Sex before athletic events

I have heard this claim too, again specifically within the martial arts community, and usually in reference to men (who appear to be the majority of martial artists). Mirkin and Hoffman’s survey isn’t that specific because 1) they asked athletes of all sorts if they refrained, not if it made a difference and 2) it didn’t actually attempt to measure their performance directly.

One teacher could ALWAYS tell when his long-time students had “had their oil changed” prior to class and would rib them about it. Anecdotal, yes, but interesting.

My personal belief is that a really prolonged, awesome sex session will leave the participants in that state of blissful relaxation where indeed reflexes and general physical aggression would be noticeably slowed. And that this would apply to both men and women.

I believe you are referring to this column: Does sex before an athletic event decrease your performance on the field? (you should provide a link to the column you are referring to)

Anyway, sex can make you exhausted (men in particular often fall asleep after sex), especially if it was a long vigorous session, so there is some merit to the idea that it could decrease performance.

I’m surprised Cecil didn’t at least consider the implications of testorsterone levels. I don’t know if they rise or fall or remain the same after sex, but wouldn’t a change potentially effect athletic performance?

According to this article, there is no correlation between sexual activity and performance, although testosterone levels do increase (which is correlated with muscle gain, but this is a long-term effect, not something you’d see in a few hours).

Q: Is it OK to have sex before a race?

A: Yes, but try not to annoy the starter.

Back in the late Seventies, I remember a reporter from the New York Daily News talking to heavyweight boxer Ken Nortonabout this very subject.

Norton said that, before a bout, he would abstain for a period of time. The length of that abstention depended on the quality of his opponent. That is, Norton said, before a match with Muhammad Ai, he’d abstain for a few weeks. Before a match with an ordinary heavyweight, he’d abstain for a few days.

This was shortly before Norton was set to fight the current Great White Hope Duane Bobick. The reporter asked how long Norton would abstain before fighting Bobick. Norton laughed and said, “A few hours maybe.”

Not surprisingly, Norton knocked out Bobick in one round.

Cecil fell prey to a common misconception. It’s well-known that maintaining proper embrasure when playing a reed instrument causes minor trauma to the lips, leaving them more vulnerable to subsequent trauma. Hence the oft-heard advice: “No sax before a fight.”

First post!

Despite the frivolity of this interview, it is relevant to this question. This is Graham Norton talking to David Haye, a British boxer. He discusses sex before a fight. Watch from 0:42 or so.