I had an Exercise-Induced Orgasm at the Gym
It took me completely by surprise
When I was in my early twenties, my best friend, Mackenzie, convinced me to sign up at our local gym with her.
As I’ve experienced with most of my female friends over the years, either to our detriment or benefit, she and I were quite competitive with one another. We were already passionate running partners, and there always seemed to be a bit of tension between us when it came to things like who had the best body, who ate the healthiest, who could run the most miles. Who could attract the most (and best) men…
So we were more than ready to utilize our competitive edge to get our bodies in tip-top shape. And by going to the gym together, we could adhere to a fitness routine even when the weather kept us from running.
Little did I know there was one thing I would beat Mackenzie to. Something I didn’t even know my body was physically capable of doing.
One day, while we were in an intense work-out class, I had an exercise-induced orgasm, in front of everyone, without so much as touching myself.
It’s something I’ve never heard another woman talk about — but I know I’m not the only one.
It’s also known as a “coregasm”
Mackenzie and I did pretty much everything at the gym that was available to us. We’d rotate between free weights, weight machines, and the cardio movie theater. Some evenings we’d do my favorite thing — group workout classes.
Within just a few months, I started noticing a real difference in my body. My stomach was flatter and harder, my arms stronger, and my legs — they were like brand new legs! I remembered catching them in my full-length mirror one day, wondering who the hell they belonged to. They had slimmed down, and I could see definition in my calves and thighs that wasn’t there before.
I had more energy and loved the way I felt. I was hooked — a certified gym rat.
One of my favorite classes we took together was an intense Ab Bootcamp class. It was a full hour of core work, and my stomach was always screaming by the end of it. In a good way.
One night during the Tuesday class, we were working on a long and particularly torturous round of flutter kicks. It was somewhere mid-class, so my abs were already super warm, and a little shaky.
The instructor had us on our backs, hands under our butts to keep from arching. We lifted our legs about two feet off the ground, at the waist, and alternated fluttering our legs up and down. We’d do a set of flutters, then a set of scissors, where we alternated moving our legs in and out, then back to the up-and-down motion of the flutters.
This is a hard workout and engages your legs, abs, pelvic floor — all that good stuff.
At one point during my flutters, I noticed my deep inner core muscles start to feel…different. Yes, I was feeling them tighten because I was straining them to get a good workout, but they were also feeling — good. Like, really good.
It was such a strange sensation — the pain of a hard workout mixed with the slow build of warm pleasure somewhere deep within my vaginal muscles.
And that pleasure — I knew exactly what it was. It was just like that slow boil of tingling sensations I got when I masturbated at home in my bedroom or my bathtub.
Only, I wasn’t touching myself.
I was so surprised by it that I didn’t know quite how to respond. As we continued our flutters and the sensation of pleasure between my legs increased, my breathing became faster — even faster than it already was.
A low moan escaped my lips, and I looked around me, self-conscious of whatever the hell my body was doing.
I glimpsed the faces of the men and women around me on their mats, wondering if I should stop. Something more was going on here than just a workout. Something intensely private — and fucking hot at the same time.
But everyone seemed to be focused on their own workout. Everyone was breathing heavy, grunting here and there, putting in the hard work to build stronger muscles.
“Lift your shoulders off the ground now and keep them up,” the instructor said. She wore a headset mic, and her pleasant voice carried over the loud music, her tone upbeat and motivational. “Keep fluttering, shoulders up — engage those upper abs. Two minutes to go!”
The two-minute announcement was met by more groans, followed by some laughter.
“You got this!” she chirped. Our happy, perfectly in-shape cheerleader.
So…I did what I always did. Lifted my shoulders and made the workout that much more challenging.
Oh my…
Bending up at the waist felt even better. It seemed the more I worked my abs and pelvic floor muscles together, the more my pleasure built. My clit and my labia and everything in the general region of my vulva felt incredibly sensitive beneath my tight capri leggings. My vaginal muscles were practically throbbing deep below the surface of my contracted belly.
I knew I was close to coming, right there on the mat. In front of the whole class.
I was sweaty everywhere, but there was a new warmth between my legs. That familiar wetness I get when I’m turned on and about to come. I was so hot — and it definitely was not just from working out.
I looked at Mackenzie, just a few feet away on her own matt. She was staring at the ceiling, her face determined and red and sweaty.
I looked at the ceiling too as I felt myself reach the very edge of the precipice. That place of anticipation where every part of your body tightens like a steel string about to break, just waiting for the tension to push you over the edge and into ecstasy.
My hands under my butt, my legs swishing in the air, I felt that beautiful crash of an orgasm, right there in my workout class. It seemed to start deep in my vaginal wall and then burst in an outward rush of pleasure to my clit, my entire pussy, down my legs, and up my belly.
As the pleasure released and rushed everywhere, I cried out. I quickly bit my lip and lowered the volume from a cry to a moan. It was so. Fucking. Intense.
As my pussy contracted over and over, I dropped my legs, letting the pleasure take me away. Everything from my waist down had a pleasant, jello-like feeling. I was even wetter now than when I started. Glossy-eyed. Relaxed.
I took a deep, trembling breath as the very last orgasmic pulses subsided — fully surprised by what my body had done.
Pushing pleasure to the edge
After my accidental orgasm, I rested on my mat for a bit. The rest of the class went about their business, busting their asses and following the instructor’s moves, but I needed a minute or two to get over the surprise of what had just occurred and to collect my thoughts.
I wondered if anyone could have discovered my secret, but the fact that no one stopped their workout to give me strange looks seemed to indicate that my unexpected climax had gone under the radar.
As I sat up for a moment to get a drink of water, I locked eyes with Mackenzie. She was doing a perfect plank while giving me a smug little smile, so proud that she was still on her A-game while I had to stop and take a break.
I turned away from her and grinned at my own inside joke, not feeling one bit annoyed at her superior attitude. She may have been planking like a pro, but I’d just discovered a whole new world of workout motivation.
Later, I researched the phenomenon. I had experienced a coregasm: an orgasm that happens as a result of a core workout.
Exercise-induced orgasm: a fascinating phenomenon
I’ve heard of women who could orgasm by doing Kegal exercises, though I’ve never been one of them. Sexplanations is one of my favorite podcasts, and the host of the show admits that whenever and wherever she does her Kegals, she’ll have an orgasm — quite an enjoyable and vocal one — so she always has to be aware of her surroundings when she does them.
But my exercise-induced orgasm, or EIO, was a bit different. I wasn’t strictly focusing on Kegals — my abs, legs, ass, and entire core were involved.
It’s also interesting to note that nothing had been directly stimulating my clit at the time. It wasn’t a case of my athletic leggings rubbing me the right way — it had come from somewhere deeper. Almost what I imagine a penetrative vaginal orgasm must feel like for those women who are lucky enough to experience that.
According to scientists, we aren’t really sure how or why coregasms happen.
The prevailing theory is that shaky, fatigued abdominal and pelvic floor muscles produce some type of inner stimulation that causes a coregasm. For men, this may be tied to prostate stimulation. Your ability to coregasm may be determined by your anatomy, emotional state, and muscle strength at the time of your workout.
— Emily Cronkleton, Healthline
Other literature supports the idea that EIOs more commonly occur in women. And though over half the women in one study reported they’d experienced it during an ab workout, it’s not the only exercise that can do the trick. For some, it’s happened while weightlifting, doing yoga, climbing ropes, or even running.
And though this orgasm occurred when I wasn’t feeling at all sexual or fantasizing about anything, I can say that I was feeling pretty damn horny once it got started.
I can see how some women would feel awkward or maybe self-conscious about this occurring in public, as I did. But I gotta say, it makes for a far more exciting workout.
