We’ve written before about the many health benefits of gittin’ it on, one of them being that it burns calories and thus can lead to weight loss – which leads to feelin’ sexy – which leads to more sexy time. A never-ending cycle of good stuff, if you ask us.

However, it turns out that for the most part, sex might not actually be the cardio workout we all hoped for. According to USA Today, the study that many reference when claiming that sex can lead to weight loss was done in 1984 and only documented men. Furthermore, it showed that the average length of sex was only six minutes and burned barely 21 calories. HOLY DISAPPOINTING NEWS, BATMAN.

Head over to USA Today to check out some other weight loss myths, but for now, let’s talk about sex, bay-bee.

First of all – SIX MINUTES? COME ON, GUYS.

Second – we imagine that in this study, which only sought to find caloric loss by males, the sex was straightforward boring missionary, the position where men work the hardest. Ladies, if you’re looking to burn more calories in the sack, then get creative! Try some new moves and get adventurous. Maybe you won’t be burning as many calories as a marathoner, but you’ll be working muscles you never knew you had.

Third – as Jezebel points out, it’s kinda sad if you’re only having sex to lose weight. It should be an added bonus! Instead, concentrate on enjoying yourself and learning what you like. And then hit the gym, track, or yoga studio (especially you, dudes) because few things are as big a turn-on as a healthy, sexy bod!

PS – there are tons more health benefits to sex. Check em out!

image via Vice