Friday, November 22, 2013
Monday, November 4, 2013
Sexercise? Getting Busy Burns Calories, Study Finds
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| Sexercise? Getting Busy Burns Calories, Study Finds |
Does sex count as exercise? Good news: It might.
A new study finds that, in young people, sex burns an average of 4.2 calories a minute for men and 3.1 calories a minute for women. That intensity is moderate, the researchers reported online Oct. 24 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE. In other words, sex is better exercise than a walk, but not quite as good as a jog.
"These results suggest that sexual activity may potentially be considered, at times, as a significant exercise," the researchers wrote.
Sex as exercise?
Whether sex gets to count as a workout is a long-debated topic. A popular myth holds that a typical session of sex burns between 100 and 300 calories, but no one has ever directly measured the calories burned.
A few brave couples have had sex for science, however. Famed sex researchers William Masters and Virginia Johnson observed couples having sex and noted that heart rates reached as high as 180 beats per minute. For comparison, between 85 and 119 beats per minute count as moderate-intensity exercise for a 50-year-old. [Infographic: How Many Calories Am I Burning?]
In 1984, a study of 10 intrepid married couples published in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine used heart rate and blood pressure monitoring, a fast-responding oxygen gas analyzer and electrocardiography to determine that, for men, self-stimulation increased heart rate by 37 percent. Man-on-top sex increased it by 51 percent.
One problem with these studies, however, is that the couples had to get busy in the lab, hooked up to wires and tubes — imagine the difficulty of reproducing a, ahem, typical sex session. Fortunately, new technology provides a way around this monitoring problem.
Using a wearable armband called SenseWear, University of Montreal researchers tracked the energy expenditures of couples as they had sex in their homes. The researchers recruited 21 heterosexual couples ages 18 to 35, choosing to focus on young people because energy expenditures vary widely across age.
Each person first completed a 30-minute moderate-intensity treadmill workout to provide a baseline measure of their calorie expenditure during exertion. They were then sent home with armbands and instructions to have sex four times over the course of the next month while wearing the sensors.
The SenseWear bands use accelerometers, temperature sensors and galvanic skin response sensors to come up with an accurate measurement of calories expended. Galvanic skin response refers to an increase of electrical conductivity that occurs when a person sweats.
Let's get physical
The recorded sex sessions lasted for an average of 24.7 minutes, with the shortest lasting 10 minutes and the longest stretching out over 57 minutes. Men expended more energy getting busy than women, even after controlling for men's greater body mass. On average, a sexual encounter cost men 101 calories, or 4.2 calories per minute. That's compared with 276 calories, or 9.2 per minute, on the treadmill.
Women expended an average of 69 calories during a session of sex, averaging 3.1 calories per minute. Again, the numbers weren't as high as a sweat-it-out session on the treadmill, during which women expended an average of 213 calories, or 7.1 per minute.
Still, the researchers said, people found sex pleasant (duh) and thus might be more likely to get horizontal than to schlep to the gym. Sex may also be a better way to burn calories than housework, though more research is needed: A study released in October in the journal BMC Public Health found that people overestimated how many calories they were burning while sweeping floors and vacuuming.
Follow Stephanie Pappas on Twitter and Google+. Follow us @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Original article on LiveScience.
- 50 Sultry Facts About Sex
- 6 (Other) Great Things Sex Can Do For You
- Sexy Tech: 6 Apps That May Stimulate Your Love Life
Ref:
7 exercises for a flat stomach
Reverse curl
To do this exercise you will need either a Swiss ball or a medicine ball. The Swiss ball is easier to use, so if you want a challenge and have the strength, use the medicine ball instead. To do this exercise lie on your back, holding the Swiss ball or the medicine ball between your calves and thighs. With the ball firmly between your legs, pull your knees up towards your chest and squeeze your lower abdominal muscles. You can improve your stability using your arms, by keeping them flat on the floor.
This abs exercise will help you to tone-up that troublesome lower stomach area.
The plank
To do this exercise lie flat on your stomach, placing your forearms on the floor. Then, press down through your forearms and push your self up – using your toes as support - until your head, neck, back and legs are in a straight line.
This is an excellent flat stomach exercise because it strengthens your inner core muscles and burns more calories in comparison to to other abs exercises, such as sit ups. This is because to do the plank you have to engage the muscles in your legs, arms and behind too.
Boat pose
If you want to try a tough flat stomach exercise you should opt for the boat pose. Doing this yoga pose regularly will quickly whip you into shape. To begin, sit on the floor with bent knees. Lean back slightly and then bring your legs up and straighten them until your body forms a V shape. Your arms should be stretched out and parallel to one another. Keep your palms facing inwards. Remember to engage your abs muscles whilst doing this exercise and keep your stomach relaxed and flat.
This is a fantastic abs exercise because it targets and tones your lower-belly, which is a problem area for lots of people.
Mountain climber
To perform this exercise get into the plank position and pull your right knee inwards towards your chest. Then straighten your leg and return to the starting position. Now, repeat the exercise using your left leg.
As well as getting a decent cardiovascular workout when doing these mountain climbers, you will also workout your abs because in order to do this exercise you have to engage your core.
Medicine ball slam
For this exercise, you will need a non-bouncing medicine ball. Using both hands, lift your medicine ball above your head and place your feet shoulder-width apart. Your knees should be slightly bent. Now, explosively bring the ball down, bending at the waist and throw it at the floor. When performing this exercise you should not lose your balance or your posture. If you do, it might be because the medicine ball you are using is too heavy.
The medicine ball slam is a total body exercise that strengthens your core stability and will help you to tone up your tummy.
Bicycle crunch
This exercise is a must if you want a flat stomach. To begin, lie on your back. Place your palms beneath your head and lift your legs until they are positioned at a 90-degree angle. Keeping your right hand on your head, twist your body, bringing your right elbow towards your left knee. Alternate then, bringing your left elbow toward your right knee. Do not rush this exercises. To get maximum results this exercise needs to be executed slowly.
The bicycle crunch targets your lower abs and your obliques.
[Simple tweaks to ensure the best workout ever]
[Playboy Bunny workout for Gymbox - our review]
[Are you addicted to sugar? How to quit the sweet stuff]
[Simple tweaks to ensure the best workout ever]
[Playboy Bunny workout for Gymbox - our review]
[Are you addicted to sugar? How to quit the sweet stuff]
Skipping
As well as doing abs exercises, if you want a flat stomach you should try to incorporate some cardiovascular exercises into your flat belly workout. Although running, cycling and swimming are all excellent forms of cardiovascular training, skipping is useful because it can be performed indoors along with your other abs exercises. Although you have most probably skipped before, skipping for fitness requires you to work on your technique. One key thing worth noting is that you only need to lift your feet a few centimetres off the ground each time the rope passes. Also, make sure your ‘twirling’ action comes from the wrists rather than the shoulder.
Cardiovascular work is essential if you want a flat stomach because it helps you to burn calories and lose weight, which in turn will help to reveal your abs and flatten your stomach. However, skipping also works your transverse abdominis, rectus abdominis and your inner and outer obliques.
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