Being physically active helps you feel more interested in sex, gives you the energy and strength you need for enjoying your partner or yourself more, reduces the stress that can block sexual interest and builds the muscles used in sexual intimacy.

Research shows that exercise boosts women’s sexual arousal—even if they were experiencing low sexual desire before starting physical activity. That effect is strongest 15 minutes after exercising (a good reason to work out at home!).

Exercises to Help Increase Your Sexual Interest and Pleasure!

These exercises can help increase your sexual interest and pleasure:

1.  Aerobic exercise of all types—brisk walking, dancing, bike riding, swimming, jogging—improves blood flow, which supports sexual arousal. It also increases lung capacity and cardiac endurance for sustaining sexual activities as long as you want.

2.  Do floor exercises to strengthen your flexibility and stamina. While lying on your back, try gentle pelvic arches, lower body lifts and thigh stretches. And don’t forget the importance of being able to support your body’s weight during sex. To get in shape for that, lie on the floor face down and do modified push-ups (keep lower leg bent on the mat or carpet).

3.  Kegel exercises strengthen the pelvic floor muscles and are known for improving urinary incontinence in women and men, but these exercises also may help women reach orgasm and increase sexual functioning. Go here and here to learn more about how to perform Kegel exercises.

4.  Pilates and yoga both build core muscles and so are likely to benefit sexual activity. Women have reported anecdotally that these methods have helped them.

A 2010 study found that Pilates improved pelvic muscle strength as much as a pelvic floor muscle-training program in women with little or no functional problem. Recent yoga research determined that women enrolled in a 12-week yoga program significantly improved their sexual functions in all categories: desire, arousal, lubrication, orgasm, satisfaction and less pain.   

This article was written by our content partner- the National Women’s Health Resource Center. For more health and wellness tips, please visit  HealthyWomen, or here for more sexual health tips.

References

* University of British Columbia Sexual Psychophysiology and Psychoneuroendocrinology Laboratory. “Sympathetic Nervous System Arousal and Sexual Functioning.”
*  Price J. Better Than I Ever Expected: Straight Talk About Sex After Sixty. (Emeryville, CA: Seal Press, 2006.)
Mayo Clinic. “Kegel Exercises: How to Strengthen Pelvic Floor Muscles.”  Accessed January 7, 2010.
*  Zahariou AG, Karamouti MV, Papaioannou PD. “Pelvic Floor Muscle Training Improves Sexual Function of Women with Stress Urinary Incontinence.” International Urogynecology Journal and Pelvic Floor Dysfunction. 2008 Mar;19(3):401-6. Epub 2007 Sep 18.
*  Culligan PJ, Scherer J, Dyer K, et al. “A Randomized Clinical Trial Comparing Pelvic Floor Muscle Training to a Pilates Exercise Program for Improving Pelvic Muscle Strength.” International Urogynecology Journal and Pelvic Floor Dysfunction. Epub 2010.
*  Dhikav V, Karmarkar G, Gupta R, et al. “Yoga in Female Sexual Functions.” The Journal of Sexual Medicine. Epub 2009.

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1.  Resistance bands: Stretchy and fun, they do the work of weights but pack easily in a purse or pocket. Versatile for several body areas. ($3+)

2.  Jump rope: Remember when you could jump for hours with your friends? You don’t need hours now—just 5 or 10 minutes of jumping (indoors, if you prefer) will boost your activity level and burn calories. ($3+)

3.  Exercise mat: You’ll be more comfortable, with a safer grip, than exercising on a carpet or bare floor. That will help you be active more easily, for a longer time. ($15+)

4.  Hand weights: Keep a set by the computer or TV and use while watching something entertaining. ($5+)

5.  Exercise ball: Sized for your height, most of these come with their own pump for easy inflation (and reinflation). Great for strengthening various muscle groups. Use as a chair and you’ll get a bit of a workout just from balancing on it. ($15+)

6.  Pedometer: Just put it on and in a day or two you’ll be more aware of how much (or little) you’re moving every day. Aim to increase your average daily steps by 5 percent every week until you reach 10,000 steps a day, a goal that the American Heart Association and other experts suggest. Then add more to increase benefits. ($10+)

Often, you can find fitness items such as exercise DVDs, roller skates, workout clothing and more at yard or garage sales for just a dollar or two.

If you’re interested in acquiring big home-gym equipment, yard sales and online community boards are great places to find barely used items. Recently, one site had offerings that included treadmills for $35 to $75, a weight bench for $1 and an elliptical machine for $180. Just remember that you’ll probably have to arrange for transporting the big and heavy pieces—as well as find a space for them in your home.

This article was written by our content partner- the National Women’s Health Resource Center. For more health and wellness tips, please visit  HealthyWomen.

References:
http://www.americanheart.org. Accessed July 7, 2009.
© 2009 National Women’s Health Resource Center, Inc. (NWHRC) All rights reserved

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by Laura Putnam

Laura Putnam
CEO Motion Infusion

It’s easy to get your body moving now!  In my previous article, I talked about the amazing health benefits that you can achieve by simply moving your body! 

Following are 7 simple ways to add exercise to your day. Each of these seemingly insignificant movements add up.  You will be amazed by how much better you feel at the end of the day and how much more productive you can be.

1. Try to move every 15 minutes and at least every 30. Imagine that you’re parked at a 30-minute meter and you have to keep getting up to refill the meter. You’ll be surprised at how quickly the time goes by.

2.  Stand up every time you get a phone call (even if you stand up just to say hello). Standing up helps you to get more grounded, it’ll help you to speak more clearly and eloquently (why do you think great orators always stand up when they’re giving their speeches?)—and it’ll get you moving.

3.  Stop sending emails to colleagues who are around the corner. Instead, get up and tell them in person.

4.  Stand up and do cross-body exercises. Sounds weird, but, according to Paul Dennison, founder of  “Brain Gym,” movements where you cross the right over the left side of the body (and vice versa) help to connect the right and left sides of your brain! So, you’ll be able to think with both the logical and creative sides of your brain.  

One exercise to try is the “cross crawl:” stand up, lift up your left foot and meanwhile reach down to touch your foot with your right hand. Keep switching sides.

5. Give away your chair and sit on a ball. An unstable surface keeps you moving all day—and it helps you to strengthen your core. Plus, a ball keeps you sitting upright. It’s literally impossible to “slouch” when you’re sitting on a ball.

6. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. OK, yeah, this is an old one, but it’s still a good one.

7. Take exercise breaks from the computer. Stretch your wrists, fingers, forearms. Also, give your eyes a break. Do “tracking” exercises: look from side to side, up and down without  moving your head.  These exercises help you to use both eyes equally.

Remember, it just takes a little exercise to make a huge impact!  Keep Moving!

Laura Putnam, is founder and CEO of San Francisco based Motion Infusion, an organizational consulting and wellness company.  She provides training on learning, leadership, human performance improvement and well being. Laura utilizes a movement-based approach to facilitate learning and promote wellness.  To learn more, please visit her website, MotionInfusion.

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Related posts:

1. Please Don’t Take a Seat!
2. Sexercises: Workouts to Work You Up
3. Get Your Exercise in Gear!

By Laura Putnam

Laura Putnam
CEO Motion Infusion

There’s no getting around it, we sit a lot. We sit at our desks. We sit and watch TV. We sit and eat meals. We sit in our cars.

All this sitting is taking its toll in the forms of chronic back pain, neck pain, stiff knees, bad posture, obesity, high stress levels, low energy—just to name a few. According to the World Health Organization, sedentary lifestyle is one of the ten leading causes of death and disability in the world. And, Joseph Pilates, inventor of Pilates, identified the office chair as the leading cause of poor health in men.

So, What’s the answer to these problems? Stand up and exercise, please don’t take a seat! 

As human beings, we’re designed to exercise. In fact, our bodies thrive on it. Movement keeps our blood circulating, our lymphatic system, a.k.a. our “sewer system” working, our muscles tuned and our brains firing. When we exercise, we feel better, think better, and look better.

Even though we live in modern society, our bodies are no different than they were thousands of years ago when we were hunters and gatherers.  Just like back then, when we’re under stress, our bodies go into the “fight or flight” mode. In preparation for the anticipated need to fight or take flight, our bodies automatically divert blood to our legs and away from our brains.

It’s only by exercising that we’re able to re-circulate the blood back and start to think clearly once again.

Exercise is Not Just an After Work Thing

With all of the recent trends in fitness, people have been doing a lot of movement outside of work – biking, hiking, bungy jumping, you name it. But, truthfully, we need to be moving all the time—especially at work. Not only is it good for us as individuals, it’s also good for companies. Research has shown that promoting exercise in the workplace is great for morale, productivity, and ultimately the bottom line.

One of the leaders in promoting wellness at work is Johnson and Johnson. As part of their health and wellness program, they have installed sit-down/stand-up desks for all of their call center employees. At the beginning of the workday, these employees are sitting, but by the end of the day, they are all standing at their desks. Just allowing this amount of moving around has helped them to manage their stress better.

Move Your Body…Leads to Improved Health

Companies often hesitate to invest money in promoting well being at work, but the irony is that companies end up paying more if they don’t. According to the National Business Group on Health, US employers are paying $12.7 billion dollars a year in healthcare costs. Meanwhile, companies that have invested in wellness programs report having saving millions. In fact, Johnson and Johnson saved $8.5 million dollars a year as a result of their health and wellness program.

Of course, we don’t all have access to the resources that Johnson and Johnson does, but there are simple steps that we can all take to get moving at work. Please read 7 Ways to Add Exercies to Your Day for a few easy tips to get you started.

Each of these seemingly insignificant movements add up, not only for individual health, but for a company’s bottom line.   You’ll be amazed by how much better you feel at the end of the day and how much more productive you can be. It just takes a little to make a huge difference.

Exercising our bodies not only helps us physically, but also mentally. By moving our bodies, we move our minds.

Laura Putnam, is founder and CEO of San Francisco based Motion Infusion, an organizational consulting and wellness company.  She provides training on learning, leadership, human performance improvement and well being. Laura utilizes a movement-based approach to facilitate learning and promote wellness.  To learn more, please visit her website, MotionInfusion.

 
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