Sexercise is good for you — and burns calories, too! (ThinkStock by Getty Images)

Sexercise is good for you — and burns calories, too! (ThinkStock by Getty Images)

Home for the holidays can also mean a welcome break from work for many busy couples and maybe more time for romance. So here’s yet another reason to snuggle up.

You’ve probably already heard that sex is good for you (improves your mood and boosts your immune system), but it turns out that it’s officially a decent little workout, too. A new study of committed couples found:
  • Sex actually qualifies as moderate exercise, report researchers at the University of Quebec at Montreal.
  • Making Love rates 5.6 METs (Metabolic Equivalent Task) for women and 6.6 METs for men. What’s a MET? It’s a measure of how much energy you are exerting during an activity. Ballroom dancing is 6.6 METs; Jazzercise comes in at 6.0.
And by the way, take your time. In sessions that lasted 10 to 57 minutes, sex burned three calories per minute for women and four calories a minute for men, including foreplay.
So, sexercise your way to a new you!
About Fierce Fridays—Tips for Weekend Well-Being

We each cherish those precious days off at the end of the week, but increasingly those of us who are charter members of the sisterhood of the stressed and overworked are losing our Saturday and Sunday leisure time to weekend work and domestic duties.

To make sure that you do something every weekend that’s just for you, we’ll be sharing a little advice to make those 48 hours a great time to recharge your batteries, bring a little good news into your life, or discover a quick and easy way to improve your health.