your life."

Here are five simple dietary changes with big payoffs, both for weight control and good health. Start with the one that seems most feasible to you.
1. DRINK MORE WATER
The strategy: "The typical woman should drink 9 cups of fluid daily, more if you exercise," says Kleiner. "But most drink only 4-6 cups of fluid a day." Keep a water bottle on your desk, in your backpack and in your car.
The weight-control benefit: Drinking water makes you feel fuller, so you're likely to eat less, and helps prevent you from eating when you're not hungry. "Many people turn to food when they're actually thirsty," Kleiner says. (Tip: Drink water instead of sugary drinks and juices to hydrate and save calories.)
The health bonus: Staying well hydrated may reduce your risk for diseases, including cancers of the colon, breast and bladder. In one study, women who reported drinking more than five glasses of water a day had a 45 percent lower risk for colon cancer than those who drank two or fewer.

2. EAT MORE OFTEN -- AND ADD SOME PROTEIN
The strategy: Switch from two or three large meals to five or six smaller ones of 300 to 400 calories. Kleiner says her clients love this change: "People say, 'Oh wow, I get to eat this often?' "
The weight-control benefit: By eating more often, you're less likely to get ravenous and scarf down everything in sight. "When you eat a midmorning and midafternoon snack, you're not starving at lunch time or after work, so you won't come home and eat 1,200 calories," Kleiner says. For each meal or snack, eat both protein and carbs, such as cereal with milk, an apple with peanut butter or a turkey sandwich. Protein takes longer to digest than carbs, so you'll stay satisfied longer. A small Yale study showed that when women had a high-protein lunch, they ate 31 percent fewer calories at dinner than when they had a high-carb lunch. (Tip: Try adding 2-3 ounces of fish or chicken breast to your lunch.)
The health bonus: By eating more often you will keep up your energy, concentration and alertness levels -- and you'll ward off the late-afternoon energy drain that's common among women. Plus, you are likely to eat more nutritiously because you won't be bingeing and loading up on empty calories.
3. SWITCH TO WHOLE GRAINS
The strategy: As often as possible, choose whole-grain products over their refined counterparts. For instance, try barley or bulgur instead of white rice. Eat whole-wheat bread instead of white or enriched wheat, oatmeal instead of grits, Grape-Nuts instead of Special K, or worse, Cap'n Crunch. Here's why you need to read nutrition labels:
* Bran for Life bread contains 5 grams of fiber per slice -- 80 calories -- while Pepperidge Farm thin-sliced white bread also has 80 calories but zero grams of fiber

1 ounce of Grape-Nuts contains 2.5 grams of fiber and 104 calories while 1 ounce of Special K has 0.88 grams of fiber and 105 calories (1 ounce of Cap'n Crunch has 0.9 grams of fiber and 113 calories -- and lots of sugar).
The weight-control benefit: "Whole-grain foods are chewier and more satisfying," says Polk. "Their fiber makes them more filling. You'll eat less and not be hungry as soon." ( Tip: Eat 1 whole-grain serving at every meal.)
The health bonus: High-fiber foods like whole grains help protect against heart disease, diabetes and, possibly, cancers of the breast, pancreas and colon. They also contain trace minerals that are stripped from refined food products.
4. CHOOSE LOWER-FAT DAIRY PRODUCTS
The strategy: Gradually work your way from full-fat to reduced-fat to low-fat to fat-free milk, yogurt, ice cream and cheese. If the last time you sampled low-fat cheese it tasted like rubber, give it another try. "Products change every few months and cheeses have improved greatly," says Kim Shovelin, R.D., M.P.H., a nutrition specialist with Pitt County Memorial Hospital in Greenville, N.C.
The weight-control benefit: This is an easy way to save on calories without sacrificing taste. Four ounces of regular cottage cheese has 120 calories, compared to 100 calories for 2 percent, 90 calories for 1 percent and 80 for fat-free. One ounce of Cheddar cheese has 114 calories and 6 grams of saturated fat; 1 ounce reduced-fat Kraft cheese has 90 calories and 4 grams saturated fat. One scoop of Breyers vanilla ice cream has 150 calories and 5 grams saturated fat; Häagen Dazs has 270 calories and 11 grams saturated fat; Breyers Light has 130 calories and 2.5 grams saturated fat. (Tip: Focus on cutting saturated fat.)

The health bonus: You drastically cut back on saturated fat, the kind that increases your risk of heart disease. For instance, those 4 ounces of regular cottage cheese contain 3 grams of saturated fat, compared to 1.4 grams for reduced-fat cottage cheese, less than 1 gram for low-fat and no saturated fat for fat-free. Experts recommend limiting saturated fat to no more than 10 percent of total calories, which translates to 22 grams per day on a 2,000-calorie diet.
5. ADD A FRUIT AND VEGETABLE TO EVERY MEAL
The strategy: This doesn't mean adding a fruit juice or veggie drink -- which often contain no fiber, negligible vitamins and lots of calories -- to lunch and dinner. (To wit: A 6-ounce serving of Tree Top Apple Juice contains 90 calories and only 0.2 grams of fiber -- no better than Hi-C Candy Apple Cooler. By contrast, a medium apple contains 81 calories and 3.7 grams of fiber.) You need to add a whole fruit and a whole vegetable. Or, if adding them at mealtime is inconvenient, you can just aim to double your intake of both.
The weight-control benefit: "To feel satisfied, you need a certain amount of weight in your stomach," Shovelin says. "A whole fruit [or vegetable] will give you that feeling of fullness." Meaning, you will likely eat less during and after your meal. (Tip: Choose fruits and veggies with deeper color.)
The health bonus: Fruits and vegetables are loaded with vitamins and phytochemicals. "There are probably thousands of nutrients that ward off cardiovascular disease and cancer, which we think are lost when we process fruits and vegetables into juice," Shovelin says. So trading juice for whole produce can decrease your risk for these diseases