That’s the premise behind new research in the Journal of the American Medical Association which finds  couch potatoes who suddenly engage in strenuous exercise including sex- triple their risk of having a heart attack.

That risk stays elevated for at least 2-3 hours after the activity.

Who are we talking are the most at risk?  People who “rarely engage in intense physical activity.”

Now this doesn’t just apply to sex. Think snow shovelling, cutting the lawn, even running up flights of stairs – when you’re not used to it.

Seems obvious that you might have a problem if you don’t do anything all week, then rapidly spike your heart rate and blood pressure up through the roof.

This sure doesn’t mean you need to declare celibacy, or let your lawn grow 10 feet high. The study really is saying there is a big difference between rare bursts of intense exercise and getting in  regular workouts.

In fact, if you’re in reasonable condition, you shouldnt fret over keeling over after sex, or some other intense activity. You just need to know that sex can be pretty rough on the lazy, out-of-shape heart– just like suddenly deciding you’re going to play pick-up basketball when you havent dribbled more than something like a cold beer in months.

When you think about it, this study really says more is better.

So regular exercise will actually protect you in a lot of places, including the bedroom. Get moving.