FACT #1
Тhe belief
that sex has a negative effect on athletic performance wouldn't have been so
persisting if there wasn’t any truth in it. First of all, we need a broader
definition of sex than just “having an orgasm”. As a rule, the topping partner
has a bigger workload during the intercourse, and that, of course, leads to
more tiredness and muscle soreness than if he is bottoming.
And then,
there’s the duration of the act. Depending on the position and the partner (or
the lack of one!), sex can last anywhere from a minute to a couple of hours.
So, unless you are a member of the rock band Rainbow, we doubt that you can
make love to someone “all night long.”
FACT #2
The historian
Warren R. Johnson was the first to explore the idea about man’s strength,
visualized as semen, carrying testosterone out of the body, thus making it
weaker. In 1968, he published his study “Muscular performance following
coitus.” What the guy did was to use a hand dynamometer, a simple trip meter,
really, to measure the endurance of the biceps and hand muscles in ten men
after they had sex the previous night and after they didn’t. And he found no
difference in the results whatsoever.
FACT #3
The most
credible explanation behind the myth is the frustration-aggression hypothesis.
The reason why coaches give such anachronistic advice is that they actually
believe in a cause-and-effect sequence of events: Not being able to properly
cum, the athlete gets sexually frustrated. Then, his body transforms this
frustration into a go-get-them-tiger attitude toward the opponent. If he,
however, has satisfying sex before the sporting event, he loses his edge and
desire to win.
FACT #4
The hard data,
biochemistry-wise, does not suggest a solid reason to fast from sex before
sport. The leader of a 2018 study, Gerald Zavorsky from the University of
California at Davis, suggests that, contrary to the common-spread belief, few
calories are blown during sex. Also, the energy you put into sex is not enough
to exhaust the glycogen, i.e. the muscle’s fuel stores. One thing is for sure,
though - no one knows for sure what happens if you have a little fun some 30-60
minutes before a game or a workout at the gym. Testosterone levels go up and
down because of certain activities, and sex is just one of them.
FACT #5
It’s less
about sex and more about the circumstances sex happens in. If you are out
drinking and doing drugs the night before your usual workout and then you end
up going home with some stud you’ve picked up at the club, don’t expect to have
a feel-good training session with a satisfactory result. Your poor performance
won’t be caused by the sex itself, but the lack of enough sleep and the substances
you used.
FACT #6
Sex is a
powerful self-esteem boost. And a person with high self-esteem always performs
better at everything - be it work, social life, the gym, or the playing pitch.
So, to the question of whether abstinence is the key to the perfect workout,
our answer is: Stop hearing the stern voice of your college swimming coach and
crank the heat before hitting the gym.
SOURCE: ANDREW CHRISTIAN BLOG
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