The ‘no sex before sport’ edict that has been imposed upon many athletes before a major tournament has been exposed as nothing more than a myth, according to recent medical research.
The findings, which will be presented at Sports Medicine Australia’s 2013 Asics Conference of Science and Medicine in Sport in Thailand next week, indicate that sex 10 to 12 hours before an event has little to no impact on an athlete’s output.
The research examined a number of previous scientific studies and found that sex the night before competition does not alter short term physiological testing results.
Those tests included maximum grip strength, strength test, balance, lateral movement, reaction time, aerobic power, and VO2max.
“One of the studies showed significantly higher heart rate readings during a stress test at the five and ten minute mark for subjects who had engaged in sexual activity two hours before, those higher readings disappeared when the same test was performed 10 hours after sex,” study author Assistant Professor Of Sports Medicine at Shahid Beheshti, University Of Medical Sciences Tehran Iran, Shahram Mohaghegh said.
“In one other study 40 per cent of athletes said while exercising immediately after sexual intercourse they felt worse, while more than 90 per cent said having sex 12 hours before an endurance event did not influence their performance.”
In truth, many sports fans would hardly be surprised if previous sex bans are anything to go by.
Former Germany boss Bertie Vogts famously enforced his players to abstain prior to fooball’s 1994 World Cup, where the defending champions were knocked out by Bulgaria in the quarter-finals.
Then-England coach Fabio Capello did the same at the 2010 World Cup, only to see the Three Lions hammered by rivals Germany in the second round.
Controversial boxer Anthony Mundine reportedly abstained from sex for ten weeks prior to his first world title shot against Sven Ottke in 2005, which ended with the former NRL star laid out on the canvas after being knocked out by the German.
What many coaches, administrators and fans may fear is not the energy lost in the act itself, but the time and energy spent in pursuing such curricular activities.
What’s your best bet? For great odds on all your favourite sports check out PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.
It’s a pretty good time to be a Tasmanian sports fan right now. After years in the sporting wilderness with not much to celebrate,…
Olympic swimming legend and Australian Sports Commission boss Kieren Perkins has warned that "someone will die" if a multi-sport event that allows athletes to…
In 2015 when heavyweight boxer Tyson Fury beat Wladimir Klitschko, the fighter regarded by many as the ‘Greatest of all time’ in the sport,…
Join Australia's most vibrant online sports community and you have the chance to win $1000. The Roar is the perfect blend of sports reporting,…
Here is a review of our boxers who made a splash in the world rankings over the past year.
After intense debate at Roar HQ, we’ve selected the 23 most controversial moments for 2023.
