Wait…Can You *Actually* Have a Gymgasm?
What if I told you that you could achieve an orgasm at the gym? No, I’m actually not suggesting you bang your personal trainer (too messy), but I am suggesting you cum while cranking out crunches. It might sound too good to be true, but according to TikTok, this is called a gymgasm—also commonly known as a coregasm—and you can make one happen by engaging your pelvic floor muscles during your next ab workout. Don’t believe me? Don’t take my word for it. Women across the social media platform aren’t exactly shying away from sharing their own experiences.
And while it might have just popped up on TikTok, the gymgasm isn’t exactly new. Pelvic floor therapist Dr. Heather Jeffcoat, founder of Femina Physical Therapy, says it’s a lot more common than you might think. In fact, according to a study published by famed sexologist Alfred Kinsey, the phenomenon dates back to the early 1950s. The research varies, but the Journal of Sexual and Relationship Therapy reported that one in 10 women report having an exercise-induced orgasm in their life, while an even smaller population experiences them on the reg. (Hello! Teach me!)
Here’s what else you need to know about gymgasms, including how to make one happen for yourself.
Is A ‘Gymgasm’ Actually An Orgasm?
While all signs point to yes, the actual answer is a little more complicated. According to Dr. Jeffcoat, it’s hard to definitively know. “Some may interpret it as an orgasm, or maybe it is an orgasm. There’s no way to really tell,” says Dr. Jeffcoat. “An orgasm is such a unique experience for everybody. That’s kind of hard to define.”
To better understand the gymgasm, we’ve gotta unpack *how* exactly it happens first. “Our pelvic floor muscles are controlled by our nerves. We have a nerve called the pudendal nerve that branches from within the pelvis. One of those nerves goes towards the clitoris and helps control clitoral function,” Dr. Jeffcoat says. “Then we have our pelvic floor muscles and the [pundenal] nerve runs within the muscle. That’s how the muscle contraction can stimulate the nerve.”
To put that into layman's terms, the exercise-induced orgasm is tied to how your nerves and muscles interact together to stimulate the inner clit (because remember: your clitoris is much more than the bean-like button at the top of your vag). By engaging your pelvic floor muscles, or in some cases your hip flexors, you can prompt a climax—without any fancy toys at play. So if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, maybe it’s an orgasm?
Can People With Penises Have Gymgasms?
Penis owners are not excluded from the gymgasm narrative. “It’s just a phenomenon of the pelvic floor muscle and nerve anatomy and the structure it stimulates,” Dr. Jeffcoat says. “[If] the dorsal penile nerve gets stimulated, it could trigger an orgasm. But is it the nerve that’s getting stimulated, or is it the muscle contraction, or a combination of both? That’s not fully understood.”
According to that same study we mentioned earlier, one in 12 men (aka eight percent) will experience a gymgasm in their lifetime, while the number is closer to 10 percent for women.
What Exercises Can Help You Achieve a Gymgasm?
Anything that engages the pelvic floor muscles—i.e. any exercise that works out your core—is a good start. Think: hanging leg raises, crunches, leg lifts, planks, pull ups, flutter kicks, and hip raises. Dr. Jeffcoat also recommends the same program she tells patients about who complain of diminished or less intense orgasms.
“What you want to do is incorporate other muscles that help facilitate the pelvic floor contraction or help further enhance the pelvic floor muscle contraction,” she says.
She suggests coordinating pelvic floor muscle contractions and deep abdominal contractions with exercises that engage your adductor muscles—which run along your inner thighs—and working out your glutes. Kegels help too, but more on that in a min.
Can You Increase Your Chances of Having a Gymgasm?
Tbh, we (i.e. me and actual medical professionals) don’t know what exactly can increase your odds of an exercise-induced orgasm other than ab and pelvic floor exercises. We can, however, make a few educated guesses. Janet Brito, PhD, LCSW, CST told Healthline that cardio is rumored to get things going down there more easily (hello, blood flow!), while more challenging workouts also might mean a higher likelihood of achieving the big O on your yoga mat.
Some people might be more prone to gymgasms than others—the stats alone will tell you that—but according to Dr. Jeffcoat, that might not necessarily be a good thing. “People who are more prone to having [exercise-induced orgasms] are the ones that tend to have an overactive pelvic floor” Dr. Jeffcoat says. “Patients can also have other precursor symptoms before they have an exercise-induced orgasm.”
In other words: People who have gymgasms could also be on the receiving end of unpleasant symptoms like painful sex, bladder urgency, or incontinence—not quite so sexy. If you’re experiencing one of these concerns or would just rather reserve your orgasms for the bedroom, set up an appointment with a pelvic floor therapist. With that said, if your goal is to have a gymgasm, they can help with that too.
Now here’s the good news: gymgasms— when *not* accompanied by any sort of sexual dysfunction—can actually improve your sex life. Why? Because any type of orgasm is a contraction of your pelvic floor, and pelvic floor exercises (aka kegels) can help improve your orgasm function, says Dr. Jeffcoat, making them more intense as a result. And I think I can confidently speak for all of us when I say, we want that! Kegels are great for engaging your pelvic floor muscles, and can even be done with a penis-having partner for more fun, while Ben Wa balls (i.e. tiny weights you insert inside your vagina) are another stimulating way to strengthen things down there.
So make sure to put your partner in their place when they start assuming your mind-blowing orgasms are because of them. 😘 Even if hitting the gym isn’t on your list of new year’s resolutions, having more orgasms should be. Priorities, people!
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