Hot and sweaty: Fitness for fooling around

It’s ok to skip your spin class this weekend and hit the bedroom: Sex counts as fitness. An intense makeout session will burn about 238 calories per half-hour. Undressing burns about eight. Giving oral sex is good for 100 calories over 30 minutes. And depending on how acrobatic you are, the actual act of boot knocking burns about 85 to 144 calories in a half-hour.

There are also exercises that can make sex better. Here are just a few moves and tips you might want to try:

• Push ups and planks. Are you ever on top? Pushups and planks will give you the upper body and core strength you need to hover over your partner long enough for good things to happen…if you know what we mean.
  
• Crunches. Pelvic muscles contract during climax. Getting them nice and toned can lead to more intense orgasms. That’s where crunches can help. Your abs will benefit too.
  
• Yoga. Stamina. Flexibility. Energy. Yoga increases all of them and that’s good for your sex life. Yoga can also increase blood flow to your nether regions (gets your motor running) and open your heart (fosters deeper connections). Check out Better Sex Through Yoga to see what else it can do.
  
• Deadlifts. A strong back is good for many things, including sex standing up. Here’s how to do them.
  
• Pelvic tilts. Your lower back gets a good workout during sex. Keep it strong and healthy with this move.
  
• Kegels. Sex involves a lot of clenching and unclenching down there. Kegels help you get a grip where it counts.
  
• Pound the pavement. Actually, you don’t have to run. Cardio of any kind will help you build endurance for those marathon sex sessions, so train smart and get your heart rate up.
  
• Workout 20 minutes before you have sex. The endorphins will help you get in the mood. The blood flow will help with orgasms. Your pheromone-infused sweat will turn each other on.
  

Getting in shape. Getting it on. Using reliable birth control. All of these things are good for you. Maybe it’s time to mashup sex ed and physical ed for the ultimate class on health, hooking up, and happiness.

Just do it,
Bedsider