Sex as exercise or sexercise may not require a gym membership or putting on your running shoes but can it be considered as good of a workout as other forms of physical activity? Any man will tell you it is a great workout but he usually has ulterior motives. But can bedroom frolics be counted as a viable means of exercise on the same level as brisk walking or jogging?  The answer to this depends on several factors which have been researched by scientific studies.

Study comparing sex to walking on a treadmill

One study evaluating the cardiovascular effects of sexual activity monitored volunteers walking on a treadmill and also during sexual activity in the privacy of their homes. During both activities, participants had their heart rate and blood pressure monitored – the sexual activity did conclude with vaginal intercourse and male orgasm.

The activity that won out as a more strenuous workout was walking on the treadmill. During sex, the men’s heart rates were raised only 72% as high as they did on the treadmill and the average blood pressure during sex was just 80% as high as during maximal treadmill exercise.  On an intensity scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the highest, men ranked walking on a treadmill at a 4.6 and sex, as 2.7. Women found sex to be even less strenuous in terms of heart rate, blood pressure, and perceived intensity of exertion.

Is sex exercise?

To say if sex is a good workout is probably a stretch. For one thing, sex usually doesn’t last as long as walking 10,000 steps, running a mile, or taking a spin class. Another reason is if married couples depended solely on sex as their exercise, they would not be in the best of shape – fewer than half of all married couples in their 30s, 40s, and 50s report having sex more than two or three times a week. This is far less than what the CDC recommends for adequate exercise for adults – at least 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise each week. 

Another factor to consider is during sexual intercourse or penetration, which is probably the most active part of lovemaking, a man’s heart rate rarely gets above 130 beats a minute. This would rank the average sexual activity as mild to moderate in terms of exercise intensity.  When considering oxygen consumption, sex comes in at about 3.5 METS (metabolic equivalents) which is about the same as raking leaves or playing a game of ping pong. 

Sex also really doesn’t burn that many calories. Some cites will say sex burns 100 to 200 calories each time. Now maybe that might be true for the overly enthusiastic lover who relishes a lot of action in bed but this figure tends to be an overstatement for most people. The previously mentioned study also found most men will burn about four calories per minute during sex compared to more than twice that amount while jogging. It really depends a lot on how long and how vigorous the sex act lasts as to how many calories will be burned. 

In the meantime, even though sex may not hold a candle in terms of being considered a great workout, none of the other exercise activities will be considered as much fun.