Have you trained serious sports, especially hard, endurance or combat? Have you ever been to a race? And did the coach before the race tell you "No sex!" Even if you do not believe it, it's a common practice. Known for her was, for example, Bertie Vogts. But is it really rooted or myth? Is the axiom or exception? Or even worse - a mischievous action by a society that seeks the cause in the wrong direction?

What happens in the body during sex?

Sex as an act engages the sexual system and sex hormones. Recent studies have shown that there are no serious changes in male body testosterone after sex, and regular sexual life even results in a moderate rise in its levels. In women, female sex hormones are not the very important element in sport. The changes that occur there are not as important to sportsmanship and their place occupies unexplored conditions such as motivation, mental attitude, happiness, etc. Sex lasts between a few minutes and an hour (usually). The average energy consumption for sex is 50 to 100 kilocalories.

Olympic Sex

A "natural" study in this regard was the 2004 Olympics, where tens of thousands of athletes chose not to abstain. There were conditions in the Olympic town, including 130,000 condom and 30,000 contraceptives. An example in this regard was the Sydney Olympics where a condom limit was set for every athlete a day and these limits were often insufficient. At both Olympiads, there were quite a number of excellent achievements and improved records. Of course, this does not personally prove the benefits of sex before a race, but it is a clear clue to the damage from it.

Sex and motivation

This topic remains a taboo. There is no serious study of this matter. However, in sports, it is believed that pre-sport sex reduces the athlete's aggressiveness and harnesses his emotional energy to another, inappropriate place. British sprinter Linford Christie says that "the night before the race makes my feet feel like lead."

There is no doubt that sex is a weapon against stress and leads to the release of the hormone of happiness - endorphin.

Sports and sex - a way of life?

For most sports fans, neither sex is a one-time phenomenon the night before the workout, nor is it at all costs to seek maximum sporting results the next day. Most people regularly exercise and regularly have sex.

Do the two "sports" have an edge? Do they help or interfere? The main point of contact between regular sex and regular sports is testosterone. Strength training raises testosterone, and this is most pronounced in heavy workloads such as squats, thrusts, lounges, and so on.

Regular sex also raises testosterone. And none of these activities have parasitic use of testosterone. High levels of testosterone at the same time increase sexual desire, muscle cell anabolism and, to some extent, exercise and endurance. Ie. the combination of sex and sport as a way of life has a good effect. You can safely train for better sex and have sex for a better workout.

Then? Is abstinence a lie?

Probably not exactly. Just too much emphasis is put on the interpretation of the problem of the essence of sex. A good pre-race coach forbids not only sex. Disables discos - even without alcohol. It even forbids the beach. We see that it overwhelms the loss of 50 kcal. it is unlikely to occur. Sex can be planned so as not to interfere with rest and sleep. Then why?

The probable answer is simple. When looking for maximum, one-off achievements, there is an undeniable benefit in maintaining the body in a state of positive stress. It is useful to keep some tension for a while. Conditions of increased endorphin release, relaxation, side-effects of non-competitive nature are able to bring the body into relaxation, relaxation. Namely, this is what can interfere with the expected world record.