The 9 Best Sex Positions for Beginners, According to Experts

How to: The receiving partner lies flat on their back. The giving partner lies on top and enters them.

Benefits: Missionary might get a bad rap for being basic, but it’s one of the easiest positions for beginners to pull off successfully since you’re both more or less lying down. And the experts agree: “Missionary is the best go-to sex position for anyone who is new to penetrative sex,” Engle says. Being face-to-face allows for easy communication, which is crucial for ensuring that everyone is enjoying themselves. Plus, it’s intimate!

How to: Both partners lie on their sides, facing the same direction. The giving partner penetrates the receiving partner from behind.

Benefits: Spooning is another comfortable position to try for your first go-round, Kerner says. Since you’re both laying down on your sides, no one has to worry about holding themselves up or balancing; you can just focus on the pleasure.

This position is also incredibly intimate, as it allows you to hold (or be held by) your partner, Engle says. Not to mention, there’s easy reach-around access for external stimulation.

How to: The giving partner sits down with their legs crossed. The receiving partner then lowers themselves onto the giver’s lap, beginning penetration. Once you’re both comfy, the receiving partner can wrap their legs behind the giving partner’s back. This position isn’t as much about thrusting as it is about rocking and grinding into each other.

Benefits: If romance and intimacy are important to you as a beginner, then this is the sex position for you. It gets you up-close-and-personal with your partner, allowing you to make out, kiss each other’s necks, or gaze into each other’s eyes. It’s also easy on the body, since you’re both sitting down.

And while there might not be a ton of thrusting involved, lotus is “a nice position to fully stimulate the clitoris,” Kerner says, “which is really the powerhouse of female pleasure.”

How to: Both partners lie on their sides, facing each other. The receiving partner can lift their leg over the giving partner to begin penetration.

Benefits: It’s a “great position for eye contact and [it’s] easy on the body, so it makes for good long, comfortable sex,” Kerner says.

How to: The giving partner lies on their back. The receiving partner straddles them with their knees and shins pressed into the bed, before guiding the giver’s penis (or strap-on) into them. The penetrating partner can then hold the “rider’s” hands during Cowgirl if they feel like they need some extra support. And if the receiver needs a break, the giver can plant their heels and thrust upward into them while they stay still.

Benefits: If the receiving partner is worried about getting too deep too fast, the Cowgirl position provides the person on top “the most control over their pleasure,” Kerner says. It also provides great access for clitoral stimulation, making it an ideal position to help a female partner orgasm.

How to: The receiving partner lies on their back. The inserting partner lies on top, propped up on their hands (in a plank-like position), and enters them.

Benefits: This position may be a little “hard to maintain,” says Kerner. But, thanks to the angle, “it could be nice, after a period of thrusting, to move into this position and have direct clitoral stimulation.” It offers the same face-to-face intimacy as classic missionary, while giving both partners some “good visual stimulation,” he adds, which can be great for arousal.

How to: In this Missionary variation, the giving partner stands at the edge of a bed or desk while the receiving partner lies back and raises their legs to their chest. The receiver’s knees are bent as if they’re doing a “bicycling” exercise. The giver grabs their partner’s hips and enters them. (The receiver can also choose to put either zero, one, or both of their feet atop the giving partner’s shoulders.) The giver should thrust slowly, as the deep penetration may be painful for the receiver.

Benefits: You might need a tall bed or a countertop to make this one happen, but once you have that, the rest is easy. This is especially true if you want to push up against the clitoris and hold that position, says Kerner. “That’s something that’s not as easily done in missionary,” he explains. “This is a nice position for mutual satisfaction, which includes pressure and friction for both the penis and against the clitoris.”

How to: Just like in regular Cowgirl, the giving partner lies flat on their back while the receiving partner straddles them on their knees. But instead of facing their partner, in the Reverse Cowgirl position, the receiving partner turns around and faces the giver’s feet.

Benefits: The angle here can provide excellent G-spot stimulation for the receiver, says Kerner. What’s the G-spot, you ask? It’s a highly-sensitive area on the upper wall of the vaginal canal that, when stimulated, provides heightened pleasure for the receiver. In other words, it’s your main target during penetration.