Do Sex and Masturbation Really Affect Your Workout?
When you’re trying to build muscle or improve endurance, you can consider what you eat, how much you sleep, and even how often you masturbate or have sex. But how much does sexual activity affect your accomplishments?
The short answer is: not really. If you’ve ever wondered how sex can harm or help your workout, this video from the PictureFit YouTube channel offers a good explanation, including debunking a big myth that worries many athletes that sex or masturbation lowers your testosterone. levels and causes a decrease in your income.
Testosterone is an androgenic hormone that plays a critical role in muscle building in both men and women. High levels can promote greater muscle protein synthesis or muscle growth. Abstinence practice can increase testosterone levels, yes, but there is no evidence that it will increase your gains, and there is virtually no effect of orgasm on testosterone levels.
Basically, sex and masturbation are in no way harmful or beneficial when it comes to moderate to vigorous exercise. Your heart rate rises for a few hours after orgasm, and it may rise even more if you exercise after sex or masturbation, but that’s about it. There is no reason to limit your sexual activity while you are working on building the body you want.
This story was originally published in October 2016 and updated on February 10, 2021 to add a new cover and follow Lifehacker’s style guidelines.