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Balancing Body Positivity and Exercise for Better Orgasms

person exercising

Photo Credit: rf._.studio on Pexels

By Leo Aquino

With gyms closed across the country, it’s been hard for most of us to maintain a regular exercise routine. And even if you didn’t have a regular exercise routine pre-pandemic, your body was probably counting on your work commute, errand runs, and social activities to activate your muscles.

It’s been a challenge to get motivated to work out in these wild times.

Does exercising improve orgasms?

I could list off all the benefits of exercising, but here’s one of the biggest motivators: research has shown that exercise can improve your orgasms and sexual activity.

Aerobic exercise improves oxygen and blood flow throughout the body, which can mean long-lasting erections for people with penises and higher clitoral sensitivity for people with vaginas.

Plus, working out can boost body positivity and make you feel more confident and present in your body.

“From a physiological perspective, we know that weight does, in fact, have an impact on sexual function,” says Dee Hartmann, PT, DPT of Center for Genital Health and Education. “Fat (the kind found in the body) produces estrogen. Estrogen does all sorts of wonderful things...just ask someone whose body no longer produces it! So, are heavier people sexier and enjoying orgasm more than skinny ones? I think we need a study of Lioness users to find out!”

To be clear, I’m not skinny and I’m not trying to be. Fat people all over the world have fantastic sex lives, no matter what Western beauty standards say.

“With proper arousal, it's possible for anyone of any size to take their pleasure through the roof regardless of size, shape, or age,” adds Hartmann.

This experiment intends to examine how physical activity deepens our relationship with our bodies. With my beloved Lioness in hand, I had to see for myself whether or not exercise affects my orgasms.

Orgasm and arousal without exercise

My morning walk has kept me sane for the last six months of lockdown, but when I’m on my period, I just. can’t. move. Bleeding down there puts me in a pretty shitty mood.

I typically push myself to exercise, but for the sake of this experiment, I just sat my ass down for a few days and got some rest. I kept my Lioness on hand because I know from experience that masturbating can relieve my muscle pain, improve my mood, and shorten my periods.

orgasms without exercise

Leo's masturbation and orgasm after a week of no exercise or joyful movement.

My orgasms felt pretty standard, tbh. My whole body wasn’t fully into it because I had no energy, but my heightened emotions helped build up my orgasms. Masturbating for the sake of the experiment felt like a chore, but I was determined to make the best of it.

I was a local in Vaginatown, and I knew all the best spots to hit. I wasn’t in the mood to experiment or learn new things, I just wanted to get it over with.

All the sensation was concentrated in my groin area instead of engaging my core, my arms, and my legs throughout the session. I was a little bit less into it, and I kind of just laid therewhile the Lioness did its work.

When I woke up from my orgasm-induced nap, I felt refreshed and energized.

Orgasm and arousal with exercise

Exercise isn’t always fun. I hate hearing beefcakes grunting while lifting weights at the gym. I hate being pushed by a trainer to extremes just to lose weight. Working out is supposed to remind us to show our body gratitude for all the things it does for us!

This week, I incorporated joyful movement into my schedule. Joyful movement is anything that gets your heart pumping while keeping a big shameless smile on your face.

I went on a weekend trip to Big Bear Lake and went kayaking. My core, arms, and chest were screaming but it felt great to be on the water. When I came home from my trip, I went on hikes and long walks. I also practiced core-strengthening yoga to soothe my achy lower back.

After an hour or two of sweating and moving, I feel like a deflated balloon that just got filled up again. I’m Jason Momoa walking onto the beach in slow motion after a lake swim, muscles glistening, and hair blowing in the wind.

I chug a cold green juice after a 3-mile walk and wait for Gwyneth Paltrow to call for my Goop feature.

And when I hop in the shower to cool off after exercising, I’m hard.(Yeah, dude, people with vaginas get hard. Deal with it.) I’m so aroused, I don’t even know what to do with myself! I catch my reflection in the mirror, run my fingers through my sweaty hair, and wink.

Alexa, play WAP by Meg Thee Stallion and Cardi B.

orgasms and exercise improved sex drive

Leo's masturbation and orgasm after a week of joyful movement and exercise.

And my orgasms came through to reflect this change in attitude! Hello! I added more variety to the session, using deep breathing techniques, switching positions, and really using all of my muscles to enhance the sensations.

What a beautiful week to have a vagina.

Exercise can improve orgasms but body positivity is important

As you can see from this comparison, exercise definitely intensifies my sex drive and orgasms.

comparing orgasms before and after exercise

To be honest, when working out is associated with weight loss, I’m so unmotivated and bitter about exercise.

Honestly, where does an entire industry of skinny people get off on telling fat people that we need to “correct” or “fix” our bodies? No thanks, buddy. I’d like to unsubscribe from those issues.

It’s way more fun to work out under the premise of showing my body love and appreciation.

Connecting to my body and experiencing more intense orgasms are much better incentives for adding more joyful movement in my daily routine.

As Hartmann puts it, “[Exercise] starts by increasing self-image which leads to all sorts of good things. We also know that exercise increases blood flow to the whole body but in particular to the vulva. [The more] blood flow to the vulva and clitoris, the more aroused we get. Going for a run or swinging a kettle ball before hopping in bed could give a good boost to getting that arousal started.”

When I focus on feeling good and taking care of myself, my orgasms want to shout to the whole world how great it is to be in my body and have a vagina.

Improved mood, higher self-esteem and Bigger O’s motivate me to add joyful movement to my daily routine.

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