From September 2012 – April 2013 a rare study was conducted in the Montreal Region. Twenty-one heterosexual couples from the ages of 18-35 years were asked to engage in 40 minutes of exercise with a 5 minute warm-up and cool down, leaving 30 minutes for 65% of their maximal heart rate to be up. Each was administered a test at the beginning of the study to determine what amount of exertion on the treadmill did this for them. The couples were asked to perform 1 sexual activity per week in their homes for a month ( four sexual activities). Sexual activity was characterized by the study as the onset of foreplay, intercourse, and at least one orgasm by either the male or female. A questionnaire was filled out after each sexual activity involving how much energy output and pleasure they experienced from the sex in comparison to the treadmill.
As predicted, couples reported experiencing much more pleasure after their sexual activity than the exercise activity. Women assumed more energy output occurred for them during sexual activity than what actually did occur. The actual results somewhat surprised me. The energy expenditure for men was 101kcal (4.2 kcal/min.) and 69 kcal for women (3.1 kcal/min). This proves to be less strenuous than jogging at 8 km/h, but more strenuous than walking at 4.8 km/hr. From a very simplistic and general viewpoint, unless you are going to hit the gym and jog for thirty minutes or more, opting for sex isn’t necessarily the lazier option. However, the 30 minute exercise proved to exert more energy and had greater intensity overall. On the contrary, though, men did occasionally exert more energy during the sexual activity than in the exercise activity. Also, sexual activity overall had an intensity level that represented more than 2/3rds of the treadmill exercise activity. The way I see it, sex can and has proved to be a rigorous exercise activity that can exert as much energy and burn as many calories as low to moderate intensity exercise. I find that if someone is having regular sex, they may have a health advantage over those who are not. Not only does it count as exercise but it can lower risk of heart attack, improve mood, promote well-being, improve sleep, increase chances of longevity, improve immunity, and lower mortality rates. The way I see it, everyone could benefit from some sexercise!
http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0079342