From the editor : you are in the “Health” section - here we talk about how to eat properly, train and play sports for pleasure, and answer questions about health that our readers ask in our Telegram channel.
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Sex before competition is taboo for many athletes, who believe that it takes energy, “empties” and reduces “sports anger.” Some athletes even go on an abstinence marathon, like Muhammad Ali, who said he didn't allow himself to make love until six weeks before a fight. However, not everyone believes that sex can harm a sports career. We have already told you what arguments both sides give in this dispute, and now we are looking into what scientists think about sex in sports.
Short answer : There is no scientific evidence that sex before competition can impair performance. In fact, some studies show that it may even help by increasing testosterone levels.
Where did the theory that sex harms athletic success even come from?
We don't know for sure, but it appears that restrictions on sex are based more on "worldly wisdom" than on medical considerations. First of all, coaches see sexual intimacy as a threat to discipline, not to physiology. Sex during competitions (unless we are talking about established couples who can afford to travel together) involves searching for a partner and a date, which means additional stress. And it is clear that few mentors will like it if, on the eve of an important race or match, an athlete hangs out on Tinder or thinks about where to spend the evening with the girl he likes.
At the same time, female athletes are luckier in this sense; for them, strict prohibitions on sex are the exception rather than the rule. And some coaches even consider female orgasm before competitions to be “legal doping” (however, there are no authoritative scientific studies on the benefits of sex for female athletes).
An effective pose for “charging”
Both sex and exercise involve different ways to achieve your goals. In sex it is a position. In sports, exercises for a specific muscle group.
Standard positions, for example, “missionary”, “doggy style”, “cowgirl” are reliable, but less expressive. Not all muscle groups are involved here, but the likelihood of getting pleasure is high. In special poses (and these are all those that are at least slightly different from the standard ones), a larger number of muscle groups are used, almost all metabolic processes are improved and calories are burned faster. All non-standard positions with sensual foreplay and obligatory mutual orgasm can replace sports in any of its manifestations.
In sports, there are also standard and special exercises. Standard exercises involve pumping certain muscle groups: shoulder, pelvic girdle, arms, legs and abs. Any deviation or addition to standard exercises radically changes the effectiveness of the workout. In this case, sex and sports are interchangeable.
What the Research Says
At a minimum, they destroy myths about the dangers of sex for athletic achievements. The physiological basis of the myth is the peculiarities of the production of testosterone in the human body, which helps build muscles and increases the level of growth hormone.
Testosterone levels rise during sex or masturbation and then fall again after orgasm, and related to this is the idea that this may affect an athlete's performance. In reality, research shows that fluctuations in testosterone levels are small, and levels return to normal within just a few minutes of sexual release.
Let's summarize the above
When you play sports, your body becomes beautiful, strong and resilient. The owner of such a body cannot help but take advantage of all its capabilities in bed. Such a person knows how to receive pleasure and give it to his partner. Along with physical disabilities, psychological inconveniences are eliminated - self-doubt, complexes, embarrassment. If you train your body, it means you love it, the same applies to your mind. Sports will help everyone realize their sexual potential!
Okay, but are you still tired?
While a 2016 study examining the effects of sex on athletes' performance suggests there may be "concerns about the possible negative impact of sex the night before a competition," it is also likely to be small. In any case, scientists refute the idea that sex before a performance greatly tires an athlete. For example, intercourse between married partners consumes only 25 to 50 calories, about the same as it takes to climb two flights of stairs.
Is it bad not to masturbate?
Unfortunately, even today old myths and conjectures regarding masturbation persist: sinfulness, unnaturalness, danger to general and sexual health. The results of serious modern research allow us to reconsider the negative attitude towards masturbation that has been rooted for thousands of years.
Unfortunately, old myths and speculations regarding masturbation persist today:
- sinfulness,
- unnaturalness,
- danger to general and sexual health.
The results of serious modern research allow us to reconsider the negative attitude towards masturbation that has been rooted for thousands of years.
Masturbation can be defined as sexual self-gratification that involves some form of direct physical stimulation. Most commonly, masturbation is accomplished by rubbing, stroking, or squeezing the genitals or other parts of the body, such as the breasts, inner thighs, and anus. The term "masturbation" includes any act that provides sexual gratification, regardless of the outcome, i.e. not necessarily ending in orgasm. Masturbation refers exclusively to sexual self-gratification.
European (Christian) culture has developed a negative attitude towards masturbation, based on the story described in the first book of the Bible, Genesis. In ancient times, there was a levirate marriage, in which, if one of the brothers died, the other married his widow, and the eldest son from such a marriage inherited not only the name, but also the property of the deceased. After the death of Yehuda's son Er, his wife Tamar was left a childless widow. Er’s brother Onan became Tamar’s husband, “but since Onan knew that the seed would not be his (i.e., that the son born would not be considered his son), it happened that when he went in to his brother’s wife, he dropped her to the ground ( seed) so as not to give offspring to his brother. And what he did displeased God, and God slew Onan” (Genesis 38:8-10). Masturbation named Onana began to be called “masturbation.” I note that in the quoted passage from the Bible, most likely we are not talking about masturbation, but about interrupted sexual intercourse. To this day, the official attitude of the church towards masturbation has not changed. The Vatican Declaration on Sexual Ethics (1975) considers masturbation a “dangerous and harmful act,” evidence of “moral impurity” and “depravity.”
And yet masturbation is very widespread. The famous Swiss doctor S. Tissot regarded masturbation as a dangerous disease that leads to destruction of tissues, the nervous system, mental illness and early death. It is impossible even to list the numerous ways to combat masturbation recommended by medical and pedagogical authorities of past centuries. The worst of them was castration and removal of the clitoris. Only at the end of the 30s. one American pediatrician for the first time in the textbook “Childhood Diseases” stated that masturbation is not a disease and should not be treated, and children and adolescents should not be punished.
Unfortunately, even today old myths and conjectures regarding masturbation persist: sinfulness, unnaturalness, danger to general and sexual health. The results of serious modern research allow us to reconsider the negative attitude towards masturbation that has been rooted for thousands of years. Here is the Kinsey Institute's comprehensive information on masturbation, based on the world's largest scientific and practical experience.
Is masturbation harmful to health?
No, it's even useful.
Could it be the cause of acne?
No.
Can masturbation affect fertility? No. Could it be causing an infection?
No.
Can masturbation increase or decrease penis size?
No.
Can masturbation change the shape or arch of the penis?
No.
Could it cause changes in the shape, size or color of the female genital organs?
No.
Can masturbation cause illness?
No.
Can masturbation during adolescence reduce sexual responsiveness toward a partner in the future?
No.
Is it bad not to masturbate?
No.
The technique of masturbation for men is quite simple: stroking, rubbing the head and body of the penis, initially at a slow pace, which is accelerated as sexual arousal increases. Many men look at pornographic pictures or watch movies while masturbating.
The technique of female masturbation is more varied. It is based on irritation of the clitoris, labia minora, and vestibule of the vagina. Some women stimulate the nipples, parapapillary areas, and mammary glands.
Over the past decades, the attitude towards female masturbation on the part of sexologists has changed. A number of well-known female sexologists recommend masturbation as a way to combat anorgasmia
(lack of orgasm).
It should also be noted that almost all professional researchers and sex therapists recognize the need for masturbation to achieve orgasm during sex. Take the first step - make an appointment!
or call 8 800 550-05-33
free phone in Russia
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Arguments for abstinence
It is known that the greatest boxer Mohammed Ali stopped all sexual contacts a month before a major fight. This allowed the boxer to save energy and approach the fight as collected as possible. Perhaps it was abstinence that allowed Ali to become the greatest boxer of all time?
The famous tennis player Andy Murray has repeatedly stated about abstinence several days before the game. You may consider it a coincidence, but Murray's confidence in this approach to competition allowed him to become the 1st racket in the world, win 2 Olympic medals and win three Grand Slam tournaments.
And the famous track and field athlete Marty Liquori said: “Sex makes a person happy. But how can a happy person run a mile in 3:47?”
Sexaholics and abstainers
Sexuality is a fundamental aspect of humanity. This is a normal and positive way of expressing yourself, but it also releases endorphins, the feel-good hormones that make you feel better. Some young athletes think a lot about sex, feel a strong desire, and want to have it at least once a day. If he is gone for several days, they endure it painfully.
Others maintain sexual abstinence for a long time. This group includes boxers and cyclists. Krzysztof Wlodarczyk, a Polish boxer, spoke about his preparations for the fight:
“I'm moving out of the house, sleeping alone, without my wife. Must forget about sex. It gives me more adrenaline in the ring.”
