Can sex and masturbation actually affect performance in sport?
It’s an age-old question.
Tyson Fury recently made headlines for suggesting that his world title success is due to him ‘masturbating seven times a day.’
When speaking about the topic – ahead of his April fight against Dillian Whyte – Tyson said he believes masturbation gives him the power in his hands to secure knockout victories after ‘loading up on testosterone.’
‘I put most of my success down to masturbation seven times a day,’ Tyson told the Pat McAfee show.
‘Got to keep that blood pumping baby; the only thing I have been loading is testosterone from all the w***ing over the years. Right hands and left hands depending on what I feel like.’
So, is there any truth to this idea that sex or masturbation can improve, or even worsen, sporting performance?
Performance coach Arj Thiruchelvam, who has worked as a sprint and jumps coach for UK Athletic, tells Metro.co.uk: ‘Most studies suggest there is no negative impact on an athlete’s aerobic/strength performance when there are several hours between sex and the competition.’
A 2016 study, published in Frontiers in Physiology, found no link between sex and fitness performance.
And more recent research supports this, too.
Arj adds: ‘Zavorksy and Newton (2018) examined the impact of sexual activity the evening before six performance tests and concluded there were zero effects.’
He also stresses that it all comes down to the athlete and their individual routines.
Arj says: ‘If you have a happy athlete, and as long as they have time to re-focus, there doesn’t appear to be any impact of sex on performance.
‘Some people are superstitious and may want to avoid it and if that’s their routine then fine, but the same goes for those who like to be more relaxed.
‘If they live life as normally as possible, from training to competition, they might actually find sex before performance allows them to be more calm and less nervous.’
This is something backed up by relationship expert, psychologist and sex therapist Tatyana Dyachenko – who suggests that it could be beneficial for athletes to have sex or masturbate, rather than abstain.
Mainly because of what happens to the human body when we engage in the activity.
Tatyana says: ‘A lack of sex decreases a persons testosterone levels which actually hinders sporting performance.
‘When it comes to sports, the more testosterone flowing around your body the better. Hence why more sex is actually good for sporting performance rather than bad.
‘Being sexually active has also been linked to a reduction in muscle pain, which can be beneficial to athletes.
‘For women, in particular, sexual stimulation creates a very powerful pain-blocking effect which can help with muscle tiredness or soreness after training.’
All in all, it seems there’s no evidence to suggest that sex before a competition is bad.
Ultimately, it all comes down to personal choice.
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