By Mike Mahler
Sex what is it good for? Unlike war everything. In addition to the obvious benefits of intercourse, sex is also an excellent form of cardio. Unlike other forms of cardio such as using a treadmill or stair master, sex is actually enjoyable. Imagine that, a form of exercise that is actually pleasurable. In addition to helping your burn fat, great sex is a great stress reliever and has been show to lower high blood pressure. I could go on, but do I really need to convince you of the value of a great sex life? I do not think so. Bottom line is that people that have sex on a regular basis are happier people. However, people that have great sex on a regular basis are in Nirvana! Okay, well maybe that is going to far but you get the point. While it is true that you do not have to be in great shape to have sex, why settle for average sex when you could be in shape for amazing sex? Read on if you are interested in learning about some exercises to enhance your sex fitness.
Before I get started, let me just state that this article is not meant to offer advise to men and women with sexual dysfunctions. If you are someone with a sexual dysfunction then you need to talk to your doctor. Also, you should have your Testosterone (free and bioavailable) checked as well as DHT, Estradiol, DHEA, and Cortisol Levels if you have any sexual dysfunctions. That said, lets get started.
The way that you train to improve sex performance is the way that you would want to train for many sports. In other words, you need to focus on training the body as one unit. When having sex, you move your entire body, not just your arms or your calves. Thus, forget about doing bicep curls and leg extensions all day long. Focus on compound movements that work several muscles at once. While much of sex performance comes from lower body power, the upper body should not be ignored. Strong shoulders and a strong midsection will provide tremendous benefits. If your midsection is weak then you can forget about having full body power. Lets go over some excellent exercises to enhance sexual performance.
For Visuals on these exercises, click here.
Dumbbell Swing
The dumbbell swing is an excellent exercise that generates power from the hamstrings and hip flexors. Here is how it is done. Place a dumbbell in between your legs and right behind your feet. Looking straight ahead at all times, bend your knees slightly and push your butt back as far as you can as if you are trying to sit in a chair. Now lean over and grab the dumbbell with both hands. Keep your arm full extended. In other words, do not bend your arm or shrug the dumbbell. Now in one explosive movement swing the dumbbell in front of you to chest level. Drive through with the hips forcefully for maximum power. When executed properly the hip power alone will get the dumbbell in front of you to chest level. Let the dumbbell swing back between your legs at maximum speed and do another rep. Do not attempt to slowly lower the dumbbell or raise it slowly. Move the dumbbell as fast as possible. When the dumbbell swings between your legs, flex your midsection as if you are bracing for a punch. When you swing the dumbbell straight in front of you, keep your body loose to generate maximum power. In addition to improving sexual fitness, the dumbbell swing is an excellent cardio exercise for fat burning. Try three sets of ten with one-minute breaks.
Clean and Press
If you only have time to one exercise then you will be best served with the dumbbell clean and press. Similar to great sex, this exercise works just about every muscle in the body. When done in high repetitions it is a super effective fat burner and cardio enhancer. To execute a clean and press, take a shoulder width stance and place two dumbbells between your legs. Looking straight ahead, bend your knees slightly and push your butt back as if you are trying to sit in a chair. Grab the dumbbells and in one swift motion, stand up quickly and drive through with the hips as if you are doing a dumbbell swing. Press your elbows into your midsection and reverse curl the dumbbells quickly to shoulder level. Once you have the dumbbells at shoulder level, flex your butt and stomach to build a solid foundation to press off of. Hold your breath (this is assuming that you do not have high blood pressure or any heart conditions. Make sure to clear this with your physician) and press the weights overhead. Lower the bells back to your shoulders and then take them back down to the starting position in one swift motion. In the beginning, do 3-4 sets of 3-5 and work on technique. Once you get comfortable with the exercise increase the reps to 10-12 per set.
The Squat
As stated earlier, sexual fitness requires a lot of leg strength. The best way to get strong legs is to do some variation of the squat. For sex fitness, I prefer the front squat. Why? With the front squat you hold a weight in front of you while you squat. This is more functional than the barbell squat in which you hold a weight across your back. While having sex, it is highly unlikely that you will ever have your partner across your back, unless you like to role-play as a caveman and if you do please keep that to yourself. Front squats can be done with a barbell. However many people will find this version uncomfortable. Thus, I prefer to have people use dumbbells or kettlebells. To do a dumbbell front squat clean two dumbbells to your shoulder. Use a hammer grip and place so that one end of the dumbbells are resting on your shoulders. Initiate the squat by pushing your butt back as far as possible. Do not initiate the movement by bending forward with your knees. Push back as if you are trying to sit in a chair. Squat down as low as you can and pause for a second. Quickly reverse the movement and stand up until your knees are locked out. Breathe in as you squat down and hold your breathe as you stand up. If you have high blood pressure then breathe out slowly as you stand up.
If you prefer not to use weights when squatting then try doing a bodyweight squat alternative called the “Hindu Squat.” Stand straight with your hand along your body. Squat down and as you are lowering your self, come up on your toes as if you are doing a calf raise. Swing your arms in front of you as you stand up. Swing your arms back as you lower yourself to the bottom position. Get into a rhythm on this exercise. In other words, do not lower yourself slowly or stand up slowly. Move as fast as you can with good form. Breathe out as you squat down and breathe into your chest as you stand up. Done in high repetitions 50-100, the “Hindu squat” is an excellent exercise for increasing muscular endurance and cardiovascular fitness.
The Janda Sit-up
Here is an exercise that I picked up from top strength coach Pavel Tsatsouline (For more info on Pavel, visit his site at PowerByPavel.com). It looks just like a regular sit-up. However, it is much harder to execute and you will be amazed how many people cannot do this drill. Get into the sit-up position on the floor. Slowly sit-up without using any body momentum whatsoever. Do not forcefully press your feet into the floor. Instead, flex your stomach and butt as hard as you can to sit up. Once you sit up completely, lower yourself back to the starting position slowly. Take five seconds to sit-up and five seconds to lower yourself back to the starting position. Do not be surprised if you cannot complete one repetition. If that is the case, then use some momentum to sit-up and lower yourself as slowly as possible on each repetition. Flex your butt and midsection as hard as you can during the lowering phase. Breathe in as you lower yourself to the floor and hold your breathe as you sit-up. Keep the rep range between five and ten and do three sets.
Well there you have it, four exercises that will improve your sexual fitness dramatically. In addition to improving your fitness in the bedroom these exercises will get you in great shape and help you to lose fat and tone up tremendously. The mentioned exercises are great for both men and women. They are not designed for bulking you up so do not worry about getting too big (not that getting big is easy to do anyway). Try doing all four exercises three times a week. Start each workout with the clean and press and end with the Janda sit-up. Try it out for a few weeks and give your partner the surprise of his or her life with your new levels of sexual fitness.
