Fortunately, we all can do one simple thing that boosts libido, improves health and increases energy.  I’m talking about regular exercise – moving your body and being physically active almost every day.  OK, wait, don’t stop reading!  If you were hoping for a libido-boosting pill or some other miracle cure, stick with me for a few minutes and let me try to convince you to give exercise a chance.  I’ll be quick about it!  First, I’ll share 4 ways exercise can boost your libido, increasing interest in sex and intimacy.  Then, I’ll offer 3 tips for getting started and giving it a try, just to see how it works for you.

4 Ways Exercise Can Boost Libido
1.  Exercise reduces your risk of major health problems, including heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke and some forms of cancer.  All of those diseases sap your libido and make it difficult to enjoy sex and intimacy.  Some of them impede blood flow, which is essential to sexual interest and performance.  So when you maintain good health, you eliminate a major cause of sexual disinterest, fatigue and frustration.

2. Exercise increases your stamina and energy.  You might think that exercise makes people feel worn out, but the opposite is actually true.  Unless you’re exercising at the level of an elite athlete (not likely, at least for me!), exercise actually increases your energy and stamina.  Being sedentary – spending most of your day sitting rather than moving – is what makes people feel drained.  Because fatigue is a top “libido killer” for women, it makes sense that women who feel energetic are more likely to be in the mood for and enjoy sex.
3. 3.  Exercise promotes healthy body weight and a positive body image – Beautiful, sexy women come in all shapes and sizes.  But the reality is that many of us feel overweight and out of shape, and that feeling inhibits our ability to feel sexy and decreases our interest in sex.  Regular exercise promotes weight loss, and for many women even a small loss of weight helps them feel better about their bodies.  For me, this is probably the strongest libido-boosting benefit – when I maintain a healthy weight and stay reasonably fit, I feel much sexier than when I gain weight or get out of my fitness routine.  Exercise also tones muscles (which can lead to a trimmer body, even without weight loss) and increases flexibility.  Bottom line – regular exercise helps us feel sexier.
4. Exercise makes you feel good.  Regular exercise promotes the release of endorphins, brain chemicals that reduce pain and help you feel good.  Research shows that exercise also reduces depression and may reduce anxiety.  In addition, studies have found that women who exercise regularly become aroused more quickly and reach orgasm more easily – and that in and of itself is a great reason to exercise!  The benefits of exercise for women who want to boost their libido are clear.  If you want to give it a try (and I hope you do!), consider taking on this challenge – Try it for a month.  Exercise 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week for the next month.* At the end of the month, assess how you feel and decide whether it’s worth your time and effort to continue.  Are you willing to give it a try?  If so, here are some tips for getting started.

3 Tips for Starting (or Continuing!) to Exercise

1. 1.  Make it a priority.  Decide that you need and deserve a strong, healthy, sexy body and acknowledge that a strong, healthy, sexy body requires regular exercise.  Enlist your husband and children to help you make it a priority. Recognize that some things may need to drop off your “to do” list this month, in order to make room for exercise. Many women do everything for everyone else and nothing for themselves.  That will have to change.
2. Pick several activities you enjoy and can fit into your schedule.  “Exercise regularly” doesn’t mean “go to the gym.”  You can go to the gym, if that works for you.  But you can also walk, bike, swim, hike, dance with your husband, play soccer with your kids, lift weights, do yoga or work out to an exercise DVD in your bedroom.  Ideally, do two or three different things each week, to benefit different parts of your body.  Basically, anything you enjoy that gets your body moving – that’s “exercise.”
3. Figure out ways to fit 30 minutes of one of those activities into your day, 5 days a week.  (Or 40 minutes on 4 days – the goal, according to the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, is about 150 minutes of moderate physical activity each week.)  Think you don’t have time?  You may have to make time.  Walk for 15 minutes at lunch and 15 minutes in the evening.  Take your children to the park – but don’t sit on the bench, keep moving.  Walk around the soccer field while they’re at practice.  Walk while they’re at dance class or music lessons.  Use any exercise equipment you have in your house.  Change the way you do things so that moving, rather than sitting or standing, becomes your “default setting.”  (For more ideas, check out my 10 tips for adding exercise to a busy life.)

What are your experiences, positive or negative, with exercise in general and exercise and libido specifically?  Do you have a regular exercise routine?  What works (or doesn’t work) for you?  Does exercise affect your interest in sex and intimacy?  Bonny and I would love to hear from you.  ~Gaye

*According to the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, moderate exercise is safe for almost everyone, and the health benefits far outweigh the risks.  However, if you have a significant health problem or any health concerns about exercise, consult your physician before beginning an exercise program.