Are you fed up with the health experts telling you to exercise? If you hear another word about looking after your heart or losing weight, are you likely to scream?
Well, here's an incentive you won't want to ignore: Fit people have better sex.
If you want to spice up your love life, the advice is to start a new exercise program.
You don't have to be a full-on athlete to feel the benefits. A brisk walk every day, three 20-minute jogging outings a week, or a few sessions in the swimming pool could be all it takes to improve your sex life.
And for extra excitement, try a course of yoga or Pilates.
Fitter people are likely to have increased stamina, more flexibility and better body image. This means a sporty person will be more confident and adventurous while making love -- and they'll be able to last longer.
New research also shows that exercise boosts your love life in other ways.
Working up a sweat and improving your cardiovascular system will help to pump the blood around your body, which will make you feel more responsive to having sex, according to a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Improved circulation is great, too, for keeping both men and women aroused during lovemaking.
Meanwhile, a report in the Journal of Sex Research found that because exercise boosts your mood and acts as a great stress-buster, it can improve self-esteem and, you guessed it, lead to better sex.
The chances are, you'll make love more often, too.
A recent study in the United States found that women aged 20 to 45 who took regular exercise not only had better sex, but they got between the sheets more often.
Flexibility is also linked to more fun in the bedroom. Ali Campbell, a celebrity fitness and lifestyle coach, says, "People who do yoga or Pilates are likely to have a better range of movements -- making it easier to get into those more awkward positions.
"Doing core strength exercises is a good idea, too. Workouts, such as using a Swiss ball in the gym, will help to enhance the muscles around your stomach and back. This will obviously make it easier to hold on to sex positions for longer."
And ladies, don't forget your pelvic floor exercises. If you've not paid attention to your pelvic muscles since the birth of your last child, then it's time to focus on this area. According to the experts, tighter pelvic floor muscles lead to longer arousal and better orgasms.
Women have also been led to believe that the menopause goes hand-in-hand with reduced libido. But a study in America at Penn State University claims women who find their sexual desire fading as they get older may not be the victims of hormonal changes, but may be reacting instead to feeling depressed about their body image.
The researchers believe that if women stay fitter as they get older, they will continue to have a good sex life because they'll be more positive about how they look.
Guys, too, should concentrate on their cardiovascular fitness for improved blood flow -- and, therefore, a better performance in the bedroom.
Being overweight will have a major impact on your sex life, with a study by the Duke University Medical Center showing that obese people are 25 times more likely to complain of sexual problems and reduced desirability.
Men would be wise to cut back on high-fat foods, smoking and alcohol, which, in combination, can lead to a poorer sex drive and ability.
But men shouldn't overdo it. It doesn't follow that the more you exercise the greater the benefits will be between the sheets. In fact, excessive exercise can lead to reduced desire.
Women aren't keen on men who are over-confident in bed, either. Guys who appear to fancy themselves too much can be a major turn-off psychologically for women.
Ali, who works out of the Visage Lifestyle Clinic in Glasgow, UK, says: "It really doesn't take that much to improve your love life through exercise. A little and often is the advice, like walking 20 minutes to work every day.
"Just think about it. If you're toned and fit, you're more likely to feel good about your body. And the more confident you are about how you look, the happier you'll be stripping [in front of] someone else and making love."
Ali's other tip is that practice makes perfect. "Don't forget that you need to play the sport to see how you're progressing.
"Sex offers a good physical workout in itself and the more you practice, the better it should become.
"Think about it. If you are toned and fit, you are more likely to feel good about your body."
Next: Tone up for a better sex life >
