Have you been thinking about taking up running? Maybe you don’t know where to start, or maybe you’re worried about potential negative side effects.
You might be worried about endurance. I’m not talking about the running itself. That’s all about endurance. But what about after? How does running something like 30 to 100 miles per week affect you between the sheets? Are you too wiped out to go the distance? According to the experts, the answer is no! Quite the opposite actually. You can see tremendous benefits from running in your sex life.
Running, anecdotally, is a libido booster.
Men report that the natural runner’s high extends to their sex life. Being more active is an aphrodisiac, a great one. The runner’s high comes with a major boost in confidence and energy. It can make you feel invincible and that extends to the bedroom. That feeling can give you a boost in your self-esteem and make you feel more comfortable in your own skin. The more comfortable you are with your own body, the more confidence you’ll have. And with that comes less stress and anxiety, the top inhibitors to your sex drive. You’ll really feel the benefits directly after a run, but you can still feel the effects even days later after a particularly good run. You can use that to your benefit if you’re just looking to hook up or in a long term relationship.
As you may know, the runner’s high comes from the release of chemicals in your brain. Running releases endorphins along with some positive neurotransmitters: serotonin and dopamine. Dopamine is an important ingredient in your arousal and sex drive so boosting that can really get you going.
It’s important to note that early on in starting a new training regimen, you’ll see an increase in cortisol, which is a stress hormone. This may, initially, decrease your sex drive, but you’ll see benefits only after a short time as cortisol levels sharply drop. The more you do it, the less stressed out you’ll be, basically.
You know running helps your heart, and this includes boosting your circulation.
It gets the heart pumping and the blood flowing. And it gets it flowing everywhere. Physical activity through endurance training benefits both men and women in the bedroom. Women benefit through a heightened sense of touch, making the skin much more sensitive and making the whole experience more pleasurable. Men on the other hand report much stronger and more intense erections (thanks to that boost in circulation), greater levels of satisfaction and better orgasms. The endurance exercise also brings about more stamina. You can go for longer at a steady rhythm and that’s much more likely to result in a better sexual experience for both of you.
One quick tip! Sex is exercise. So, if you max yourself out on your run, you’re not going to want to hop between the sheets with your partner right after that. Unless it’s for a short nap. But keep it short — an hour or less — and you’ll feel a boost to your libido that she’ll love.
Of course, most people don’t want to immediately jump into bed after a run. They have one thing on their mind: a nice hot shower to clean up. You might feel too gross to even consider jumping in bed. But if you’re looking at a way to boost your sex life and don’t want to waste the runner’s high and libido boost that you experience right after a run, grab your partner and have her join you in the shower. It’s a great way to get things started in the bedroom anyway. You can feel free to let your hands roam all over her body and hers all over yours.
Everything in moderation.
That, of course, is a great motto to live by, and the same goes for your running regimen. If you take your mileage too far, you’ll actually see a drop in testosterone levels. You’ll see those cortisol levels jump up to new peaks. Women who run too much even have the chance of affecting their cycle, halting menstruation. These all have one thing — destroy sex drive.
In order to avoid these problems you need to make sure to have a balanced running schedule. You need to make sure you’re incorporating enough rest and sleep into your schedule to make sure you don’t overtrain and your body has enough time to properly repair itself. You might want to overdo it because when you get out there running, it’ll make you feel great. You’ll feel confident and invincible which you’ll be able to take into the bedroom with you. But it’s important o make sure that your training cycle isn’t pushing things too far. You want a comfortable training cycle that’s still getting you to new levels in your training without overdoing it.
Another thing to keep an eye on when you’re training that could crush your sex drive is stress.
High performance athletes sometimes see their libidos hurt by the stress they put on themselves to compete at a high level, but even recreational athletes can put pressure on themselves to make gains and hit new heights with their training. If you’re really getting into it and doing back-to-back marathons, you’ll see increased stress levels that could keep your libido way way down.
A great way to tell if you’re overdoing it with your training and stressing out about it is if you see it affecting your sex life. Sex is a great form of cross-training. Use it to your benefit. In fact, sex is a great stress release, so you can use it to your benefit right before a marathon. Feeling some pre-marathon jitters? While it may not be the best idea to do it right before the big run, the night before, you can greatly help your stress and anxiety levels by having sex with your partner. And with that, you can even get a better night’s sleep — get more rest – before your big morning. Which is key to you getting your best time and best performance on race day.
