Having Sex Burns A Surprising Amount Of Calories

If you need another reason to get down and dirty with your lover, you're in luck. According to a study conducted by the University of Montreal, men burn around 100 calories during a 25-minute sex session, while women burn almost 69 calories. Per minute, that means you can expect to burn up to 4.2 calories if you're a man and up to 3.1 calories if you're a woman! This definitely beats working out.

As Jonathan Jordan, a certified trainer at Equinox and a fitness expert, told SHAPE, "Everyone's caloric burn is different and it depends on your overall cardiovascular health, how high your heart rate gets, your resting energy requirements (your calorie burn at rest), etc.," so if you really want your lovemaking to replace your gym session, you'll seriously need to up the intensity, which is easy to do if you and your partner are open to trying some new positions.

Sharing her ideas with Women's Day, Jaiya Kinzbach, a Los Angeles-based sexologist and the author of Red Hot Touch suggested that women will get more of a workout if they go on top. "If you are on top, try moving your hips like a belly dancer; this feels great and will give you a workout," Kinzbach recommended, adding, "Also try a position where you squat on top of him and then bounce up and down. This is a great workout for your thighs and butt, and it can burn up to 207 calories in 30 minutes." Get creative and have fun!

Remember, though — burning calories during sex should only be thought of as an added bonus. As Debby Herbenick, Ph.D., professor of sexual and reproductive health at the Indiana University School of Public Health and author of The Coregasm Workout: The Revolutionary Method for Better Sex Through Exercise, told Insider, "There are endless sex positions, and I recommend that people choose the ones that are pleasurable for them and their partner, not the one that will burn five or 10 more calories."