Have you ever had coregasm

Anastasia Cunningham, Health Coordinator

Women are undergoing a stimulating phenomenon as they strive to tone up their bodies and achieve rock-solid flat abs. It's called a coregasm - a spontaneous orgasm that some women experience while performing certain exercises that target the deep, core abdominal muscles.

Despite not being new, women have been shy in coming forward to admit to the pleasurable experience, while others aren't even sure what they're feeling. But they all agree on one thing: it feels damn good ... and they hope it never stops.

Today, more and more females are speaking about their coregasm experience, which has led to more ladies engaging in ab workouts.

A research published in Sexual and Relationship Therapy noted that in a study at Indiana University in the United States, more than half of 530 women surveyed claimed to have experienced an exercise-induced orgasm (EIO) or exercise-induced sexual pleasure (EISP) during a workout.

Lead researcher Debby Herbenick, PhD, co-director of the Center for Sexual Health Promotion at Indiana, said the majority of the women admitted they weren't having any sexual thoughts during the workout when the orgasm was triggered.

Jamaican fitness enthusiast and body builder, Sandra, said the first time it happened to her, she wasn't sure what it was.

"The first time it happened, I was shocked. I kept looking around wondering if anyone noticed," she sheepishly admitted to Health, preferring to remain anonymous.

"It's almost involuntary. It's like while I was doing the exercise I just felt this sensation overtake me. It felt so good, I couldn't help laughing. I had to stop my workout to take a breath."

The 33-year-old, who has been participating in bodybuilding competitions for some 10 years, said doing basic ab workouts didn't trigger a coregasm. It wasn't until she began some serious level of abdominal workouts to really achieve the firm, muscular core she now sports that she began having the stimulating experience.

"It doesn't always happen while doing the same routine and it depends on the number of reps I'm doing," she noted.

"I also realise it happens when I do certain types of abs so I only do them when I'm alone."

Sandra said it was only a couple of years ago that she began asking some of her friends and fellow fitness enthusiasts about it when she realised more women were experiencing coregasms than they wanted to admit.

STRONG PELVIC MUSCLES

Experts believe that this strange core-induced climax could be caused by a number of factors: the tightening of pelvic muscles, the build-up of tension and even nerve impulses.

Joy Davidson, PhD, author of Fearless Sex, noted that it usually happens to women who already have very strong pelvic muscles.

"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," she said.

"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."

There are now several fitness experts who specialise in teaching coregasm workouts, including in Jamaica.

Name changed

yourhealth@gleanerjm.com

Ab workouts that trigger a coregasm

Among the workouts that women say give them that climatic experience are:

Single leg plank

Arm pullover straight leg crunch

Hanging side crunches

Medicine ball blast

Hanging straight leg raises

Responders in the Indiana University study also revealed that the top three exercises for EIO were abs, climbing ropes or poles and weightlifting. And for those who experienced EISP, the most common responses were biking, weightlifting and abs. Some women also admitted to getting the pleasurable experience from aerobics, yoga, pull-ups and chin-ups.

"A lot of women require a build-up of tension in their legs before they can achieve the release of orgasm," noted sex therapist and author of The Anatomy of Pleasure, Victoria Zdrok, PhD.

"So, when a woman exercises, the release of endorphins and dopamine, which are necessary for orgasm, combined with the tension in the abs and lower extremities, can cause the clitoral stimulation that is needed."