6 Exercises To Help Improve Your Sex Life
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By Aly Walansky
We all have made our New Year’s resolutions to look and feel our best, and some of us may actually be keeping them. Pretty much any regular exercise will make your hormones more active and your body more attractive, a perfect recipe for feeling sexy and looking our best. There’s lots of exercises out there built for sex inspiration—from the aptly named sexercise to steamy workouts like hot yoga or fun dance workouts like Zumba, to even suggestive workouts like the Shake Weight. We can steam up our workouts with pole dancing or striptease workout, or find our inner dominatrix with the sultry Vixen workout.
We have previously shown you yoga poses that are also awesome sex positions. We’re all about the full package though, and if you’re looking to improve your moves in bed then you might want something different.
Related: 7 Sex Positions Men Love
We love exercises that make us feel sexy, but we’re looking for exercises that will make us feel stronger and more confident while having sex. An exercise doesn’t necessarily have to feel or look sexy in order to have very hot results—and that’s exactly where we’re going with this gallery of workout moves that will make you better in bed.
1. Kegels
This is one you probably already associate with sex, but it’s for a reason—it really does work! Fitness and lifestyle expert Sara Haley strongly recommends that all women do kegels regularly to strengthen the hard to target pelvic floor—the muscles around the vagina and clitoris. Not only will they help to enhance your sex life, strong kegel muscles will help prevent bigger problems down the road like incontinence and help women have an quick postnatal recovery. Plus, they are super easy—10 kegels a day is really all you’ll need!
Haley says “to get the best kegel workout, think about squeezing the muscles that stop urine flow AND the bum muscles that you squeeze that help you prevent passing gas. Strange, I know, but it works!” As with any workout, try switching it up… “you can do lots of quick ones—try 10 in a row—or one and hold it for a count of two and release. Aim for 10-20 Kegels a day,” she says. The best part is that you can do kegel exercises anytime, anywhere and without anyone around you knowing what you’re up to.
2. Lower back and hamstring stretch
Sitting with 1 leg in front of you and the other bent and knee opened to the side, flex the foot of your long leg. Keeping your back straight, slowly hinge your torso forward from your hips and then return upright. This movement works to lengthen your hamstrings, says Anneliese Burns Wilson, a dance and Pilates instructor and the founder of ABC For Dance.
Alternate with rounding your spine from your head down towards your knee and returning to vertical. This movement lengthens your lower back. Repeat with the second leg.
If you don’t feel much stretch with either movement, straighten both legs in front of you and perform the exercise that way. Having a flexible back and hamstrings allows you to assume positions where your partner can enter you more deeply.
3. Bridges and thigh dancing.
Bridges and thigh dance are a great combo because they will firm up the front and back of your body, making you look good from all angles, and also help with endurance lifting those hips and “thrust back” during steamy missionary positions.
“When bridging you lie flat on your back with your feet hip bones in width and parallel. Drive mainly through your heels pressing you hips to the sky without arching your back and really squeeze your glutes at the top. Try 8 full range followed by 8 pulses and keep repeating 4-6 times to tighten your tush,” says Amber Hirsch, lead instructor at Local Barre.
When thigh dancing start with toes together, knees slightly apart and hips sitting on heels. Without leaning forward press your shins into your rug or mat to lift the hips of your heals about 3 to 5 inches. Stay elevated and begin to shake your hips side to side initiating from your obliques. You should be feeling your waist and thighs getting tighter with every hip shake.
4. Squats
This seem like an obvious one but think of sumo wrestlers and how they get all wrapped up in each other, says Haley.
Try a sumo squat— they open up your hips so you can pretty much get into whatever position needed. Plus, they’ll give you a tight, irresistible butt, Haley says.
To perform a Sumo Squat, stand with your hips rotated so your toes face the corners of the room. Keep your core engaged (back straight, abs tight) and lower down into a squat. Your shoulders and hips should stay stacked so your upper body stays upright. When you come back up squeeze your inner thighs and glutes (butt muscles).
Regular squats, plié’ squats and curtsey squats all help to strengthen the lower body muscles, Burns Wilson says. Using a variety of leg positions trains the muscles differently which not only improves the definition of the muscle but also helps to protect the joints of the hip, knee and ankle. “The strength you gain in your legs from squatting helps a woman to enjoy any sexual position where she is on top,”
Related: The 3 Best Sex Games To Play With Your Partner
5. Belly dancing
Belly dancing has survived for thousands of years. It is a great abdominal and hip workout as you dance your feelings, which get you in the mood, says author and stress management and fitness expert Debbie Mandel. The music is sensual and belly dancing celebrates the rounded female form.
6. Plank
“Plank is the beginning of a push up. To get into the position, you start on all fours, and then, engaging your core, press your heels back, straightening your legs and tucking your pelvis. It’s the best ab exercise on the planet for both men and women. But in bed, this one is for the guys,” says Kimberly Spencer, certified Pilates and fitness instructor, avid yogi, and owner of Fitness with Kim.
“This is basically the missionary position, just holding up in plank. Though I recommend, remaining on your knees and not going into full plank…unless you want to get a double workout, or you have superhuman upper body strength,” adds her husband, Spike Spencer, recently featured in USA Today and Men’s Health, internationally known for his dating advice.
More from YourTango:
10 Yoga Poses That Double As Awesome Sex Positions
9 REALLY Obvious Things We Want Guys To Do More Often In Bed
Expert Tips And Advice To Spice Up Your Sex Life
