Is that really an orgasm you’re having at the gym?

Christine has been banned by her husband from going to the gym. This was the result of a very innocent revelation that she made to her husband concerning her exercise experiences. She orgasms occasionally while in the gym.

“It has nothing to do with the gym instructor,” she said when she visited the Sexology Clinic with her husband, Aloise, “the guy is innocent and not even aware that I get aroused.”

The couple was in their late 20s. They had been married for three years and had one child. Christine gained a bit of weight during and after pregnancy. She was conscious of the changes in her looks and wanted to go back to her original shape.

“The reason I go to the gym is so that I am presentable to my husband, it is all for his good, he deserves a beautiful wife,” Christine explained.

“If going to the gym and getting orgasms in the presence of a gym instructor is what you want then get another husband,” Aloise said sternly, “It is either me or the gym instructor.”

I interrogated Christine to understand her circumstances around the orgasm in the gym. She was normally in the company of other people when it happened; she was not fantasizing about sex whenever it happened. She had no attachment to the instructor. I concluded that Christine was having what has been christened coregasm.

Coregasm is sexual stimulation that comes as a result of exercising. It happens in men and women but is commoner in women. 10 out of 100 women involved in exercising get orgasms as part of the package.

“It is definitely a good feeling, just like when one gets an orgasm during sex,” Christine explained, “but I must add that it is different, it is kind of milder but smooth.”

The majority, over two-thirds, of women who get coregasm do not have sexual thoughts during exercise. For many, there is no intention of sexual pleasure as they go to the gym. 

“Actually, it comes as a surprise,” Christine said.

“Well, nature has ways of rewarding us for doing the right thing,” I said in jest to emphasize the importance of exercises, orgasm notwithstanding. 

Studies done to understand coregasm show that in the course of exercising the arousal can build up over time. Some women exercise for up to one hour before the feelings pick up and lead to climaxing. But each day is different. There are days when nothing happens. Yet still there are days when things happen in a flash and without warning.

“And there are exercises and positions that enhance the outcome,” Christine said and quickly added that she was not intentionally going for what would make her climax “Of course my primary objective is to manage my weight.”

Studies have shown that coregasm is common in exercises for abs, especially those targeting the muscles below the navel. Exercise activities that involve these muscles and which lead to coregasm include the usual abs activities; lying on your back and lifting your legs; moving your thighs up to touch your tummy while on your back; moving your pelvis while lying on your back; and hanging the legs on a pulley and moving them back and forth.  

“Is this not what the gym guys do to you as part of stretching after completing the exercises?” Aloise asked looking quite agitated, “I think they understand the coregasm thing and they take advantage of it.”

There was a momentary easy quiet, Christine shook her head and denied that the gym man ever touched her whenever she got coregasm.

“Well, I do not expect that you would explain the truth of the graphics details that go on between you and the gym man before you climax!” Aloise said rhetorically.

Incidentally, Christine had talked to some of her friends about her gym experience. They laughed at her and told her that she was naïve. 

“That is why women are flocking there!” Aloise said.

I however reminded him that from research, coregasm is not really that common. A percentage of 10 simply means that only one out of 10 women get it. It is also not that you must be in a gym to get it; some women get coregasm when riding a bike. For some even running or brisk walking can cause it. It is therefore unfair to tie coregasm to interaction with a gym instructor. 

Even with all the discussions, Aloise remained adamant that Christine had to stop going to the gym. The couple decided to buy home exercise videos instead.