Dylan Spina – @DylanSpina61
“Abstain from sex!” is something most of our coaches or fellow athletes have said or heard at least once in their athletic career. The legend says that you will testosterone dump before the big event, not giving you enough to be able to perform at your highest level.
This is something that intrigues most, but not a lot do the research or studying into the fact they just tend to believe what they’ve always heard. This myth goes back as early as 77 A.D when Plato stated, “Olympic athletes before races should avoid sexual intimacy” (Baum, Neilbaum.net, 2016). In case you haven’t noticed this trend in America, just believing what you’re told with anything, this can be very dangerous. Mainly because you can miss one of the human beings most delightful experiences; intercourse for pleasure.
Research has been done into this old myth and studies have shown that this is indeed false. The only decline an athlete shows in testosterone from sex is when the sexual intimacy is shared less than 2 hours beforehand. “We clearly show that this topic has not been well investigated and only anecdotal stories have been reported, in fact, unless it takes place less than two hours before, the evidence actually suggests sexual activity may have a beneficial effect on sports performance” (Laura Stefani, Men’s Fitness).
It still blows my mind, that this myth is even still around when the Olympic Committee hands out over almost half million condoms in the Olympic villages during the Olympic games. How could you still believe that having sex before a competition is bad for you?
This goes into the fact of having to, once again, do your own research and not believe in everything you hear. Doing so will most likely be beneficial to you. Learning the ins and outs of thing you’re told can not only make you a better athlete but a more knowledgeable human being.
So next time you’re getting ready to compete or go train, its okay to have that pleasurable moment with someone. Enjoy your life. Not everything, especially sex, as an athlete and competitor, has to be so high strung.
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