As Rocky once so eloquently put it:
“Hey, Adrian, I’m serious now. There’s no foolin’ around during training, understand? I wanna stay strong.”
The myth that a great performance in bed the night before a big bout will translate into a poor performance in the ring is probably as old as competition itself. The idea behind the abstinence comes from the notion that the act of ejaculation reduces testosterone, the hormone of both sexual desire and aggression in male athletes. Coaches and supporters of the belief will say that a man looses his vital energy and decreases his pugnacity every time he ejaculates.
The tradition of abstinence is particularly strong in power sports, such as boxing, where aggression is considered a valuable trait. Many boxers continue to practice the no sex clause before a fight.
This idea has become so popular that athletes in other sports have also opted to stay away from “scoring” the night before a big game. Mike Ditka, former coach of the Chicago Bears, told his players on the eve of the 1986 Superbowl: "You can only play this game once. If wives and girlfriends can't wait, tell them to take a cold shower." Most recently, soccer coach Fabio Capello limited the access his players had to their wives and girlfriends (aka, WAGS) during the World Cup to one day after each game.
Even current UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre has a strong perspective on sex and training:
"...iconic fighter Rocky Marciano would excuse himself from the marital bed for months before a bout. Marciano was the only heavyweight boxer to retire undefeated. "
Genesis Of Sex And Training Idea
Greg Whyte, professor of applied sport and exercise science at Liverpool John Moores University, says that Ancient Greeks came up with this idea. According to Whyte, Ancient Greeks were fervent believers that sexual activity would sap energy, lower testosterone and reduce aggression in men. The famous Greek philosopher, Plato, was the first to tackle the issue when he wrote about Olympic champion, Ikkos of Tarentum. According to the literature, Ikkos prepared for the 84th Olympiad in 444 B.C. by eating large quantities of wild boar, cheese and goat meat, but restrained from sexual activity, fearing it could diminish his strength.
According to a Newsweek article, the Romans disagreed with the notion. In A.D. 77, Pliny the Elder wrote that sluggish athletes were revitalized by love-making. Since then, the idea that sex can impair physical performance has gripped the minds of athletes for centuries.
In the middle of the 20th century, legendary boxer Muhammad Ali reportedly went two months without sex before a big fight, claiming it made him unbeatable in the ring. Ali is considered one of the best fighters of all time; his record stands at an impressive 56 wins in 61 fights, with 37 knockouts.
Most recently, Manny Pacquiao has stated publicly that he separates himself from his wife when he trains for a fight. He only has contact with his wife during chaperoned visits. Pacquiao is considered by many in the sport as the best welterweight fighter of all time.
Throughout the centuries athletes have been disciplined to give up sex and have an early night before a competition. But is there any critical evidence to suggest that sex has any repercussion on athletic ability?
The Research
According to Ian Shrier, sports medicine specialist at McGill University, there are only two possible ways that sex before a competition can affect your performance. First is the idea that sex can make an athlete tired and weak the next day, which has been disproved. The second is that sexual activity the night before affects your state of mind. This latter potential effect has yet to be tested.
According to Shrier, sexual activity before a competition has no influence on a man's grip strength, power, balance, endurance, lateral movement, reaction time, or aerobic power.
ESPN decided to test the myth on the show Sport Science. A professional male and female fighter were tested on cardiovascular endurance, lower and upper body strength and power using impact sensors designed by the United States Boxing Association. The fighters were asked to abstain for a day in order to run the first series of tests and then after engaging in sexual intercourse with their spouse, the athletes were retested. The results indicated that physiologically, testosterone levels were higher in both the male and the female fighter after having sex. According to the numbers, the female boxer’s punch registered at 632 pounds of force pre-sex. She then registered 876 pounds of force after sex. That’s almost a 30% improvement.
More Evidence (Or Lack Thereof)
Tommy Boone, exercise physiologist at the College of St. Scholastica in Duluth, Minnesota, and author of Sex Before Athletic Competition: Myth or Fact, says there is no evidence to support abstinence before a match. In 1995, Boone conducted a study that challenged 11 athletes to a treadmill test. Some had sex 12 hours before the test and some abstained. According to Boone, there was no difference in performance between the groups.
A man's body does undergo some physical changes during sex, which include a rise in heart rate from 70 bpm at rest to up to 130 bpm when active. But compared to the exertion required during a soccer match, sex requires less than 25% of the aerobic effort, says Boone, and it lasts for much less time.
Scientists have found that, in general, sexual intercourse between married partners expends only 25 to 50 calories. That’s about the energy it takes to walk up two flights of stairs. In fact, one of the most credible studies on sex, conducted at Queen’s University in Belfast, asserts that having sex reduces the risk of heart disease and improves overall fitness.
Yet, many athletes continue to believe the myth. Athletes think of sex as an exercise that can fatigue the body and reduce aggression.
Science has proved that lovemaking is not a very demanding exercise. Furthermore, going without sex for a long period of time can even drop your testosterone levels says Emmanuele A. Jannini, professor of endocrinology at the University of L'Aquila in Italy. Jannini has done extensive research in the study of bodily secretions.
He dismisses the assertion that sex the night before a competition has a tiring effect on an athlete.
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