Tickle your own fancy at the gym

In the past 20 years, I have tried all manner of tricks, ploys and ruses to get women to exercise. For some reason, it is a bit more difficult not only to get women into the gym but also, to keep them there for enough time to start seeing differences take place in their bodies. Sadly, a lot of women leave the gym just before the magic starts to happen.

 Any gym member will tell you that they have started a fitness program, primarily, to be healthy. However, most of them will say that they are also doing it because they want to look good and the whole purpose of “looking good” usually involves attracting the opposite sex (or the same sex if you are programmed that way). 

After years of hearing about the urban legend known as the coregasm, The Centre for Sexual Health Promotion at the University of Indiana, has taken this phenomenon seriously enough to conduct a full study on it. The results of the study found that women can actually have an orgasm while working out. 

Published in the peer-reviewed journal Sexual and Relationship Therapy, the researchers, headed by Debby Herbenick, conducted an online survey that included 530 women, in which 246 women experienced exercise-induced sexual pleasure (EISP) and 124 actually reached climax and had an exercise-induced orgasms (EIO). 

The phenomenon is called the “coregasm” in a coining of words that links the core muscles, which are usually involved in exercise-induced sexual pleasure, with sexual climax – the orgasm.  

There are, in fact, various types of physical exercise that were found to be associated with EIO and EISP, including abdominal exercises (51.4%), weight lifting (26.5%), yoga (20%), bicycling (15.8%), running (13.2%) and walking/hiking (9.6%).

 Though little is known scientifically about what triggers an EIO, it seems to be a combination of two factors – external clitoral stimulation, which happens when the legs are rubbed together and the stimulation of the deeper pelvic muscles via core exercises.

EIO is achieved through external clitoral stimulation, which happens when the legs are rubbed together and the stimulation of the deeper pelvic muscles via core exercises

 The external clitoral stimulation gets the initial feelings associated with sexual arousal going while the pelvic muscles, when contracted during the exercise in a fashion similar to what happens during actual orgasm, will add on to the feeling of arousal to reflexively trigger off an authentic orgasm.

 Thus ladies, keep the following in mind when attempting the orgasmic workout: first, keep your legs pressed tightly together to encourage clitoral stimulation, and second, focus on those deeper, pelvical muscles which will help in triggering everything off. This focus can be done by pulling the abs in and down and trying to create a partial vacuum during the exercises. It takes a little bit of practice, but the results will be orgasmic.

The coregasm workout 

While possibly the best way to help achieve EIO, will not necessarily work on all women, even if these are normal in every respect and are able to achieve orgasm in what is the broad spectrum of otherwise normal ways.

The following exercises are used because they anecdotally seem to be the ones most commonly quoted to work more than others. Something different could work for you (in which case, feel free to write in and tell us about it).

1. Negative only chin ups

Use the rests on the pull-up machine (or a stool or a bench if your machine doesn’t have rests or if you are using a free pull up bar) to start at the top of the movement. Then lower yourself down slowly, keeping legs tightly together. At the bottom of the movement, get back on the rests and raise yourself up to the top position and repeat.

Keep in mind that an assisted pull-up machine will remove the core from this movement and thus will not work.

2. Hanging leg raise

Tightly grip a chin up bar and hang downwards in a vertical position. Keep your legs straight and raise your feet in front of you, till you are bent at 90 degrees from the middle. Lower slowly and repeat.

3. Garhammer raise

Lie flat on your back. Raise your legs in the air while keeping them straight, until they are angled at 90 degrees to your upper body. This is your starting position. Now, use your abs to pull your butt and your hips off the ground and push your feet higher upwards. Return your hips to the ground and repeat.

4. Arm supported reverse crunch

Sit down on a gym mat placed on the floor with your legs straight in front of you. Put both arms slightly behind you with your hands flat on the ground so they can support your body. Lean your torso slightly backward. This is the starting position. Now, raise your legs off the ground while keeping them tightly together and at the same time, bring your torso forward, to crunch the abs. Relax and return to the starting position. Repeat.

Sequence

Perform 10-20 reps of each exercise, moving from exercise 1 to 4 with about 10 seconds rest between each exercise. Try to go for a total of 5 circuits. Or until you know you have achieved your goal.

Results of the experiment 

• Excercise induced orgasm was experienced in the following exercises – abdominal exercises (51.4%), weight lifting (26.5%), yoga (20%), bicycling (15.8%), running (13.2%) and walking/hiking (9.6%).
• Most women said they were not fantasizing sexually during their experiences so it would seem to be simply physical. 
• Most women reported feeling self-conscious about it because they were in public places. Sex in public will do that to you, though for some that is part of the appeal of having sex in public. 
• It wasn’t just core exercises in this survey. Yoga, running and walking also were among the catalysts.
• About 40% of women who had experienced pleasure or orgasms during exercise had done so on more than 10 occasions.