Sex life in the doldrums? How exercise can boost your libido

Exercise is good for sexual performance and enjoyment — as long as you don’t overdo things working out.

Results show that, for all participants, the more they exercised (to a fairly vigorous level), the better their sexual functioning.

We all know we should be doing more exercise. However, there now is an even more compelling reason you should be heading to the gym more often: scientists have proved working out can boost your sex life.

In a study published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine last month researchers from the University of California questioned more than 6000 cyclists, runners and swimmers.

They asked how often and how hard they exercised each week and also inquired about their sexual health, including issues such as erectile dysfunction, orgasm satisfaction (or lack of it) and arousal.

Results show that, for all participants, the more they exercised (to a fairly vigorous level), the better their sexual functioning. Swimming reduces sexual dysfunction for men and women and cycling has similar benefits for those who ride for 5½ to 10 hours a week. But running had the best results — and the faster you run, the better.

Results show men who run for 4½ hours a week at a reasonably swift pace of 1.6km in about seven minutes are 23 per cent less likely to experience erectile problems than men with lower activity.

Women who ran at a similar speed four hours a week reported 30 per cent fewer sexual problems, such as lack of arousal or difficulty achieving ­orgasm.

Running, the researchers say, is associated with better heart and cardiovascular health, and they found “a correlation between good cardio-metabolic health and better erectile function”. They also mention a study published in 2010 that showed 25 elite female runners had better clitoral blood flow — measured by ultrasound — and higher levels of sexual function than 25 sedentary women.

‘If you are over-strenuous with workouts it prevents you getting aroused because you are too exhausted’.

Lorraine Grover, a psychosexual nurse at the London Clinic and spokeswoman for the Sexual Advice Association, is not surprised that running is the workout to cure a flagging sex drive, saying it confirms findings from several other studies that have shown a connection between physical fitness, psychological wellbeing and sexual health.

“Exercise improves blood flow to the sexual organs, including the clitoris and penis,” she says.

“It also helps to keep weight down, and obesity is a big factor in erectile dysfunction, as blood supply to the penis is reduced due to the poor health of the blood vessels that supply it.”

Studies have shown 50 per cent of men with type 2 diabetes, for which obesity is a risk factor, experience erectile problems. “And running is particularly good for weight loss,” Grover says.

In addition, the study found improved strength of the pelvic floor muscles — which support a woman’s bladder and uterus, and line the vaginal walls — through running, swimming and cycling led to “better sexual function”.

But Grover says toning and strengthening the pelvic floor can also improve blood supply and nerve activity for men, leading to greater pleasure during sex for men and women.

“The pelvic floor is an important area of muscle for better sexual function,” she says.

“The penis sits deep inside the pelvic floor and improving the strength of those muscles means men have better control over their genitalia.”

For men, hormonal changes during and after exercise also play a role in improving their sexual performance.

“Levels of testosterone — a key male sex hormone involved in maintaining sex drive, erectile function and sperm production — plummet with age,” says Matt Roberts, a personal trainer.

“It may take longer to reach an erection, to achieve an orgasm and experience ejaculation, and erectile dysfunction becomes more common, but the right balance of exercise can change that.”

However, it is important not to overdo things at the gym because it can deplete energy levels.

“If you are over-strenuous with workouts then it prevents you from getting aroused because you are too exhausted,” Grover says.

Our workouts must make us feel better about ourselves.

“Good sex is a mix of the physical and psychological parts of each of us, and if exercise improves body image then your sex life will also be enhanced,” she says.

“If we are confident about how our bodies look then we are more relaxed and our response to sexual arousal is improved. Whatever exercise works for you is good.”

Which exercise is best?

Running

Running came out as the top activity for a healthy sex life in the Californian study, while a study by shoe manufacturer Brooks two years ago found that 41 per cent of runners felt “frisky” immediately after a run.

The important thing is not to overdo it. A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association has reported that male long-distance runners had “significantly lower” testosterone levels than non-runners.

“For men, exhaustive levels of endurance training can cause testosterone to plummet and affect sex drive,” Roberts says.

Yoga

Those who participated in a yoga group reported better levels of arousal than those who didn’t, one study found.

Yoga has a reputation as a libido-boosting activity — think Sting and Trudie Styler and their Tantric yoga sessions.

A 2013 study in the Journal of Sexual Medicine assigned 41 women between the ages of 30 and 60 to a 12-week yoga program or a control group. The yoga group reported better levels of arousal than the others.

Another study in the same journal (in 2007) found that regular yoga was more effective than taking fluoxetine (marketed as Prozac) in treating premature ejaculation in men.

Weight training

Lifting weights will help to boost a man’s sex drive as they get older.

“Working against a resistance — including weight training — is essential to offset the downturn in male sex hormones and muscle mass (both of which can affect your sex life) that occurs with age,” Roberts says.

“There’s reams of evidence to show there’s (an increase) in male hormones both immediately after a strength session and long term.”

High-intensity training

A couple of high-intensity sessions a week can boost your sex drive, but too many may have the opposite effect for men.

A 2017 study of 1077 active men found those who trained at the lowest intensities were nearly seven times as likely to have a normal or high libido as those who did lots of high-intensity workouts.

The researchers said too much intense-exercise training may trigger “exercise hypogonadal male condition”, in which hormones such as testosterone are suppressed, affecting sex drive.

Cycling

Up to 10 hours a week on the bike produced positive improvements in the bedroom. However, the researchers point out that previous findings linked time in the saddle with sexual problems for men, including genital numbness.

The Times