10 Exercises That Spice Things Up In The Bedroom

Want to improve the quality of your sex life or just have better luck getting in the mood? Start with fitness! Experts share the moves they recommend most for ramping things up in the bedroom.

1. Squats

You already know this move as a terrific leg and butt toner, but did you know that it can also get the blood flowing to the places that may energize your libido?  Debbie Mandel, MA, a stress and fitness expert says, “Many women need a little physical help with arousal to get blood flowing to the genitalia.” She suggests squats. With your feet spread shoulder-width apart, “make sure your heels stay on the floor as you ‘sit’ on an imaginary chair,” she explains. “The lower you squat, the more you recruit your glutes and reap the benefits. 

2. Happy Baby Pose

Limberness goes hand in hand with great sex, after all, who wants to deal with aching legs or a stiff lower back while in the heat of the moment? That’s why Marta Montenegro, a fitness expert suggests certain stretches to prepare you for agility between the sheets. “It will stretch the spine while loosening up the adductor muscles and the hamstrings, which are heavily compromised in traditional positions such as the missionary,” she says. 

3. Pelvic Tilts

Want a move that will strengthen the muscles you use most during intercourse? Try the pelvic tilt. “Women tend to suffer from lower back pain, and this sometimes affects sexual positions as well as desire,” says Mandel. “Pelvic tilts give you a bonus of core strength and strengthening the lower back.” Lie on your back with knees bent and feet flat on the floor, shoulder-width apart. Raise your pelvic region in a straight line like a bridge. Hold your abdominals in while you tighten your glutes and push your inner thighs toward each other. Slowly lower to the floor and repeat, 20 to 25 reps, if possible. 

4. Biceps Curls

How can you get toned, gorgeous arms and also boost your sex drive? Grab your hand weights and work in 15 to 20 reps of biceps curls! Here’s why: “Medical studies show that testosterone plays a role in sexual drive in both men and women,” explains Mandel. “Giving a woman with low libido testosterone is controversial, and could lead to undesirable side effects,” she says. “However, strength training increases levels naturally and is healthy too. The testosterone levels that are generated create the tipping point for desire.” And don’t worry, weightlifting is not going to give you facial hair or a lower voice. The testosterone that’s released is at healthy, natural levels. 

5. Tandem Stationary Lunges

Past research has indicated that couples who exercise together have better sex. So why not do a few moves with your guy? Mandel suggests the tandem lunge. “A romantic variation of the traditional stationary lunge: Hold your partner’s left hand with your right (as you stand next to each other) and together do five lunges, with the same legs forward so that you don’t bump into each other.” Need a stationary lunge primer? With one leg forward and one leg back, slowly bend the knees as if you’re trying to kneel down and touch one knee to the ground (but don’t let it touch), keeping both knees at 90-degree angles. Aim for two sets of five repetitions on each side—gradually increasing to 10.

6. Kegel Exercises

When it comes to fitness, Kegels count too! These pelvic-floor-strengthening exercises that your ob-gyn is always encouraging you to do can have big payoffs when it comes to sexual satisfaction, says a certified personal trainer in Los Angeles. “Kegels consist of contracting and relaxing the muscles in your pelvic floor,” she explains. “Improving the strength of these vaginal muscles is beneficial for greater sexual satisfaction and stronger orgasms, as well as preventing urinary or bowel incontinence and pelvic prolapse in women.”

7. Ab Rolls

The core is compromised of more than 20 muscles, and working them “will give you the strength to support your man’s weight without hyperextending your back,” says Montenegro. “A great exercise that works both the core and the muscles of the upper body is the roll-in, roll-out on a stability ball.” Start with your hands fully extended on the floor in a push-up-like position. Place your shins on a stability ball, keeping your back straight. Roll the ball in toward your chest and back out, using the abdominals to drag your knees toward your chest and to push your feet back out. Keep your back flat and hips tight, and don’t move your upper body.

8. Plank Pose

Is there one move that can make you more sexually confident, daring and strong? Yes: the plank, a core-building exercise popular in yoga, says Madeleine Castellanos MD, a psychiatrist who specializes in sexual medicine and sex therapy in New York City. “This exercise works upper arms, abdominals, obliques, thighs and buttocks,” she says. “These are important muscles that help stabilize you when you are engaged in intercourse on all fours, any position where the woman is on top, or in transition from one position to another while maintaining close genital contact with your partner.” Lay facedown with the palms of your hands flat on the floor on each side of your shoulders. In this position, your forearms should also be flat on the floor and will act as your support when you raise your body. Push your weight to the balls of your feet as you push up onto your forearms and palms so that your entire body is suspended in the air. Be careful to keep your body as straight and flat as possible, and avoid lifting your hips in the air. Hold this position for 10 seconds, then relax for a few seconds before repeating.

9. Bridge Pose

Another yoga pose that can improve your sexual enjoyment is the bridge pose. “This exercise helps strengthen the lower back, gluteus muscles and hamstrings,” says Dr. Castellanos. “It helps enhance a woman's sexual experience because it increases her strength and endurance in these muscles, which are used to create resistance during a man's thrusting, thereby increasing the intensity of the thrust.” Start out lying flat on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. Lay your arms to the side of your body, lift your hips up in the air and squeeze your gluteus muscles. Continue to press upward until just your upper back/shoulders, arms and feet are touching the floor. Hold this position for 10 seconds, breathing normally, then slowly lower back down to the floor and relax for a few seconds before repeating again.

10. Seated Leg Extensions

Do your thighs quiver during and after sex—but not in a good way? “The large muscles of the thighs are often used during sex and can get fatigued quickly since they are such a large muscle group,” says Dr. Castellanos. The solution: seated leg extensions. “Find a stable chair in which you can sit up straight and have your knees bent at a 90-degree angle with your feet flat on the floor,” she says. “While keeping your thigh and knee as steady as possible, lift one foot up to straighten your leg slowly, then bring it back down to the floor. Do three sets of 10 reps for each leg.

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Industrialization Key To Africa’s Economic Transformation - ECA

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Mr Carlos Lopes, Executive Secretary of UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) has urged leaders to speed up efforts at industrialisation as a way of engaging the growing youth population in Africa.

Lopes spoke on Friday at the ongoing Ministerial segment of the African Regional Conference on Population and Development in Addis Ababa.

``Only a massive commodity based industrialisation will do the trick.

 ``We need industrialisation because it is the only way we are going to deal with the combined strength of more people; more young people indeed, more urbanised people that do not want to be the poster boys of Live Aid concerts,`` Lopes said. 

He said that in spite of the ``demographic vitality` ` and the average annual GDP growth rate of five per cent, the continent would be unable to create the 15 million jobs needed yearly, unless it embarked on commodity-based industrialisation. 

``Part of the industrialisation drive is to treat agriculture as an economy, rather than a social issue, as decades of development aid around food security have not produced the agrobusiness miracle of Latin America,`` Lopes said. 

According to him, Africa must also do business differently in order to embark on structural transformation.

``Africa has to review the substance of its contracts, the way it uses its reserves and liquidity, and the way it tackles illicit financial flows, the mispricing of its commodities and play hard ball to impose domestic value addition.``

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that African ministers responsible for population matters, as well as population experts, civil society and youths organisations are attending the conference. (NAN)

ASUU Forced To Call Off Strike

A Lagos-based legal practitioner, Daniel Onwe, has dragged the Federal Government and the Academic Staff  Union of Universities, ASUU, before a Federal High Court in Lagos, southern Nigeria, over the lingering crisis between the two bodies which has led to the closure of public universities in the country since 1 July.

In a motion dated 30 September, 2013, Barrister Onwe is seeking an order of court to compel ASUU to call off the strike it embarked upon in protest over the unwillingness of government to implement certain aspects of the agreement they reached over the parlous state of Nigerian universities and other issues.

In a 15-paragraph affidavit filed along with the motion, Onwe is asking the court to declare that the indefinite strike embarked upon by ASUU, leading to the closure of government owned universities for three months, violates the fundamental rights of the students affected.

He argued that the continued strike action by ASUU has traumatized many students who now engage in all sorts of vices.

Onwe posited that the plight of the affected students has worsened as their contemporaries in private universities continue to attend lectures while they remain idle at home.

He urged the court to compel ASUU to open the universities for lectures to resume while their negotiation with the Federal Government continues.

No date has been fixed for hearing of the suit.

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10 Ways To Make Women Want You

Here are 10 most important things you need to know about how to get women:

1. See a girl, move your feet

The man usually makes the first move. Even if she’s interested in you, the most she’s likely to do is to stand near you or make eye contact a couple times to encourage you to approach her.

Once you see her, don’t hesitate. 10 minutes from now she might not be there or another guy might have beaten you to the punch. Plus, women can tell when you’re working up the courage to approach. Shyness might be endearing in movies and romance novels, but it doesn’t work in the real world. Approach right away, even if you don’t know what you’re going to say (we’ll cover that later).

2. Attraction before comfort

Men who don’t know how to get women often ask her lots of questions hoping that they’ll stumble on something they have in common.

Sometimes this can work, but usually not. Until she has a reason to care about what you think of her, you’re just another random guy asking her the same questions every other random guy asks her. What you can do is to tell her (or better, show her) something interesting about yourself first. When she gets curious about you, she will start with the questions.

This is especially important in terms of how to get beautiful women. Hotter women usually get approached more and have less tolerance for the usual “random guy” questions.

3. Statements, not questions

This is connected to the last point. Questions contribute nothing to a conversation and tell her nothing about you. Too many questions makes it feel like a job interview.

Never ask two questions in a row. Statements can often replace questions. Instead of asking where’s she’s from, tell her where you’re from and she may respond in kind. Or guess where she’s from. It doesn’t matter if you are right; either way it’s more interesting than yet another factual question.

4. Playful, not serious

Fun and playful works much better than serious and deep.

Even serious women go out because they want to relax and have fun. There’s a time and a place for being serious and deep, but it’s not within 15 minutes of meeting her. Smile, laugh, and don’t take everything too seriously.

5. Be a challenge

Men who are experienced in how to get women know that you can’t make it too easy for her. If she knows that she can have you before she’s done anything to deserve your attention other than being pretty, then she might be flattered, but she won’t be attracted.

Even if you approach her with a compliment, which is something that is often done in day game, let this mean that she has your curiosity, not your undying love. Don’t give her compliments she hasn’t earned.

6. How you dress is your identity

Attractive women get hit on so much that they don’t have time to get to know every single man who wants to talk to her. Within 30-90 seconds, she’s going to decide if you’re a “maybe” or a “no.” A lot of that comes from how you dress.

It’s not just being fashionable. It’s about projecting who you are. Mixed messages are confusing and make women think you’re trying to hide something or be someone you’re not. Lawyers don’t wear ripped jeans. Musicians don’t dress like accountants. Fun, confident men don’t dress to blend in. And so on.

7. Touch early, touch often

You can’t talk a woman into bed or into a relationship. So if you’re wondering how do you get a girl interested in you when nothing you say seems to be working, the problem might be with your hands more than your words.

Touch her (appropriately – hands, shoulders, etc.) as soon as you meet her and slowly escalate the duration and intensity of each touch. Give her time to get comfortable with your touch – if she’s not comfortable holding your hand, she’s definitely not going to be comfortable being sexual with you.

8. Use your 'balls'

Playing it safe will never get you the girl. Women appreciate confidence, boldness, and persistence. Make the first move. Some women may like you but still want you to work for it. And don’t whine because you’re going home alone if you never tried to get her to come home with you. Like hockey superstar Wayne Gretzky said, you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.

9. The first thing you say doesn’t matter

 There is no such thing as a pickup line that will help you learn how to get women. The only purpose of your ‘opening line’ is to start a conversation.

You can try something fun like asking her and her friends to settle an argument between you and your friends, like “Is it OK to break up with someone by text message?” or “Do Drunk ‘I Love You’s’ Count?” Run with it for 30-60 seconds, then change the subject to something else. Congratulations – you’re in the door!

10. Be man enough to get help

Men aren’t “supposed” to seek out advice on how to get women or ask their friends how do I get a girl. We don’t sit around analyzing each other’s relationships.

Still, picking up beautiful women is a skill that anyone can learn with enough time, practice, and access to the right resources.

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