You probably already know that sex is good for you in all sorts of ways; it reduces stress, boosts your immune system, and lowers your blood pressure as well as chance of heart attack. But there’s an added benefit to getting down and dirty you may never have considered: it’s a workout, and like any workout, it burns calories.
And while gender, weight, and probably your general calorie-burning predisposition all factor in to the amount you burn during sexercise, some intrepid scientists figured out a general baseline for how much you actually shed per sexual activity. And for that, we thank them.
1. Oral Sex:
You’ll burn 60 calories for every 30 minutes you give and/or receive oral sex, says Spoon University.
2. A Good Ole-Fashioned Handie:
Pullin’ on the ole trombone (sorry) burns about 100 calories an hour, although the world that statistic is relevant in is no world I want to live in. Since you’ll probably (hopefully???) be going at it for 10-20 minutes tops, giving a hand-job means you’ll burn about 16 to 33 calories. If you want to kick that up a notch, Los Angeles–based sexologist Jaiya Kinzbach suggests using “really slow sensual strokes,” varying up the frequency and pressure, and using your body to rock back and forth for a more comprehensive workout.
3. Making Out:
Okay, although this one isn’t exactly sexual, we all know it certainly can have the tendency to become hot and bothered. Just the anticipation elicited by a good kissing sesh gets your heart rate going and can burn up to 238 calories in just half an hour!