Beyond all the health and wellness benefits of fitness, if you’re single, there’s probably another major reason you’re working out: to be sizzling for that special sweetie you hope will stroll into your life.
Well, once your gym-toned bod (and of course your wonderful charm, intelligence, and personality) has attracted that perfect person, there are still a lot of ways that fitness impacts–and is impacted by–your new sexual relationship.
Here are some of the main things to think about as you maintain your fitness routine within a new sexual relationship.
1: Sweating Longer at the Gym Helps You Sweat Longer in Bed
Have you ever felt winded during the most passionate, epic sex session? Well, how fast was the onset of that need to stop and catch your breath? And didn’t you wish you could keep going more?
Remember when you first started working out, and you were exhausted after just 10 minutes on the elliptical? And remember your satisfaction at seeing those minutes you could exercise go up and up, until you were doing 45-minute workouts?
Well the same thing is true in bed. The more you work out at the gym, the longer, faster and more intense you can go in bed before you need to throw in the towel and call it a day. Especially in new relationships, in which you’ll probably want to be going at it as much as possible!
Yoga can help hold the more “creative” sex positions for longer. And, as you’ve probably noticed, those positions on top can be exhausting for your glutes, thighs, hamstrings, quads–and even calves, depending on the position! Here’s where all leg workouts will help–especially those squats!
2: Working Out More Can Mean Wanting It More
The great anti-aphrodisiac is stress. And the great stress-buster is exercise.
Stress produces the hormone cortisol, which kills libido. (Think about it–are you usually turned on when you’re running late for an appointment, or realize you just misplaced your purse?) One of the fastest ways to flush cortisol from your system, and replace it with relaxing endorphins, is to exercise.
No wonder study after study has shown that one of the best ways to get that libido racing is to get that heart racing at the gym.
3: Feel More Confident in the Mirror, Feel More Confident in Bed
Many women avoid sex because they judge their own bodies, or are afraid their partner will judge them. Of course, I believe that all women should and can have a satisfying sex life no matter what their body looks like–and if he judges, ditch him!
But the reality is, even a few times a week exercising, for a few weeks, can begin to produce toning in your body that will have you checkin’ yourself out in the mirror. And when that happens, your desire for sex–and your general feeling of being sexy, which can be a turn-on for your partner–will go through the roof. That’s worth a few trips to the gym, isn’t it?
4: The Couple That Plays Together, Stays Together
Think of how many exercise activities become more fun when done with your partner. Running, rollerblading, hiking, walking, biking, tennis, climbing gyms, even lifting weights–all of these are just so much more fun with your sweetie! And not only will you be exercising more when you create a fun routine together–bringing all the benefits to your sex life described above–but you’ll also be bonding more, which is great on its own, and as a spur to greater sex.
Finally, let’s not forget that sex itself is a form of fitness! It’s not as much of a workout as going to the gym or taking a jog, usually. But if you amp up the intensity, with the help of your out-of-bed workouts, then your workouts in the bed can be that much more intense as well–and that much more hot!