What Athletes Say
There are quite a few examples of negative attitudes towards sex before competitions.
Boxer Muhammad Ali intentionally refrained from sexual contacts for several weeks before the fight. He believed that sex gives people a sense of physical and emotional satisfaction, which can negatively impact motivation before competitions. Why fight for a reward if you are already feeling good?
World-class athlete Marty Liquori said that sex makes you happy, and happy people do not run a mile (1 kilometer 609 meters) in 3 minutes 47 seconds.
In Brazil, there will be no sex. This is not a festive trip, but the World Cup!
Such thinking suggests that libido is quite a tangible force that can be exhausted, making a person weaker.
What Scientists Say
Scientific research does not support this point of view. A meta-analysis of studies on this topic, published in 2000 in the Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine, showed that sexual activity does not affect sports performance.
During the experiment Boone, Tommy, and S. Gilmore. “Effects of Sexual Intercourse on Maximal Aerobic Power, Oxygen Pulse, and Double Product in Male Sedentary Subjects.” The Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness 35.3 (1995): 214-17. Print.
, conducted by Dr. Tommy Boone in 1995, measured the running efficacy of men on a treadmill. Members of one group had not engaged in sexual contact for 12 hours before the test, while members of the second group had sex. Ultimately, no difference was found between the participants of both groups regarding such indicators as aerobic power, oxygen pulse, and blood pressure.
In an earlier study (Journal of Sex Research, 1968), the results of strength tests were compared between men who had not had sexual contacts for six days before the experiment and those who enjoyed this activity the night before the test. No difference in results was found either.
Sports doctor Jordan Metzel also leans towards the opinion that there is no direct scientific evidence supporting the harm of sex for athletes before competitions. In fact, there are a huge number of other factors that can affect results. For example, a lack of good rest and sleep. New York Yankees baseball club manager Casey Stengel once joked about this: “It wasn't sex that kept the players from getting enough sleep, but the search for it all night long.”
However, such entertainment right before the start is a slightly different matter. Four cardiologists from Switzerland conducted their research and, after studying the results, suggested that having sex two hours before the competition may negatively affect sports performance.
So, you should not worry about the impact of sex on your performance as an athlete, if you engaged in it a week, a few days, or even the night before the competitions.
Sex does not require a lot of energy expenditure, and the level of testosterone increases, which has a positive effect on athletes' performance.
Doctor Alexander Olshanyetsky says that women's sports performance actually improves after orgasm, so if you belong to the fairer sex, you don't need to worry. The more orgasms, the greater the chances of winning a gold medal Quinn, Jennifer. “The myths of sex before sport.” BBC News. British Broadcasting Corporation, August 12, 2004. Web. October 23, 2013. .
Conclusions
Whether to have sex the night before competitions or postpone it is up to you. It all depends on the overall condition of the body and the lifestyle you have led at least a few weeks before the start. Here, it is worth considering the quality and quantity of sleep and rest, proper nutrition, work-related stresses, illnesses you have experienced, training schedules, and injuries—each of these points can have a decisive and not always positive impact. You are more likely to not get enough sleep due to intense emotions before the start, rather than from quality sexual training. By the way, sex is quite a good sleeping pill. Maybe it's worth the risk after all?
