Is sex before a competition good or bad for your form?

If there’s one cliché as old as sport itself, it’s the idea that sexual activity before a competition harms performance. Many still insist on it, but few offer well-founded arguments. So, is sex before a race truly detrimental? Or, on the contrary, a good way to relax and relieve stress?

By Jean-François Tatard – Photos: depositphotos.com

Sexual activity before a race is considered by many athletes to be responsible for a drop in performance. And in reality, this isn’t new… In ancient Greece, it was already believed that sexual abstinence was the best way to ensure great success. In the sense that there could be no results without this kind of sacrifice. And when you ask today’s coaches who have an explanation, they state that this abstinence is the guarantee of maintaining a high testosterone level (for men).

No scientific study has ever proven that sex before a competition is likely to alter performance levels.

Nevertheless, there is no scientific argument in fact. No scientific study has ever proven that sex before a competition is likely to alter performance levels. Moreover, a few years ago, researchers from Minnesota conducted an experiment with two groups of male athletes, on whom they checked their physical performance during a cycling endurance test. The verdict? No difference was found between those who had sexual intercourse the day before and those who abstained. However, it was found that a negative effect on performance was observed when this delay was reduced to 2 hours before the test. But truthfully, what cyclist would want to have sex two hours before competing in a race they want to win?

On the other hand, when we reconsider the low energy expenditure of this moment that everyone enjoys, you can tell the pro-abstinence team that “making love is tiring” but that’s not the argument we’ll retain either. Athletes would spend too much energy having fun, right? To the point that they wouldn’t have enough left to win the competition? Well, good and bad news, but contrary to popular belief, according to another very serious study from the University of Alabama published in the New England Journal of Medicine, sex wouldn’t cost that much energy.

And are you the stressed type? Before a competition, does stress tend to make you lose all your composure? Well, ultimately, maybe a cuddling session just before going to sleep the night before could help you… Let’s be clear, we’re not telling you to revisit the entire Kamasutra or embark on a nocturnal feat until dawn, like a Transcontinental Race love version… In that case, yes, it will be difficult to raise your hands at the finish line the next day. However, a short cuddle of a reasonable duration of 5 to 8 minutes – let’s say 10 with foreplay – can absolutely help you fall asleep well and therefore feel even better on race day.

In short, we’ll remember that frolicking under the covers the night before a competition doesn’t seem to biochemically or physiologically impact athletes’ performance levels. But on the contrary, psychologically it is an excellent way to relax and combat pre-race stress, especially when we know how the night before a competition is often disturbed by an excess of emotions for some.

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