exercise – Paul Jenner

I see that Sunday Times columnist India Knight is advising Demi Moore (and anyone else of a like mind, presumably) to cut back on the exercise and use the time ‘pottering about in tracksuit bottoms’. The reason for the advice is that Demi (48) has, apparently, broken up with her somewhat younger partner Ashton Kutcher (33). As India sees it, Demi can now breathe a sigh of relief and let herself go.

I’m constantly baffled that so many people view exercise as a kind of torture. There are quite a lot of people (and I’m one) who actually enjoy exercise. Nor do I comprehend this idea that letting yourself go is somehow the path to happiness. In fact, the precise opposite is the case. Exercise boosts the body’s ‘happiness chemicals‘. It also boosts sex drive and helps maintain capability. According to a survey released this week, almost half of men in England are dissatisfied with their sex lives. If they and their partners (those that have them) were to exercise a little more, they’d find it did wonders for their sex lives and their relationships. Not many men realise that a paunch is actually a kind of anti-sex factory, converting the ‘male’ hormone testosterone into the ‘female’ hormone oestrogen. I give full details of all this in my book Have Great Sex, but the main things to keep in mind are that you need to exercise vigorously for at least 20 minutes three times a week, and that you need to keep your Body Mass Index (BMI) under 24.

Oh, and in my opinion tracksuit bottoms are about the most sexless garment ever invented. What garment is the biggest turn-off for you? Share your thoughts by clicking on Comments.

My little erection problem the other day (see Women On Top in the Writer’s Life section) has made me reflect on the importance of keeping in good shape for sex. It’s a sad thing, in a way, that how much you enjoy sex depends not on what your partner does to you but on what you’ve been doing to yourself.

If you’ve not looked after yourself then you’re going to find it difficult to reach the outer limits of ecstasy. Just as Daniel Barenboim can’t play a Beethoven sonata on a piano that’s out of tune, so your partner won’t be able to ‘play you’ if you don’t keep your body tuned up.

Fortunately, there are always things you can do to give your body a better chance. Exercise is one of them. In a Gallup survey 45% of respondents said their sex lives improved when they began exercising.

That’s hardly surprising. The tiny blood vessels in your genitals are easily blocked by fatty deposits. Exercise is one way of helping to keep the blood flowing strongly. Another is to keep down the level of saturated fats in your meals. Men should also keep in mind that a paunch is a kind of anti-sex factory, causing a rise in oestrogen, the ‘female’ hormone, and a fall in testosterone, the ‘male’ hormone.

As little as 20-minutes of vigorous exercise three times a week could be all it takes to make the difference between so-so-sex and super-sex.

Demi Moore, Happiness And Exercise

Fit For Sex

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