Herbenick - The Coregasm Workout: The Revolutionary Method for Better Sex Through Exercise

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I AM FORTUNATE TO have had a stellar team to work with in creating The Coregasm Workout. I am forever thankful to my literary agent, Kari Stuart at ICM, for believing that exercise-induced orgasms are not only real but experiences that many people have questions about and, of course, for shepherding this book to a point where it, too, could become real and help people. I am grateful to Laura Mazer, my editor at Seal Press, who was intrigued by the concept and has believed in the possibilities of sex and exercise to influence one another. Thank you, Laura, for your unwavering support. Merrik Bush-Pirkle and Kirsten Janene-Nelson were so helpful with their close edits and thoughtful suggestions. I feel lucky to have worked with them both. Seal has so many terrific people: Tabitha Lahr and Jane Musser produced a beautiful book that Im proud to hold in my hands and share with the world. And I am also appreciative of Eva Zimmerman, my publicist, who took the time to understand what The Coregasm Workout is about and helps me share that vision with others. The images of the core muscles are thanks to Tom Weinzerl in the Office of Visual Media at Indiana University.

At IUs School of Public Health, anything is possible. Michael Reece and David Koceja were among the first researchers I asked for advice about studying EIO/EIA namely, whether they knew people who studied exercise and muscle movements and who might be able to pair their expertise with mine. They saw value in this research and encouraged my early work, and I owe many thanks to each of them. I am also indebted to my friend Scott Butler, a professor at Georgia College and State University, who introduced me to his colleague, Chris Black (now at the University of Oklahoma), who has further helped me put together the pieces of the EIO/EIA puzzle. Chris, thank you for not even blinking the first time I shared with you what I hoped to study (and thanks, too, for your time, support, and sharing of your expertise).

Dan Savage helped me distribute my first exercise-induced orgasm and arousal (EIO/EIA) study, which allowed me to quickly find hundreds of people who were willing to share their stories. Dan is a powerful voice and a great person and if you dont yet listen to his Savage Love podcasts or read his column, youre missing out. Shortly after I finished my first EIO/EIA survey, I shared the results with one of my closest colleagues and mentors at IU, Dennis Fortenberry. I asked if hed join me on this interesting journey to understand EIO/EIA, and he (thankfully) agreed. Everyone needs someone in their lives to listen to their ideas and support them, and Dennis has often been that person for me. Similarly, Georgia Frey (a kinesiology professor at IU) has been one of my strongest allies and co-investigators in this research. During the summer of 2013, she let me take over her lab space and move exercise equipment into it and paired me with two smart and easy-to-talk-with graduate students (who also happened to work as personal trainers), Freddie Holmgren and Susie Owen, who were my co-interviewers in one of our EIO/EIA studies. I cant say enough positive things about the intelligence, thoughtfulness, and compassion these women brought to our interviews. I am also thankful to Brady Singleton and Antonio Williams, who have been terrific sounding boards for ideas. Their knowledge of exercise science has been so helpful. Additionally, I am grateful to Meredith Davis, Roshni Dhoot, and Elizabeth Day for their assistance on one of our EIO/EIA studies. I would like to thank Beverly Whipple for encouraging me to explore and better understand the diverse ways in which human beings experience orgasm.

Throughout the process of studying coregasm and writing this book, I immersed myself in research conducted and published by many well-respected scientists who study exercise and the core muscles. In particular, I read a great deal of work by Drs. Venu Akuthota, Stuart McGill, Natalie Sidorkewicz, Tamara Moore, Jason Martuscello, Garry Allison, Brendan Lay, and many more. Anything I got right about muscles and exercise is because of their wisdom and research; any shortcomings are my own.

The women of Bloomington, Indiana came together to help make this book a reality. Bianca, Diana, Freddie, Holly, Janay, Jill, and Valerie graciously agreed to be fitness models for The Coregasm Workout. These are real women who exercise in their everyday lives. Chelsea Sanders of Blueline Media in Bloomington, Indiana photographed us. Our hair was by Chelsea Langley and makeup was by Julie McLenachen at Royale Hair Parlor in Bloomington, Indiana (many thanks to salon owner Bridgett DiVohl for her support).

I owe a thousand thanks to Jill Rensink. As my personal trainer (and someone who is smart and thoughtful about the human body and exercise), Jill has patiently listened to me ponder the mysteries of coregasm, and our research about this interesting phenomenon. Jill also consulted on the book by reviewing the exercises in The Coregasm Workout, advising me on how to word some of the directions and cues, and overseeing our form during the photo shoot. Jill is the real deal: a lifetime athlete, shes competed in gymnastics, track and field, cross country, and road racing. In college at Iowa State University, she competed as an NCAA Division I athlete in track and field and graduated with a degree in sports marketing. Jill has been an ACE (American Council on Exercise) Certified Personal Trainer since 2006 and also holds certifications in TRX and BOSU and is generally just super smart, encouraging, and awesome. Im so grateful she was willing to work on this project with me.

I owe an enormous debt of gratitude to the thousands of women and men who have generously shared of themselves by participating in our research studies. Without them, none of this would be possible. Thank you.

My mom is the one who first got me (as a child) interested in exercise. She took my sister and I to her aerobics classes and tennis matches. She and our dad taught us to swim as soon as we could walk and to play tennis, baseball (our best games were in Maine), ride bikes, and to dance. We had an active, fun childhood and I learned to love exercise at an early age thanks to them (and thanks to Olivia Newton-Johns smash hit Lets Get Physical that was popular when I was a kid.)

Id like to thank friends and colleagues like Michael, Brian, Vanessa, Jenny, Catherine, Shawn, Pat and all of our graduate students at the Center for Sexual Health Promotion and The Kinsey Institute who have been supportive of this research. And I would be lost without the love and friendship of Brad, Brian, Catherine, Erica, Erin, James, Jarrett, Jenny, Jezebel, Lydia, Mallory, Maureen, and Sally, all of my fun book club friends, and Rick. Thank you.