Thirty-day challenges are nothing new. You commit to one month of hard work, then hope to god the good habit sticks and makes you a better human.

Most often, the challenges focus on physical health — exercise, eat more vegetables, or keep a journal of your bowel movements. But one couple recently flipped the script, challenging the Reddit community to 30 days of different sex acts.  

A 30-day Sex Challenge might sound like a dream come true, yet many couples who attempt them often find they’re a total nightmare.

It’s easy to envision stepping out of your comfort zone and spicing up your sex life, but reality is a kick in the balls. Without the libido of a horny jackrabbit, one month of endless boning quickly becomes a burden.

To execute a successful 30-day sex challenge and keep cumming from feeling like a chore, flexibility and variety are essential. R/sex’s popular new challenge requires some form of sex every day, but tackles flexibility by allowing a few days to be modified, replaced or vetoed. Variety is incorporated as well, as many days require new positions, locations or time restraints. Among the most notable challenges:

  • Have sex at a time other than before bed. Lunch time romp, morning sex, or after work workout.

  • Quickie. 10 minutes or less. Try someplace/time fun. Example: while preparing breakfast standing in the kitchen.

  • Road trip. Park, make out and have car sex.

  • Oral Sex only. Tell your partner what works and keep at it until you both orgasm. No 69.

  • Visit a sex store together. You both must make a purchase. Sex toys, sex games, videos, or books.

Some complain the activities are nearly impossible to complete with children or roommates to contend with. Others say their sex drives just won’t allow it. For example, one user criticizes: “My balls would hurt after the 10 consecutive day.”

An alternative couples’ game proposed on r/sex offers a similar mixture of sex acts with less obligation to do the deed on the daily. The game requires each partner to hide 10 post-it notes with a sexual task in each one. The tasks can demand whatever your kinky heart desires, from “sneak away, take some naughty pictures, and send them to my phone” to “come find me and go down on me on the spot, without warning.” If the notes are well-hidden and consistently replaced, the sexual surprises will just keep coming.

Of course, every couple is different, and for some, a sex challenge could be the fornication fantasy their relationship thrives on. However, if at any point fucking begins to feel less about enjoyment and more like a legal contract, it’s time to call it quits.