One of the most obvious benefits of sex is its ability to inhibit and relieve pain.  Sex helps generate the hormone oxytocin, which in turn releases endorphins, which perform a similar function to morphine!  This means having sex is kind of like grabbing a generic valium off the shelf.  The more sex you have, the more oxytocin is generated, culminating in an orgasm, which makes you pretty much oblivious to any pain you felt previously.

What this means, however, is that you’ve got to make it worth her while.  Most women need an orgasm to enjoy to full pain relieving benefits of sex.  Not that it’ll take much convincing.

Sex is also great for reducing stress.  If you’ve had a stressful day (or week, or month), nothing melts away all that pent up frustration like a solid orgasm.  The post-coital wave of relaxation that comes over you is also proven to help you fall asleep, and stay asleep – a good way to treat insomnia!

Probably the best argument you can use on a spouse who’s weight conscious (and who isn’t, these days?) is that fact that sex is a proven weight loss technique.  A half hour session in the sack three times a week can burn up to 500 calories!  And if you add one more time over the weekend where you get a little more athletic and go a little longer, your sex life could add up to a solid 750 calories burned a week.  That’s almost 40,000 calories burned a year, before you even touch the treadmill!

Endurance:

Good endurance is critical for making sessions of love last with greater vigor.  Try to get in for a cardio workout three to five days a week for at least 20 to 30 minutes at a time.  Remember, vigorous sports and exercise get your heart rate and temperature up and will give you that extra boost of energy and endorphins.  Plus, aerobic exercise also flushes away stress and reduces anxiety, burns fat and rejuvenates the body, priming you for sex.

Strength Training:

Holding yourself in certain positions in bed requires muscle power.  Naturally, lifting weights will ensure the right muscles work well when you need them to. Work on toning the upper and lower body, and you’ll prevent pain and cramping at inconvenient moments too.

Flexibility:

Needing for getting in those cool positions, flexibility makes you more limber, and also increases blood flow and circulation, which stimulates nerve endings all over.

Kegel exercises:

Used by women for years to get back in shape after birth, Kegels are not just for women anymore.  Men can use this exercise too, to delay ejaculation by contracting the pubococcygeal (PC) muscles just before orgasm, then fully relaxing them.

How to do Kegels:

Contract PC muscles by squeezing, as if stopping urine, and hold for at least 2-3 seconds per squeeze, inhaling as you squeeze each time and relax your muscles completely between each contraction. To begin with, start with just 10 or 20 squeezes; Kegels can be practiced nearly anytime and in any place.  Perform them throughout the day until you can do at least 100 to 200 each day and after you get the hang of them, they can stimulate erotic feelings.

And good endurance is critical for making sessions of love last with greater vigor.  Try to get in for a cardio workout three to five days a week for at least 20 to 30 minutes at a time.  Remember, vigorous sports and exercise will get your heart rate and temperature up and will give you that extra boost of energy and endorphins.  Plus, aerobic exercise also flushes away stress, burns fat and rejuvenates the body, priming you for sex.  Flexibility is needed for getting in those great positions, flexibility makes you more limber, and also increases blood flow and circulation, which stimulates nerve endings all over.  And Kegel exercises, used by women for years to get back in shape after birth, are not just for women anymore.  Men can use this exercise too, to delay ejaculation by contracting the pubococcygeal (PC) muscles just before orgasm, then fully relaxing them.

The response of bone to loading is determined by the magnitude of the force, and the rate and direction(s) at which it is applied, so high-impact and multi-directional activities, including structured jump-training result in greater gains in bone strength; sports like basketball, volleyball, or soccer are also good options.  In the study, the researchers found that runners had greater spine BMD than cyclists and lean body mass was positively associated with BMD in both resistance-trained individuals and cyclists but not in runners.

FYI: osteoporosis affects more than 200 million people worldwide and is a serious public health concern, according to the National Osteoporosis Foundation.  And while we’re at it, let us not forget the importance of calcium and magnesium in building up bone density!

Now, there are certain activities are believed to modify hippocampus size in humans; previous studies also have found that the hippocampus shrinks with age and coincides with cognitive declines at a rate that differs from person to person.  In addition, earlier studies have shown that exercise increases hippocampus size and spatial memory in rodents.  But most amazing is this new Hippocampus study which is the first to demonstrate that exercise can affect hippocampus size and memory in humans.  The researchers found a significant association between an individual’s fitness and his or her performance on certain spatial memory tests.  This is pretty clinically significant because it supports the idea that your lifestyle choices and behaviors may influence brain shrinkage in old age—keeping you independent for longer!  So folks, we shouldn’t have to hear it from anyone again, we just need to stay moving on a regular basis for optimal health, all around.

Water.  Yes, we all know we’re supposed to get 8 glasses of it per day but I’m always amazed when I realize how critical it is to our daily functioning.  Without proper hydration, our concentration and focus plummet.  We need water to feel alert and for our livers to flush toxins and fat out of our bodies.  Of course, water keeps bowels moving regularly and this is also key to preventing disease and keeping weight down.

Omega 3.  I especially love them in the form of Fish or Cod liver oil, that form of Omega 3’s are ready for the body to use and prevent heart disease, reduce cholesterol, reduce blood pressure, help varicose veins, improve circulation and reduce blood triglyceride levels.  Omega 3 is also beneficial for those who want to depression and cancer as well.  Added bonus: helps you lose weight, especially when already exercising.

Calcium/Magnesium. Again, we know this dynamic duo to be essential to building strong bones, but they do oh so much more.  Magnesium helps with constipation, leg cramps, hypertension, and kidney stones and calcium eases insomnia–and both help with nerve function, which is great if under stress.  Plus both play a role in assisting in weight loss as well.  Who couldn’t use deeper sleep and to lose a pound or 2?

Fiber.  This sounds like one for older folks but each and every one of us could use the gentle internal brushing that fiber provides for us.  Fiber absorbs excess fats, preventing their absorption (and again, helping in weight loss) and has benefits for colon cancer, heart disease and diabetes.  And you easily get it from foods, so no need to purchase supplements.

Protein.  There’s tons of research out there these days on the importance of getting good quality protein in the diet.  From stabilizing blood sugar to promoting the building of muscle to helping with weight loss, high-protein is the new lowfat.