[CHIQUITITA]

Q: I have an exercise question that is a little out of the ordinary. When I'm at the gym doing abdominal/core exercises, I can experience what I call a "core-gasm" (an orgasm). Is this unusual or do a lot of women experience this? I'm not complaining, rather I'm just trying to educate myself about this.
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A: Apparently it is unusual, because the question gave pause to Dr. Irwin Goldstein, a prominent sex researcher.
But after thinking about it, he says there could be a couple of explanations that have nothing to do with a hot guy on the mat next to you.
For one, it's possible that tight gym clothes are stimulating your clitoris as you crunch and crunch and crunch, "in the context of masturbation," says Goldstein, who is director of sexual medicine at the Alvarado Hospital in San Diego.
But it may also be that "nerves are firing without her permission," he says. It's known that people can have orgasms in nonsexual settings, he notes. For instance, both men and women can have orgasms while asleep. And Goldstein is treating a woman who has been having spontaneous orgasms ever since injuring her tailbone.
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He theorizes that the abdominal movement you're doing may stimulate your diaphragm, which may then stimulate the vagus nerve (which runs through the pelvis), triggering the orgasms.
A rush of feel-good chemicals that you may be enjoying after a good aerobic workout could be playing a role in this, too, he says.
But unless you're bothered by these "core-gasms," there doesn't seem to be anything to worry about, he says. "Continue the exercise if you're enjoying it."
While exercise won't feel quite so good to the rest of us, it can help boost one's sex life in other ways, Goldstein tells me as he walks on his treadmill during a phone interview. "There is now substantial evidence that exercise is associated with the prevention of sexual problems."
Exercise helps keep arteries in the sex organs healthy, preventing impotence and other issues, he explains.