- Exercising can help you build better body awareness and stamina for hotter sex, trainers say.
- Core exercises like glute bridges can help boost your confidence and pleasure in the bedroom.
- A combination of mental and physical exercises can also help you feel closer to a partner.
Exercising doesn’t just make you healthier – exercising your body and mind can also boost your love life.
Exercises like core work, yoga, and cardio help improve your body awareness, stamina, and mobility, which personal trainers say can translate into more enjoyable sex. Tuning in to your body can also make you feel more confident, help you communicate with a partner and feel more intimate overall, say sex therapists.
Get in touch with your sexy side with these simple, expert-recommended tips for a more satisfying sexual experience, whether you want to spice things up with a long-term partner or hook up with someone new.
For better sex through exercise, work on a strong core, flexibility and stamina
If you want to translate your gym gains into benefits in the bedroom, focus on key areas like your hips, glutes and abs, according to Michael Bultman, a personal trainer who coaches for Park Slope Community Fitness and City Strong.
Cultivating both strength and mobility in those muscles will help you enjoy and maintain different sex positions. It also prevents discomfort or injury, which can be a major mood killer.
“We can almost always have sex the first time. The key is getting them back for more,” Bultman said.
Some great exercises for better sex include:
- Glute bridges: lie on your back with your knees bent and feet on the floor about six inches from your buttocks. Press your upper back and heels into the floor to lift your buttocks off the floor, keeping your hips straight and a straight line from your knees to your shoulders. Lower and repeat.
- bird dogs: start on all fours with your hands directly under your shoulders. Slowly extend one arm in front of you as you lift the other leg until both are parallel to the floor. Keep your core engaged and hips square, tightening your glutes on the top. Slowly lower to the starting position and repeat on the other side.
- fire hydrant: start on all fours with your hands directly under your shoulders. Lift one leg out to the side as high as is comfortable, leading with the knee bent at a 90-degree angle. Squeeze your thigh and glute at the top and hold for a second, keeping hips square and core tight, before returning to the starting position and switching sides.
For better endurance, don’t neglect cardio exercises such as running, cycling, rowing or swimming as part of your routine.
“The purpose of sex isn’t just to have it, but to have it for a while, so you need some cardiovascular endurance,” Bultman said.
A solid mind-body connection makes sex more enjoyable for you and your partner
Part of pleasurable sex is being in tune with both your body and your partner’s, and being able to judge what feels right for both of you. Sometimes a more fluid and rhythmic approach is better than fast, powerful movements.
That can sometimes be tricky if you’re not intuitively aware of your body, which is common among men, Bultman said.
“Men like to think that being big, hitting hard, is the right thing to do, but in this case the movement in the ocean is the most important thing,” he explained.
To offset that instinct, it can be helpful to do more mindful or mindful exercises, such as yoga or dance.
Exercising makes you feel more confident and comfortable in your own body, experts say
Exercise can help you feel proud of your body and what it can do, which translates into more confidence in sexual situations, according to Dr. Amy Hoover, a physical therapist and member of the advisory board of the functional fitness company P.volve.
Knowing and appreciating your body helps you be more aware of specific areas (like your pelvic floor) that can lead to more pleasure and even better orgasms. This is also the first step in helping your partner understand what you like too.
“It’s about celebrating the body, not just how it looks, but how it can feel. And when you recognize what you’re feeling, you can put it into words,” Hoover previously told Insider.
Get in touch with your sexy side
When it comes to great sex, communication is key, and it can be helpful to slow down and tap into what makes you feel sexy, according to sex therapist and “Sex Points” author Bat Sheva Marcus.
Whether it’s a new set of lingerie, snapping sexy photos, or masturbating, focusing on the ways you can make yourself feel good can boost your confidence, she previously told Insider.
Understanding your own expectations and communicating them to a partner can also make for a more satisfying intimate experience. For example, if you feel safer and more confident having sex with the lights off, be honest with your partner about why, and ask them to flip the switch. Or be honest if you’re specifically interested in oral sex. Don’t be afraid to share if you feel anxious too.
Most importantly, don’t put high expectations or too much pressure on the situation, Marcus said.
“Don’t put too much weight on it,” she said. “And then you don’t go into a spiral of ‘Oh my God, I don’t know how to have sex anymore and the world is going to end.'”
Start your date nights with sex
One mental strategy for better intimacy is to make sex feel like a priority by planning it ahead of time, Dr. Shannon Chavez, a sexologist and spokesperson for KY, previously told Insider.
An easy way to do this is to make sure your date nights start with sex, Chavez said.
While it may feel strange at first, making time and space for sex can help ease any mental blocks you and your partner may have.
“We plan everything in life that takes priority,” Chavez said. “Sex should be something that is planned so that you can anticipate it, prepare for it physically, mentally and emotionally, and be aware of how to get into the right space to have a good experience with your partner to have.”