The intriguing reason why doing daily planks could improve your sex life, experts say

Getting physical at the gym can help you get more physical in the bedroom.

In particular, doing exercises that strengthen your core muscles and boost your heart health are most beneficial for sexual function.

Doing planks daily can strengthen your core muscles, which makes it easier to move during sex and improves your stability in different positions, said Dr. Rachel Zar, a Chicago-based sex therapist.

Stronger abs will help you perform your other movements — whether they’re punches, squats, or crunches — more easily.

In addition, many of the super-sensitive nerves in your genitals extend into your abdomen, connecting the entire circuit.

“Strengthening the core can really help with endurance during sex, making you feel strong and firm in your body,” Ms. Zar, a Chicago-based sex therapist, told The New York Times.

Some women even get aroused when they do abdominal exercises, according to a 2011 study of 530 women Indiana University found.

This may sound like fodder for sports fanatics, but it has actually been described in the scientific literature as early as 1953 – for some unknown reason, tensing and releasing your core can lead to an orgasm.

To reap the sexual benefits of a stronger core, Janelle Howell, a Chicago-based pelvic floor specialist, told The NYT that doing a plank daily should dramatically improve your core strength, even if you can only hold it for ten seconds.

Celebrities often promote these types of exercises.

Hilaria Baldwin, a yoga instructor and wife of actor Alec Baldwin, shared one Instagram role in 2023 doing core exercises that helped her with her pelvic health postpartum.

Ms. Baldwin shared in the caption that doing these exercises relieved the lower back pain she had been dealing with since the birth of her child.

She stated that when performing these poses, she tries to move from within, which stimulates her pelvic floor muscles, which feels like “trying not to pee.”

As Ms. Baldwin highlights here, many experts also recommend doing pelvic floor exercises to get your sexual health on track.

Your pelvic floor is a dense muscle system that sits around and between your genitals and anus. It is important for urination, defecation and arousal for both men and women.

It can become dysfunctional because it is too weak or too tight. That’s why physical therapists recommend different exercises based on your unique symptoms.

About one in three women will develop some form of pelvic floor dysfunction over the course of their lives Gynecologists from the University of Chicago.

In men, a pelvic floor disorder can manifest itself in problems with getting and staying erect, and in problems with ejaculating. In women, this can manifest itself in incontinence and painful sex.

But doing sets of pelvic floor exercises, colloquially known as Kegels, can help strengthen or relax these muscles and get you back into shape, Dr Kate Lough, a pelvic physiotherapist practicing in Glasgow, previously told the Daily Mail.

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‘If you go to the gym for six months you will see a difference. Your shoulders and hamstrings may become more muscular – the same goes for your pelvic floor,” Dr Lough said.

A stereotypical Kegel exercise involves a person clenching their pelvic floor muscles (the same ones you feel when you hold a little gas or pee) for a few seconds and then release the muscles completely.

A study of 64 Iranian women found that doing these types of pelvic floor exercises for three months reduced most symptoms of painful penetration.

Finally, experts like physical therapist Darlene Marshall told The NYT that getting your cardio in is crucial. The better your blood flows, the easier it is for you to get aroused and stay aroused.

In men, blood flow is crucial for developing an erection. In women, blood flow stimulates lubrication.

Cardio is the easiest way to keep your heart healthy and your pipes pumping blood efficiently. according to John Hopkins.

To get in shape for sex you don’t have to be a marathon runner, but you should make sure you can tolerate low-intensity aerobic exercise, such as walking for at least 20 minutes, Ms Marshall said.

Combining that with quick bursts of intense cardio, like sprinting, should ensure you can handle the pace you and your partner prefer to hit in bed.

“The goal is to help your body prevent your cardiovascular system from becoming overwhelmed during sex,” Ms. Marshall said.