Dear Health Conscious Reader,
As little as six minutes of vigorous exercise a day can improve your sex life.
The key is blood flow.
Short bursts of exertion ramp up blood flow far beyond anything you could get from aerobic exercise.
Here’s how:
The University of Rochester reports that vigorous exercise causes an increase in blood flow, boosting the supply of nitric oxide in your body.1
Nitric oxide is critical in getting an erection. It causes your arteries to relax and decreases inflammation.
When you become aroused, your body boosts its levels of nitric oxide. It relaxes the delicate lining of your blood vessels, allowing blood to flow where it’s needed.
And you can’t get an erection unless you release enough nitric oxide. That’s exactly how many of today’s most popular prescription drugs work. By boosting the amount of nitric oxide that flows to the right places and fighting back the enzymes in your body that try and limit the amount of nitric oxide that’s produced.
But many men suffer from a lack of this key chemical, because it declines as you age, causing problems in the bedroom.
As you age, you may just need a boost of nitric oxide.
A single good workout can prime your body for sex, says Jim Pfaus, PhD, a professor at Concordia University in Montreal, who studies the biology of sexual desire. “When you increase your blood flow, you have a much easier time getting aroused.”
One of the best ways to get more nitric oxide is with a short, high-intensity workout.
But c’mon, who wants to do aerobics for 45 minutes a day? It’s not pleasant, and it’s not safe. It causes more harm than good. If pounding on the pavement or in an aerobics class for hours at a time sweating and gasping for air doesn’t have you thrilled about exercise, you’re not alone. Most of my patients aren’t going to put themselves through that type of high-intensity torture.
The good news is you don’t have to.
You can get the benefits of a high-intensity workout with my PACE program, without having to strain yourself. Over time you will accomplish the same benefits without stressing yourself unnecessarily.
PACE helps you by boosting the amount of exercise incrementally through time. You control your progression and can even alter the type of workouts you do to keep it fun and interesting.
During my research I came across a study showing that an incrementally intensive workout program like PACE increased blood flow levels by more than 400 percent.2
Nitric oxide can help improve your sex life. But before you turn to drugs, I recommend you try to boost your flow naturally with a regular, high-intensity workout program.
Here’s an easy PACE outdoor running workout you can start right now.
You can even try it as a walking program if you haven’t exercised in awhile. It only takes a few minutes a day, and you can try it out around your own neighborhood.
- Warm up. Warm up for about one or two minutes.
- Start. Once you’re warmed up, start at low to moderate intensity, and increase the level of intensity after each set. Start first by running for two minutes.
- Recovery. Now relax. Notice your heartbeat, and keep track of how long it takes to get back to normal.
- Repeat. Then run for 90 seconds, followed by rest. Repeat this and decrease the exertion period each time from 90 seconds, to 45 seconds, 30 seconds, then 20 seconds for a total of six sets. This shouldn’t take you more than 8-10 minutes.
To Your Good Health,
Al Sears, MD
- Zheng-Gen Jin; “Ligand-Independent Activation of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor 2 by Fluid Shear Stress Regulates Activation of Endothelial Nitric Oxide Synthase” Circulation Research. 2003;93:354-363.
- Adapted from: von Ardenne M. “Oxygen Multistep Therapy,” Thieme, 1990, p144.
- http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/bromelain-000289.htm.