What impact does sex have on your muscles and gym performance? If Freud were to look at bodybuilders and the time and effort they put into improving their physique, he would probably attribute it to the unconscious desire for sex. The last thing a bodybuilder would want to hear is that having sex (“mission accomplished”) could potentially hinder their further results in the gym. The idea that sex could negatively impact your gym performance is not a popular message, but science and journalism have often been unpopular, so “fuck it”, or rather, not?
The impact of sex on fitness performance
Yes, here it is again, the T-word. Testosterone plays a significant role in men’s libido, the desire for sexuality, and the ability to engage in sex or maintain an erection. Additionally, testosterone contributes greatly to men’s muscle mass development. It’s no coincidence that anabolic-androgenic steroids are based on this male sex hormone. Unfortunately, there are many differing opinions on the “optimal frequency of ejaculation”, some better substantiated than others. However, I’m particularly interested in the effect on testosterone because this influences muscle mass. Clarity was found in the following two topics.
Sex and Testosterone
I mentioned “mission accomplished” above because one could argue that your body thinks the same regarding testosterone levels. Immediately after orgasm, your testosterone decreases. This was shown in a study by the University of Essen in Germany, where participants watched an erotic film to see what happens to testosterone levels during arousal, after ejaculation, and again after 3 weeks of abstinence.
The values after 10 and 20 minutes are used as baseline because no erotic material was shown then. After 20 minutes, erotic images were shown, and the effect was measured after 30 minutes. Watching porn caused testosterone to rise during viewing, both before and after abstinence, though the difference was more significant for abstinence. After 30 minutes (so after 10 minutes of watching porn), participants were instructed to masturbate to ejaculation. We then see testosterone continue to rise (between minutes 30 and 40), unsurprisingly. The effects of coming are shown in the values after 40 minutes. We then see testosterone drop as quickly as it had risen.
Testosterone after abstinence
Research has shown that after 7 days of abstinence, the quality and quantity of sperm are optimal, after which they begin to decrease. Researchers from Hangzhou University in China therefore suspected that something special happens in the hormonal balance and metabolism after ejaculation to promote spermatogenesis, the production and maturing of sperm. They studied 28 men and observed what happened to their testosterone levels for 8 days after ejaculation. To make a long story short: They observed that between days 2 to 5, little happened with testosterone, but it peaked on day 7 to an average of 145.7% of the baseline (range 117.8% – 197.3%). If ejaculation occurs within these 7 days, the process starts over.
The wide range shows that there can be significant individual differences. In the lowest case, testosterone was “only” increased by almost 18% while in the highest cases it almost doubled. What does this mean for you? Not much if you’re a bodybuilder. You train several times a week and don’t want to wait for that one peak in the week. At least, that price of abstinence is not worth it to me. Maybe it’s different if you have an important athletic competition coming up. Not having sex a week before the match is not superstition, but can actually be useful. In any case, this study shows a correlation between orgasm and testosterone levels.
In the previously mentioned study from the University of Essen, we also see a difference after 3 weeks of abstinence. The men who had not come for 3 weeks had higher testosterone levels than those who had come earlier. This could suggest that the highest peak might already be reached after a week, but the level does not drop back to the baseline.
Porn and cortisol
You probably like to hear this. “Watching porn lowers cortisol!” At least, that’s what was enthusiastically written about the study by researchers from the Department of Endocrinology and Physiology, Edinburgh in Scotland. In other articles in this series about cannabis and alcohol, I’ve already discussed the negative effects of cortisol on muscle mass. So, it’s advantageous if you can keep your cortisol low. I can think of worse ways than watching porn to lower your cortisol. It’s not a strange thought. In the article about stress and cortisol, I described the main natural means against cortisol, reducing stress through, for example, tai chi, meditation, or whatever else brings you peace. Why wouldn’t porn fit into that category? Who thinks about their bills or that terrible boss while watching “Debbie Does Dallas”?
Unfortunately, however, this statement is too positive an interpretation of the research data.
The researchers had 8 male students watch porn for 20 minutes (which is different than getting shampoo sprayed in your eye) and halfway through, watch non-erotic material for 10 minutes. They observed a clear difference between the group that watched porn and the control group. The researchers suspected this was due to an increase in dopamine and a decrease in prolactin. This might also explain the observed increase in testosterone, though it was not (quite) significant.
What is noticeable is that cortisol in the test group is clearly lower than the control group, but also not lower than the baseline, even slightly higher. The fact that cortisol is higher after 3.5 hours than in the control group suggests that this fluctuation is normal and possibly unrelated to what they saw.
What is clear is that the “neutral” film shown to the control group for 30 minutes and the test group (in between the porn) for 10 minutes causes a significant increase in the stress hormone cortisol in the control group. Therefore, I find it much more interesting to know what “neutral” video material was shown that caused participants more stress: The Exorcist, Roy Donders, or the election program of the PVV?
In the research report, it only states “a neutral film”. Often, nature scenes are shown for this kind of research. It’s also unclear if the participants knew what they were going to watch and why. I can think of two reasons why a “neutral film” might cause such a stress reaction.
1. They didn’t know what they were going to watch and why. If the film starts and you don’t know what is expected of you, you might try to remember everything because you might be asked questions about it later.
2. They knew exactly what the research was about, were ready with their hand on the trigger for a porn film, and then got to see bouncing bunnies and babbling brooks. If that’s not a stress factor!
At most, based on the above, you could say that watching porn limits the lowering effect on cortisol of the neutral film. However, this is not the case either. The strange increase in cortisol while watching the neutral film was largely caused by a significant increase in one of the participants, which immediately raised the average significantly.
Researchers from the University of Essen in Germany looked at the different effects of watching an erotic film, ejaculating, and then abstaining for 3 weeks before doing the same to observe the differences. In their study, watching an erotic film had no effect on cortisol, both before and after abstinence.
Therefore, watching erotic material has no effect on cortisol (sorry).
Sex and zinc
Until now, you probably haven’t heard anything that makes you happy. Maybe the following is a bit more positive. An important relationship between sex and muscle mass, and one you can benefit from, is related to zinc. Zinc plays a role in the immune system, wound healing, taste and smell, testosterone production, and protein synthesis. Especially the last two are naturally interesting. About 57% of zinc in the body is found in skeletal muscles. There is no storage system for zinc, making regular intake through diet necessary.
“Ok, but what does that have to do with sex?” you might now be thinking. Sperm contains zinc, meaning you lose zinc with every ejaculation. The amount of zinc per ejaculation varies from person to person. On average, this is 3-4mg per ejaculation, but it can also be double or much less. Moreover, your body has a self-protective system (homeostasis) that ensures the “normal state” is preserved as much as possible. If you lose weight too quickly, you’ll quickly gain it back (yo-yo effect), jerk off 10 times a day causing a zinc deficiency, then the amount of zinc per ejaculation decreases (“jerk-off effect”?). The amount of zinc per ejaculate can decrease by 50% in severe zinc deficiencies. Considering the daily recommended intake for men is 10-11mg, you can imagine that you can quickly run into a deficit if you frequently visit the toilet for recreational activities.
If you also train a lot, then your zinc need is even greater, let alone when you use certain anabolics. Stories of guys wanting to jump their girlfriend 5 times a day during a cycle are not uncommon.
The positive here is that many are not aware of a possible zinc deficiency, but it’s easy to fix. You can of course start eating more zinc-rich food, but you could also take the easy way out and buy a bottle of zinc tablets at the drugstore. Zinc is very cheap, so cost shouldn’t be an issue. The daily recommended amount is 10-11mg per day for normal mortals. However, if you train hard and also enjoy a bit of fun, it’s wise to use 20-25 mg per day. This is a safe amount without expecting any side effects.
Sex and energy
At this last point, the distinction between masturbation and sex with a partner becomes important due to the difference in exertion. Perhaps the following situation is familiar: You roll off your partner sweating after 2 hours of sex. During sex, you’ve held your body in positions that would not be out of place in an advanced yoga session. While you’re catching your breath, your testosterone, dopamine, and adrenaline levels drop, you suddenly realize how exhausted you are and wonder if you’ve expended as much energy as during a heavy cardio session. If you weigh every meal because you want to make sure you’re consuming more than you’re expending to bulk up, or less to cut, it’s annoying if you’re a few hundred calories off because you had a fun night.
American sexologist Jaiya Kinzbach describes in her book Red Hot Touch the calorie expenditure per romantic and sexual activity. For example, female readers will likely point out to their partner that “romantic dancing” burns 206 calories per hour, while male readers will likely point out that giving oral sex burns 200 calories per hour, minus the possible calories from semen, amounting to 19 calories if swallowed. Sex itself would cost according to Kinzbach 288 calories.
Fun facts for a swinger party, but it should come as no surprise that this all strongly depends on the intensity. “Riding or being ridden”, makes a big difference, so I looked further into research on this to better map out individual differences. If you know the minimum and maximum consumption as measured in studies, you can estimate for yourself how active you are between the sheets.
Dr. Robert Wieder has made a fun overview, which is mostly very amusing. It looks not only at positions, duration, and intensity, but also at motivation, location, aids, clothing, and many other factors. For example, how much extra do you burn if you use a pogo stick as an aid (I especially wonder how you use that as an aid, but okay) and what is the difference between butter and chicken fat as lubricant?
Definitely look at his list, very entertaining, but of course completely made up given certain numbers. This is therefore meant to be a humorous piece (thanks). “Dr.” Wieder is not a Ph.D. or M.D., and I also don’t know what kind of doctor he is. Moreover, he mainly writes for Penthouse and Playboy for all those men 60 years and older (who buys those magazines anymore?) who still don’t understand the internet and supposedly are interested in the articles.
How many calories do you burn with sex
A certain calorie calculator allows you to enter your weight and the duration of the activity where the distinction is not made between dozens of conditions as above, but only between foreplay and sex. In my case, based on weight, I would burn 366 calories in one hour of sex without foreplay.
The number of calories burned is related to your heart rate. An extensive study on the cardiological effects of sex is that of P. Rerkpattanapipat, M. S. Stanek, and M. N. Kotler. Especially because they mention the results of several other related studies.
In some cases, the distinction is made between men and women, in other cases between different activities such as the previously mentioned distinction in riding or being ridden (resp.110 and 127 kcal). If you compare this with the gangbangre lessons on cardio, you can safely say these activities are comparable. The so-called “fatburning zone”, the heart rate at which you burn the most body fat, is between 60% and 70% of your maximum heart rate. In my case, that’s 220 – 38 (age) x 60 and/or 70 = 109 – 127 beats per minute. Looking at the values next to this, you’ll see they neatly fit in between, though these are average peak values.
Various sources clearly indicate that there can be significant differences depending on duration, circumstances, and intensity. Keep in mind that you can burn between 150 and 400 calories during sex.
Of course, individual differences here will be large. If you’re a one-minute-man, you shouldn’t expect the same “consumption” as someone who only finishes after an hour of foreplay. After all, there are sprinters on one hand and diesel locomotives on the other.
Conclusion
Orgasming can influence muscle growth through changes in your testosterone levels, both increasing and decreasing, and lowers the amount of zinc in your body. The positive impact on cortisol is not sufficiently proven. During sex with a partner, you also burn calories, which you could take into account in calculating your calorie expenditure and intake.
Personally, I would try to gain benefits from other sources (better nutrition, rest, training methods, supplements) rather than trying to increase my testosterone through abstinence. However, it might be wise to look at your zinc consumption.
References
- Jiang M, Xin J, Zou Q, Shen JW. A research on the relationship between ejaculation and serum testosterone level in men.J Zhejiang Univ Sci. 2003 Mar-Apr;4(2):236-40.
- Carani C, Bancroft J, Del Rio G, Granata AR, Facchinetti F, Marrama P. The endocrine effects of visual erotic stimuli in normal men. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 1990;15(3):207-16.
- Younghee Se,Bumseok J, Ji-Woong K, Jeewook C. Plasma Concentration of Prolactin, Testosterone Might Be Associated with Brain Response to Visual Erotic Stimuli in Healthy Heterosexual Males. Psychiatry Investig. 2009 September; 6(3): 194–203.
- Exton MS, Krüger TH, Bursch N, Haake P, Knapp W, Schedlowski M, Hartmann U. Endocrine response to masturbation-induced orgasm in healthy men following a 3-week sexual abstinence. World J Urol. 2001 Nov;19(5):377-82.
- Hunt CD, Johnson PE, Herbel J, Mullen LK. Effects of dietary zinc depletion on seminal volume and zinc loss, serum testosterone concentrations, and sperm morphology in young men. Am J Clin Nutr. 1992 Jul;56(1):148-57.
- Baer MT,King JC.
