Karlee Prazak is a journalism junior and the Mustang Daily sex columnist.
Holidays this, family parties that, excuses everywhere — it’s that post-holiday tradition of New Year’s resolutions centered around hitting the gym and getting “back into shape.” Not saying this is a bad resolution to make, it’s just predictable.
However, as you try to work off what the holidays left behind, where you feel the burn may be more unpredictable than you’d think.
So grab your kicks and grab your iPod because we’re taking the orgasm to the gym.
Certain exercises performed to build up muscle in the core require the simultaneous tightening of lower-abdominal and leg muscles, which can induce an orgasmic sensation, according to an article in Men’s Health.
“When a woman exercises, (she experiences) a release of endorphins and dopamine, which are necessary for orgasm,” sex therapist Victoria Zdrok said in the article.
Zdrok said the release of endorphins and dopamine combines with tension in the “lower extremities” to make working on washboard abs more desirable than dreadful.
This combination of hormones, muscles and strategically felt repetition has hit women working out nationwide and has been dubbed the “coregasm.”
Notice the emphasis on women — I hate to break it to you guys, but this is a girls-only club. We have a tendency to complain about going to the gym anyway, so maybe now we’ll actually want to go, and maybe we’ll come back happier.
It also comes down to a biological difference. In order to experience a coregasmic workout, there needs to be a combination of muscle contraction and clitoral stimulation.
The repetitive nature of core exercises causes recurring stroking of this erogenous zone.
“It’s a little unusual to get that much response from one squeeze, but if you’re doing multiple reps, you’re squeezing your pelvic muscles over and over again,” author of Fearless Sex Joy Davidson said in the Men’s Health article. “So by the time you do it 30 times you just might feel that orgasmic sensation. Women’s nerves in the pelvic area respond differently, so for some women, all they have to do is squeeze a few times.”
Squeezing seems to be key — the harder they squeeze, the easier they come.
“And when they’re doing certain exercises that are tapping into the deep core or into the quads and inner thighs, what they wind up doing is almost automatically squeezing pelvic muscles in addition,” Zdrok said. “When they squeeze hard enough, especially if they’re already fit, they can have what feels like a mini-orgasm.”
Once you have developed strong core muscles — maybe had a few coregasms along the way — they can be used to enhance the sexual experience. This is a benefit men can enjoy as well from working on their core muscles.
This is because the main function of core muscles is to keep the trunk — abdominal, lower-back and hip — muscles stable, which in turn are valuable muscles when thrusting, according to another Men’s Health article.
The article stated that “a thrusting pelvis requires flexion and extension of your lower-back muscles and hip flexors” and “(these) secondary muscles come into play to push the body up, forward or under.”
Therefore, in order to be more in control when reaching for an O, it is advisable to strengthen the core muscles responsible for going front, back and side-to-side.
There are no more excuses to break your New Year’s resolution to hit the gym after this. Not only can women potentially gain more than just fitness while working out, but their partner can come too — and the core strengthening exercises will transfer over to help in the bedroom as well.
The best coregasm-inducing exercises were tested and listed in a Women’s Health article and include: hanging straight leg raises, hanging side crunches, single leg plank, arm pullover straight leg crunch and the medicine ball blast.
The first two can even been done at home because they simply require you to hang (like from a door-suspended pull-up bar) or to be on your back — which is where you might find yourself wanting to be afterward.
A female trainer was quoted in the Men’s Health article after reaping the benefits from the previous exercise suggestions.
“Whenever I either do hanging leg raises or knee ups, I get the best ‘coregasm’ a girl could dream of,” she said. “I’m guessing it happens due to activation of the Kegel muscles in conjunction with friction from moving your legs up and down.”
So there you have it. No more ‘I’m too tired’ excuses, because strengthening core muscles could be the key to the best “workout” ever. Don your new Nike kicks and latest workout-friendly iPod, fresh from their original packaging — going to the Rec Center just became a whole lot more enticing.
However, proceed with caution after gaining this knowledge. Please try to leave the squirting to water bottles while on the workout mats.