Women’s Experiences with Exercise-Induced Orgasm: Findings from Qualitative Interviews

Abstract

Exercise-induced arousal (EIA) and exercise-induced orgasm (EIO) have been described as occurring from engaging in exercise or physical activities that are vigorous, repetitive, or demanding of core abdominal muscles, usually apart from sexual situations and without direct genital stimulation. Few existing studies have examined EIA/EIO, and no prior studies have qualitatively explored these experiences. Thus, the purpose of this research was to understand women's lived experiences of EIO. We used a qualitative semi-structured interview format to ask women to describe when and under what circumstances they first experienced EIO, their understanding of how EIO feels to them and occurs in their body, the exercises that lead to their EIO experiences, as well as whether they feel EIO may be similar to or different from other orgasms they have experienced. A total of 21 adult women ages 19-68 years participated in in-person (n = 18) or virtual (n = 3) qualitative interviews. Data were coded into the following six categories: Discovering and Making Sense of EIO; How EIO is Experienced; Factors Associated with EIO; Communication about EIO; Feelings About EIO; and Intersection Between EIO, Sex, and Masturbation. Many participants described first experiencing EIA/EIO during childhood or adolescence. They reported EIA/EIO from diverse exercises (core exercises, swimming, strength training, yoga, among others) and varied in the extent to which they had discussed their EIA/EIOs with friends, partners, or healthcare providers. Although some felt embarrassed or ashamed about EIA/EIO, others felt positively about their experiences and, in some cases, even incorporated their experiences into partnered sexual experiences.