Many women who visit the gym experience a rather unusual side-effect, according to a study about sexual pleasure.
Women reported experiencing orgasms when lifting weights or during a spinning session, even if sex was the last thing on their minds.
And the most effective workout? An exercise that works the abdominal muscles using a piece of gym equipment called the 'captain's chair.'
To perform the exercise you stand with your forearms resting on the padded armrests of the chair, which are positioned at right angles to the body.
You then squeeze your abdominal muscles (which support the trunk of the body) to help you lift your knees to your chest before lowering the feet to the floor again.
Exercises most associated with female orgasms (percentage)
Abdominal exercises: 51.4%
Weight lifting: 26.5%
Yoga: 20%
Cycling: 15.8%
Running: 13.2%
Walking/hiking: 9.6%
The result was revealed in a study from Indiana University. They surveyed hundreds of women aged from 18 to 63 who said they had experienced exercise-induced orgasm or sexual pleasure.
Nearly half of the women had experienced the symptoms on more than 10 occasions. Abdominal exercises came at the top of the list, accounting for just over half of exercise-induced orgasms.
