These popular workouts could ruin your sex life

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There are all kinds of exercises that target different parts of the body, and if they aren’t done correctly, they do more harm than good.

Now apply those rules to trending workouts that are intended to help your sex life.

Kegels, Pilates and even cycling, can impact intimate health for better or worse, depending on how you’re doing them.

There are TikTok challenges that tout themselves as a new way to get in sex-ready shape, but it could cost you.

As fitness fads go viral, more people jump on the bandwagon, only focusing on the finished product and not considering the side effects.

But according to Anita Fletcher, a sex and relationship expert at adult toy brand Fantasy Co., some popular exercises could be silently sabotaging your sex life.

“The fitness world is full of trendy workouts that get popular because they promise amazing results quickly. But our bodies are complex systems where everything connects — you can’t just isolate one area without affecting others,” Fletcher explained to The Toronto Sun.

“What’s particularly concerning is how few fitness professionals understand the connection between exercise and sexual well-being.”

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Fletcher said that Kegel exercises are meant to strengthen the pelvic floor and boost everything from bladder control to orgasms. But they can backfire spectacularly if you overdo it.

“An overly tight pelvic floor can cause pain during intercourse, make orgasms harder to achieve, and even trigger muscle spasms that shut down arousal entirely,” Fletcher explained.

Because people already have tense pelvic floors from stress, sitting all day or previous injuries, she recommended learning to fully relax your pelvic floor first.

“Try alternating between tensing for tensing seconds and releasing completely for 10 seconds. And limit sessions to five minutes, three times weekly — not the hundreds daily that some influencers recommend.”

Spinning or cycling is great for cardio but extended time on a bike seat, particularly one that is narrow and hard, can compress nerves and blood vessels in the genital area — and that pressure can lead to erectile difficulties, decreased arousal or difficulty reaching orgasm.

Fletcher advised opting for a “wider, padded seat that distributes pressure away from sensitive areas,” and try to “stand up regularly during rides, shift your position often, and take days off between intense cycling sessions.”

Traditional abdominal workouts like crunches and sit-ups could be sabotaging your sex drive as they create excessive tension in the pelvic floor and lower abdominals.

“Balance those crunches with yoga exercises that release tension, like happy baby pose or child’s pose,” Fletcher said, noting that by engaging your deep transverse abdominals rather than just the surface muscles can protect your pelvic floor while still strengthening your core.”

And while Pilates may target deep muscles and improve flexibility, the constant “navel to spine” action can be hard on the body.

“Instructors often tell people to pull their belly button toward their spine and hold it there,” Fletcher said, but the hollowing of the abdomen, when done constantly, can lead to shallow breathing and a perpetually tense pelvic floor, neither of which supports healthy sexual function.

She suggested finding instructors who “emphasize release as much as engagement.”

Ultimately, she advised everyone to pay attention to how their body feels during sex and other intimate moments.

“If you’re experiencing decreased sensation, difficulty with arousal, pain during intercourse, or trouble reaching orgasm, your workout might be the hidden culprit.”