Sexercise FAQs

Sexercise is an active lifestyle that provides couples with ways to combine sex and exercise with healthy food choices to keep fit, have fun, and maintain happiness.

You won’t need expensive gym memberships or heavy workout gear to Sexercise. All you need is each other.

Yes, sex is a form of aerobic activity.

Sexual activity increases heart rate and is considered to be another form of moderate aerobic exercise, such as swimming or walking (Hellerstein & Friedman, 1970; Nemec et al., 1976; Boone et al., 1995; Stein, 2000).

Sexual intercourse burns between 69 to 100 calories in a half hour. It is more fun than exercise outside the bedroom and sex can count as another workout option in a couple’s fitness plan for a healthy lifestyle (Frappier et al., 2013).

Sex counts as moderate aerobic exercise and can burn more calories than walking and other forms of physical activity outside the bedroom according to a study by researchers at the University of Quebec at Montreal (UQAM).

When couples make time for foreplay and intercourse, the average sex romp lasts 25 minutes. Men were shown to burn significantly more energy than women: The study found men burn 101 calories and women burn 69 calories (Frappier et al., 2013).

Sex has been scientifically shown to be exercise that can vary from moderate to high intensity.

Exercise intensity is measured in METS (metabolic equivalent of task, oxygen used/energy expended). Researchers have found that intensity during sex can measure 6.0 METS in men and 5.6 METS in women, which is equivalent to moderate exercise outside the bedroom, such as running on a treadmill (Frappier et al., 2013).

During sex, some people can perform at a higher intensity compared to a half hour of moderate exercise outside the bedroom, according to a study done by researchers at the University of Quebec at Montreal. Some men can even burn more calories while having sex than during a moderate workout such as walking or swimming (Frappier et al., 2013).

Adults between 18-64 should get at least 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous aerobic exercise per week, according the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology. You can work out in bouts of 10 minutes or more to get the recommended physical activity (CSEP, 2017).

Most fitness programs are not part of a regular routine and are usually designed for individuals, so people often exercise alone.

Working out with your partner is a necessary part of the Sexercise lifestyle. Pairing up outside the bedroom helps motivate both of you to stay active and take part in regular physical activity, which has been shown to ramp up libido and lead to better sex (Raglin & Wallace, 1995; Essomba et al., 2016).

That ramped-up sex drive can ignite a passionate bedroom workout where sex can count as an exercise move that burns calories and improves flexibility and strength.

The happiest couples have sex once per week, according to researchers at the University of Toronto (Muise et al., 2015).

Take the 7 Minute Workout to the bedroom and flex your sex.

The 7 Minute Workout is a popular high intensity interval training (HIIT) exercise circuit that was first featured in the Health and Fitness Journal, published by the American College of Sports Medicine (Klika & Jordan, 2013).

Already shown to result in weight loss, recent studies have found the 7 Minute Workout can also burn fat, boost muscle strength, shrink waist size, and improve fitness level (Mattar et al., 2017; Schmidt et al., 2016).

HIIT exercise is challenging physical activity outside the bedroom that takes your cardio above your comfort zone. Short, intense bursts of exercise—lasting between 30 seconds and three minutes—are mixed with rest periods that last the same amount of time or longer.

When you take the 7 Minute Workout to the bedroom with positions like pile driver or little dipper that involve lifting body weight, sex counts as a HIIT move that ramps up cardio and improves flexibility and strength.

Want to add sex to your next workout?
It’s easy when you watch HIIT the Bedroom – our new workout video series that shows how to mix vigorous sex moves with the 7 Minute Workout.

All you need to do is stream a video to your favorite device, then follow along and have fun.

Making healthy food choices is another way to enjoy the Sexercise lifestyle.

People at healthier weights tend to have a greater desire for sex and may also enjoy an overall better sex life (Kolotkin et al., 2008). One of the key components of maintaining or getting to a healthy weight is making smarter food choices.

Eating well doesn’t just help you manage your weight; it also fuels your physical performance both in and out of the bedroom.

Consuming excessive calories in combination with a sedentary lifestyle is a major culprit for carrying extra weight in many people (Nagashima et al., 2010; Casazza et al., 2013).

Regular exercise, combined with mindful eating, can help you better manage your weight while lowering the risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and even certain cancers (Stein, 2000; Nagashima et al., 2010).

Look good naked with bedroom exercise that combines sex with the 7 Minute Workout, a popular high intensity interval training (HIIT) fitness circuit. Sex positions like the crab and lotus that involve lifting body weight – either your own or that of your partner – will add resistance and boost the intensity of the workout.

Recent studies have found that the 7 Minute workout improves flexibility, muscle strength, fitness levels, and shrinks waist size by an average of 4 cm to sculpt body composition in 6 to 8 weeks (Mattar et al., 2017; Schmidt et al., 2016).

Boone, T., and Gilmore, S. (1995). Effects of sexual intercourse on maximal aerobic power, oxygen pulse, and double product in male sedentary subjects. Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness, 35(3), 214-217.

Bryson, A. and MacKerron, G. (2017). Are You Happy While You Work?. Econ J, 127, 106–125.

Casazza et al. (2013). Myths, presumptions, and facts about obesity. New England Journal of Medicine, 368(5), 446-454.

Essomba, Noel. (2016). Influence of Physical Exercise on Sexual Activity: the Case of Practitioners of Physical Activities and Sports in the City of Douala. International Journal of Sciences and Research, 5, 1875-1880.

Frappier, J., Toupin, I., Levy, J. J., Aubertin-Leheudre, M., & Karelis, A. D. (2013). Energy Expenditure during Sexual Activity in Young Healthy Couples. PLOS One.

Hellerstein et al. (1970) Sexual activity and the postcoronary patient. Arch Internal Medicine, 125(6):987-99.

Klika, B. and Jordan, C. (2013). High-Intensity Circuit Training Using Body Weight: Maximum Results with Minimal Investment. Health and Fitness Journal, 17(3), 8-13.

Kolotkin R.L. et al. (2008). Improvements in sexual quality of life after moderate weight loss. Int J of Impotence Res, 20(5), 487-492.

Mattar, L. et al. (2017). Effect of 7-minute workout on weight and body composition. Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness, 57(10), 1299-1304.

Muise, A. et al (2015). Sexual frequency predicts greater well-being, but more is not always better. Social Psychology and Personality Science, 7(4), 295-302.

Nagashima et al. (2010). Three-month exercise and weight loss program improves heart rate recovery in obese persons along with cardiopulmonary function. J Cardiol, 56(1), 79-84.

Nemec et al. (1976). Heart rate and blood pressure responses during sexual activity in normal males. American Heart Journal, 92(3), 274-277.

Raglin, J. S., and Wallace, J. P. (1995) Twelve month adherence of adults who joined a fitness program with a spouse vs without a spouse. J Sports Med Phys Fitness, 35(3), 206-13.

Schmidt, D. et al. (2016). The effect of high-intensity circuit training on physical fitness. Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness, 56(5), 534-540.

Stein, R. A. (2000). Cardiovascular response to sexual activity. The American Journal of Cardiology, 86(2), 27-29.