Both mental excitement and physical exercise increase adrenaline levels and can trigger heart attacks and arrhythmias, abnormalities of the heart's pumping rhythm. Sex, of course, is different, and the excitement and stress might well pump out extra adrenaline. Raking leaves may increase a man's oxygen consumption, but it probably won't get his motor running. If a man can walk up two or three flights of stairs without difficulty, he should be in shape for sex. Sex burns about five calories a minute that's four more than a man uses watching TV, but it's about the same as walking the course to play golf. As for oxygen consumption, it comes in at about 3.5 METS (metabolic equivalents), which is about the same as doing the foxtrot, raking leaves, or playing ping pong. All in all, average sexual activity ranks as mild to moderate in terms of exercise intensity. During sexual intercourse, a man's heart rate rarely gets above 130 beats a minute, and his systolic blood pressure (the higher number, recorded when the heart is pumping blood) nearly always stays under 170. Men seem to spend more energy thinking and talking about sex than on the act itself. Sex was even less strenuous for women in terms of heart rate, blood pressure, and perceived intensity of exertion. On an intensity scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest, men evaluated treadmill exercise as 4.6 and sex as 2.7. All the sex acts concluded with vaginal intercourse and male orgasm.ĭisappointingly perhaps, the treadmill proved more strenuous. Researchers monitored heart rate and blood pressure during standard treadmill exercise tests and during "usual" sexual activity with a familiar partner at home. Despite their cardiac histories, the men reported exercising about four times a week, and they reported having sexual activity about six times a month on average. About three-quarters of the men were married, and nearly 70% had some form of cardiovascular disease 53% were taking beta blockers. In addition to 13 women, the volunteers included 19 men with an average age of 55. To evaluate the cardiovascular effects of sexual activity, researchers monitored volunteers while they walked on a treadmill in the lab and during private sexual activity at home. These questions may sound like locker room banter, but they are actually quite important - and they now have solid scientific answers. And as many men get older, they wonder if sex is a good form of exercise or if it's too strenuous for the heart. At some time in his life, nearly every man gets exercised about sex.