The Female Coregasm, Explained

Ask Glen:

The workout confession women are finally sharing

Q. What do women, exercise, and orgasm have in common

A. Women have all the fun.

They may complain about going to the gym, but we know better. Through some tireless investigative reporting (okay, we read some message boards and e-mails), we now know their secret:

Many of them become sexually aroused doing certain exercises. Specifically, core exercises. To get really specific -- or explicit -- hanging leg raises seem to be the move of choice. Some get more than aroused. They reach orgasm. Right there, in the middle of the gym.

Women responded. Big time. "Seems on my third set of 15 reps, if I crank out a few more reps and go to 20, well, yeah, I can have an orgasm!" one wrote. "And no one notices, trust me."

Another said it worked on a leg-lowering drill: "I have to be lying down and usually put a small towel or pillow under my lower back. I get the best “coregasm” when I lower my feet close to the floor."

Then there was the woman who was doing crunches in the gym when "bam -- it hit me like a ton of bricks. I just stopped right then and there, got all pale in the face and then busted out laughing. Everyone in the place was looking at me."

It was her first time. She's had many, many since

What's Going on Here?

I am a fitness expert, so I quickly noticed these were all core exercises. Being a writer, I (Glen Edward Mitchell, actually) named it: the Coregasm.

Victoria Zdrok, Ph.D., a sex therapist and author of The Anatomy of Pleasure, provided scientific insight.

"A lot of women require a buildup of tension in their legs before they can achieve the release of orgasm," she said. "So, when a woman exercises, the release of endorphins and dopamine, which are necessary for orgasm, combined with the tension in the lower extremities, can cause the clitoral stimulation" that is needed.

Joy Davidson ( A fitness guru ) offered a fitness angle:

"When that happens, usually it's women who already have very strong pelvic muscles," she said. "And when they’re doing certain exercises that are tapping into the deep core or into the quads and inner thighs, what they wind up doing is almost automatically squeezing pelvic muscles in addition.

"When they squeeze hard enough, especially if they’re already fit, they can have what feels like a mini-orgasm."

Or, sometimes, a "ton of bricks" orgasm.

Debby Herbenick, Ph.D., a sex researcher at Indiana University, said she'd heard similar gym stories, with various exercises.

"This may be happening due to a combination of women bearing down on pelvic muscles while at the same time squeezing her thighs together, which may stimulate her clitoris as she brings them upward."

Debby, being a conscientious columnist, hastened to add that, "as fun as these are," women should watch their form during the exercises, no matter how good it feels.

"If an orgasm just happens to occur while using good form, that may be an added bonus," she said, "but I would advise women not to pursue an orgasm at the expense of proper form. After all, they can always enjoy orgasms later on at home or in the shower."

Davidson speculated that the tightening of core and leg muscles are "triggering the nerve impulses in the pelvic area. It's a little unusual to get that much response from one squeeze, but if you're doing multiple reps, you're squeezing your pelvic muscles over and over again.

"So by the time you do it 30 times you just might feel that orgasmic sensation. Women's nerves in the pelvic area respond differently, so for some women, all they have to do is squeeze a few times."

Kristin, a married 26-year old woman in Ontario who has fun with her leg-lowering exercise, says the number of reps she requires for coregasm is different every time.

But she also has an at-home trick: "The thing that sends me to the moon and back is when I use my vibrator at the same time. WOW! It totally vamps up the intensity."

Kali, a woman in Oklahoma, applied her gym training in bed. After discovering the coregasm while doing a hanging hold (like the top position of a chinup), she "held a leg and shoulder lift" during sex.

"It only intensified the pulsing," she reports. In the gym, she starts to reach orgasm after five repetitions of the hanging leg raise. “I’m just glad to know I'm not the only one with this side effect."

Another writer said she had to stop in mid-set during decline weighted crunches with her workout partner because of the intense feeling. "Funny," she adds, "this was before I ever even had sex in my life, so I didn’t know what the heck that feeling was!"

A female trainer told us, "Whenever I either do hanging leg raises or knee ups, I get the best 'coregasm' a girl could dream of. I'm guessing it happens due to activation of the Kegel muscles in conjunction with friction from moving your legs up and down."

Either way, she said, "I don't care why it happens, but just am happy it does."

The added benefit, noted one woman who also finds the exercise orgasmic: "What a great motivator to do hanging leg raises."

Please consult your physician before starting any diet or exercise program

Wishing You Great Health,

Glen Edward Mitchell

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