Sex Burns Major Calories

Sex Burns Major Calories

When people think about physical exercise, activities like weight lifting, hitting the gym, swimming or running come into their minds.  What about sexual activity?  You may have come across it before that getting busy under the sheets with your partner can be an excellent workout.  It is imperative to assess the validity of the claim by establishing if, indeed, sex burns major calories.

Estimation of Calorie Burning During Sex

Renowned scholars have published several studies that discuss sexual activities and calorie expenditure.  In 2013 researchers at the University of Quebec at Montreal assessed 21 heterosexual partners in their 20s to estimate the calories burned during sex.  The researchers gave the participants armbands to track energy expenditure during sexual activity and exercise.  They also assessed pleasure, perceived effort, energy use and fatigue after sexual activity.

The researchers defined a normal sexual session as foreplay, sexual intercourse and orgasm from at least one partner.  They established that women burned 69.1 calories while the men torched 101 calories in a 24 minutes sex session in a missionary position.  This was equivalent to burning 3.1 calories in women and 4.2 calories per minute in men.

Interestingly, the same participants burned fewer calories during sex than when exercising for 30 minutes on a treadmill.  Moderate intensity exercise on the treadmill burned 213 calories in women and 276 calories in men.  Also, the study found that perceived energy use in sexual activity was the same in men and women compared to the measured energy output.

These findings illustrate that engaging in sex does not burn as many calories as it happens when indulging in moderate-intensity workouts on a treadmill.  However, the energy expenditure during sex is still notable, though not as much as people try to imagine.

A different study published in the New England Journal of Medicine reveals essential details on energy expenditure during sexual activity.  It states that a man weighing 154 pounds can burn approximately 3.5 calories every minute, translating to 210 calories hourly during arousal to orgasm.  Such a level of expenditure is equivalent to what you can attain by walking at a moderate speed of around 2.5 miles per hour.  However, researchers say that an average sexual activity lasts for about 7 to 15 minutes.  This means that a man in his 30s can burn around 21 calories in normal intravaginal sex.

How to Burn Extra Calories During Sex

Take Charge

The partner on top controls engages in most of the movements to control the game and expends more energy.  Ensure you take turns with your partner by getting on top and taking charge for both of you to benefit.  Breaking a sweat in action clearly indicates that you are torching the calories.

Let the Session Last Longer

You can extend your sex session to last longer and burn additional calories.  However, ensure you share this with your partner for mutual benefits and consent.  Engaging in the steamy game beyond the normal 7 to 15 minutes expends more calories.

Try Different Positions and Styles

Try different sex positions like doggy style, standing poses, cowgirl and spooning, among others, to burn more calories than when relying on missionary.  Relocating from bed to a different setting can also spice up your game and help you torch more calories.  Try all the techniques thatwork for you and your partner.

Finally, affirming that sexual activity can burn substantial calories equivalent to energy expenditure in rigorous workouts would be challenging.  Unless you try to control yourselves and engage in marathon sex, you may not bank on it to burn significant calories as people exaggerate.  Sex has several other benefits other than burning calories.  Ultimately, you should focus on enjoying sex and not turn it into a substitute for workouts.