BooneThink

For longer than I care to remember, coaches, athletes, and even the general public have been under the impression that sexual intercourse the night before an athletic event (race, lifting weights, playing tennis, swimming, and so forth) decreases the athlete’s ability to perform.  It’s a myth, right?  Or, is there some truth to it?  The answer is forthcoming!

But first, what do coaches and athletes think?  Well, Jennifer Quinn, BBC News Online Magazine, reported online in August of 2004 that, “Berti Vogts, the German football manager in 1994, banned his players from sex before games.”  Also in 2004, Germany’s team doctor advised athletes not to have sex before Euro games.  Team doctor Tim Meyer said, “Sex immediately before games should be avoided because of the physical and emotional strain involved.”  These are just two of dozens upon dozens of similar comments.  The idea that sex impairs athletic performance has been with athletes far too long.

It is not logical for sex the night before competition to influence strength, endurance, or any other capacity to perform in athletics.  Research has also demonstrated the same, although admittedly, there are only three research studies that speak specifically to this subject.  A colleague and I published one of the studies in The Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness in volume 35 of 1995.  In brief, we concluded the following:

1.  Sexual intercourse 12 hours prior to a maximal treadmill exercise test had no significant effect on maximal aerobic power, oxygen pulse, and double product.

2.  Given that maximal aerobic power was reproducible from one test with sex vs. one test without sex, the conclusion is that sex before exercise is not harmful.

3.  Also, it is reasonable to conclude that sex prior to a maximal physical effort did not decrease stroke volume (since oxygen pulse was not decreased) or increase myocardial oxygen consumption (since double product was not increased).

Not surprisingly, some athletes report that sex the night before solidifies their feelings of happiness.  They are more relaxed after sex just prior to an athletic event.  Of course, as was reported in 1994 in Runner’s World, entitled The Sex Factor: “…not every [athlete] feels the same way about sex….”  Instead, they said that “…sex makes them feel too mellow to compete with sufficient aggression.”

I suppose it is easy to dismiss the concerns that exist around this topic.  And, perhaps, equally so, it may be crazy to even give it a second thought.  What is obvious is this.  First, more scientific research must be done on the subject (regardless of the sensitive issues regarding sex and funding challenges that historically have not been available to researchers this area).  Second, it is imperative that coaches, athletes, trainers, and all others associated with sports and competition are equally educated in terms of objective and sound physiology of sex and athletics.