Quote:
Originally Posted by DougLikesBMW
You know how your coaches always told you to not jerkoff before a game/meet or something? Does doing so really affect your athletic ability?
Sometimes after a really hard work out and when I know I will be hurting the next day, if I have sex or something I end up not hurting the next day, or feel like the muscle I worked out the day before isn't tight like it should be. However, if I don't have sex on the day that I worked out, the next day everything will be fine. Also, if I have sex before working out I find that I am not as strong as I would be. Is this all in my mind or is this because of the release of testosterone that is occuring?  |
They did a study on heavyweight boxer Chris Byrd for a show called Sport Science regarding sex pre-event. Turns out his strength improved slightly and testerone increased when tested the following day. Sex the day before an event MAY improve performance.
Source:
http://www.kansan.com/stories/2008/jul/14/sports/
Last year, the cable television show “Sports Science” set out to prove or disprove the theory. Former heavyweight boxing champion Chris Byrd was put through a series of the same tests. One set occurred before sex, where Byrd abstained for one week leading up to the tests. The other tests occurred the day after Byrd had sex with his wife. The tests measured leg strength, heart rate and punching power, as well as testosterone levels.
Byrd’s leg strength on a squat machine was 909 pounds afterward compared to 908 pounds before. His heart rate remained at 180 beats per minute in both tests. His punching power, measured on a punching bag containing impact censors, was actually higher after sex (1,304 pounds compared to 1,128 pounds). And his testosterone levels were also higher after sex (462 nanograms-per-liter compared to 325 ng/l).
While the test by no means definitely answers this question, it does raise an interesting point. Can sex the night before competition actually increase performance?
“It seems to help because it relaxes you,” said Carl Inzerillo, a sports medicine specialist at Inzerillo Family Practice in Lawrence. “Number one, they get a good night’s sleep. Number two, it takes their mind off the competition. Number three, it increases testosterone.”
Cupp said that too many confounding factors were present to warrant a definitive answer.
The Journal of Sport Medicine cited time of day, frequency and duration of sex, diet, fatigue and stress as possible complications to gathering accurate findings.
“Although,” Cupp added, “you would probably get a lot of guys who would want to do the study.”