Pleased Lovers - Get Revved for Great Sex

There's nooky -- and then there's makes-you-hoarse-the-morning-after passion action. The difference? Gearing yourself up before you even begin.
We know you're a hot-blooded chiquita whose sexual moves could practically rewire the bedsprings. So when we're talking about getting geared up for action, we don't mean struggling to work up a little lust -- we mean priming your body for a mind-boggling blowout experience.

You see, sex, thank God, is one of those things that, no matter how great it already is, can keep getting better and better. And the simplest way to get a bigger bang from your buck is to get yourself in a hotter, more erotic mental and physical state even before that first touch from him. "It takes women longer than men to become aroused, and getting a head start by yourself will light a fire under your libido," says Lou Paget, author of The Big O. "It'll also make the sex you have later more intense and fun." So take a peek at hot ways -- from experts and real women like you -- to maximize your pleasure prep, then warn your man that he's in for the night of his life.

Great Sex Tip #1: Amp Up Your Fantasizing

You're probably no stranger to conjuring up a lusty story line. Now try this passion-maxing mental tweak: Instead of envisioning your fantasy as a sort of movie, imagine how the scenario makes you feel, suggests Paget. "We associate erotic daydreams with visuals, but for women, often the most potent essence of a fantasy is the emotion it can evoke." For instance, he's peeling off your clothes -- dwell on how sexy you feel when he looks at you like you're a goddess. When he cradles your face in his hands and leans in to kiss you, savor that burning-for-it sensation.

Great Sex Tip #2: Worship Yourself

" When I want to get turned on, I remind myself just how damn hot I am. I look in the mirror and give myself a bit of praise, whether it's 'These pants make me look smokin'' or 'My skin is totally glowing.' By the time my boyfriend shows up, I'm feeling like a complete sexpot!"
--Pam, 30

Great Sex Tip #3: Make Your Pulse Pound

Get flushed ... sweaty ... panting ... and then start thinking about getting it on. Any activity that raises your heart rate -- an energetic walk, a bike ride, a session on the treadmill -- is the perfect setup for sex, according to Pepper Schwartz, Ph.D., professor of sociology at the University of Washington and author of The Lifetime Love and Sex Quiz Book. "Exercise produces endorphins that make you happy and excited," explains Schwartz. Breaking a sweat also increases blood flow from head to toe -- and all sensitive spots in between. The gym a little too unsexy? Then dance in your living room or, better yet, do a little burlesque number for him.

Great Sex Tip #4: Get Wet

You know how flushed you become after a shower? It's because the hot water brings blood to the skin's surface, explains Barbara Keesling, Ph.D., author of The Good Girl's Guide to Bad Girl Sex. Besides giving you a beautiful pinkness, that process also happens to increase your sensitivity to touch -- a big bonus. So take advantage of the sex-friendly sensation and warm up in a bath when you know your man is en route or entice him into a steamy shower.

Great Sex Tip #5: Set a Five-Star Scene

" My boyfriend and I had mind-blowing sex when we were on vacation at a chichi hotel. That luxurious feeling was an incredible turn-on to me, so I re-create it at home. I buy champagne, pull out the special 300-thread-count sheets and spritz on my most expensive perfume. Taking in that elegant aura before he comes over totally charges me up."
--Lynn, 26

Great Sex Tip #6: Do a Down-Below Workout

You've heard of Kegels -- contracting and releasing your pelvic-floor muscles as if you were peeing and then stopping midstream -- but do you ever actually do them? Well, it's time to start because they're true tools for great sex. "Not only do they make you tune in to your physical sensations and focus on that part of you, but Kegels also boost blood circulation down below, which causes arousal," explains Clifford Penner, Ph.D., a sex therapist in Pasadena, California. And the best news: "Kegels strengthen all of your pelvic muscles, so when you have an orgasm after charging yourself up like this, it will be more intense," explains Aline P. Zoldbrod, Ph.D., coauthor of Sex Talk.

Great Sex Tip #7: Reminisce Randily

" Go through your memories of past great sex, and zero in on one time that really took you over the edge," says Zoldbrod. What was it that made that romp so freakin' great? The gorgeous man you were with? A semipublic setting? That extra teasing foreplay that made your orgasm explosive? "Because it's like a fantasy but it actually happened, your images of it will be especially vivid and will inspire you to incorporate those ultrapleasurable elements into future events," she explains.

Great Sex Tip #8: Parade Around Naked

" I stay undressed for as long as possible after showering before a date. I dry my hair, put on lotion, apply my makeup ... all naked. It gives my regular prep routine a naughty vibe. I'm totally aware of my body the whole time."
--Andrea, 29

Great Sex Tip #9: Draw Him a Map

Sketch an outline of your body, front and back -- no art skills needed; just make it look like a gingerbread cookie -- then grab some green, yellow and red markers and color this body map according to how much you like to be touched in all areas, says Zoldbrod. Green is for the hottest spots, yellow for those you sometimes like to have stroked and red for those that just don't do it for you. While you categorize every inch of your erotic anatomy, you'll be focusing your mind on exactly where and how you want him to shower you with hands-on attention later.

Great Sex Tip #10: Wear Erotic Undies

He just called to say he'll be over in an hour. Don't spend the interim sprawled on the sofa in your sweats -- bust out your sexiest, silkiest lingerie. "Just putting it on will get your mind in the right place, and then all night you'll feel like a secret seducer. Plus, you'll get in the mind frame of anticipating what's to come later and picturing your man's reaction to your sex-kitten look," says Zoldbrod.

Great Sex Tip #11: Steal Guys' Sex-Ray Vision

Dudes just instinctually turn anything they look at into objets de lust. So take a tip from those dirty dogs and do the same. "The key is to relate to visuals in a way that's arousing for you," explains Paget. For instance, if you're stuck in traffic, don't just glance at that cutie in the next car -- really stare and take him in, slowly undress him mentally, wonder what he's like as a kisser, anything that really gets you hot. Or start the day right: While making your bed in the morning, remember back to the last time you really twisted the sheets with your man.

Great Sex Tip #12: Strut Your Stuff

It's simple: Wear a pair of heels. It's the walk -- the hip-swinging, butt-on-parade sexalicious swagger -- that makes him drool and you feel like a devil.

Great Sex Tip #13: Sneak a Peek at Semiporn

Stroll the sex aisle of your bookstore (or shop online if you're worried you'll be spied by your mom or third-grade teacher) and buy a book that has photos -- not line drawings -- of couples in different sexual positions, suggests Zoldbrod. Then dog-ear the pages of the moves you'd like to act out with your man. The photos of real people will create sexual pictures in your brain that then make your body rarin' to go. "Plus, it gives you new ideas to get excited about trying together," Zoldbrod notes.

Great Sex Tip #14: Get in Touch with Yourself

Block out Ben Stiller's disastrous predate masturbating in There's Something About Mary: For many women, giving yourself a hand before he shows up is a great way to start your engine. "Teasing yourself almost to climax will leave you primed and longing for an orgasm when you and your man get it on," says Keesling.

Sex-Drive Assassins

These things are guaranteed to make your libido shrivel up and die.

Mom's voice suddenly broadcast through the answering machine and into every corner of the bedroom (of course, you don't pick up), talking in wovey-dovey speak while you're in the middle of a steamy sesh.

The cute young guy in line in front of you at the movies whose ass you've been admiring turns around, and you see it's little Johnny, the adorable tyke you used to baby-sit for all those years ago.

The realization that while you've spent the past half hour walking around your apartment naked, feeling like a total babe, your skeevy next-door neighbor has had his binoculars pointed right at you.

Your boss's ugly mug, which suddenly pops up completely uninvited into your Jude Law-beside-a-waterfall fantasy.

The horror of calling your man and launching into an explicitly X-rated invitation the minute he picks up the phone ... except it's actually his roommate on the line.

The "playful" pinch of thigh fat your guy grabs as you beg.