On the night before a big race....

bart simpson

do many of ye obstain from having sex?......i hear a lot about it in regard to field sports and the like, and i suppose i can understand the logic of pent up testosterone in the body helping a little bit in a competitive sport, but is there are scientific facts on this and is there anyone here who reckons it works?

TFBubendorfer

bart simpson wrote: »

but is there are scientific facts on this?

How would you do the placebo? :cool:

bart simpson wrote: »

is there anyone here who reckons it works?

A friend of mine (not me guv, honestly) ran a marathon a couple of years ago and very much regretted every single gram of energy he had spent the night before. (I never asked his wife what she thought, though )

guapos

There was a program on Bravo last year called "Sports Science", in the tests they did the athletes performed better after a night of loving.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wO3zO02Z8dk

Personall I don't believe it, ten years ago our sex starved 5 a side football team would have won our league if a few of the lads hadnt gotten girlfriends, the aggression just wasnt there anymore.

nerraw1111

Unless its the Olympic Final, wild horses etc.

BeepBeep67

Stay on the bottom bunk and use it as a relaxation technique, I don't thing there's any proof it's detrimental to performance.

gerard65

Its not the sex, its staying up all night looking for it:D

jcunniffe

TFBubendorfer wrote: »

How would you do the placebo?

TFB, placebo would be difficult but I think you could try it "double blind" and "randomised" and see how that goes? Partner might not go for that though.

J

Gringo78

Bernard Hopkins (boxer) abstains for 9 weeks prior to big fights. I'm sure he would not approve at all of any activity the night before.

Enduro

There's a good discussion in here somewhere!

I've always wondered why some athletes (by athletes I'm referring to men, specificially, who participate in any sport) think that sexual abstinance before event participation is a good idea. Long before I was an athlete myself I can remember seeing Raging Bull, and wondering why Jake LaMotta thought it necessary to avoid sex with his GF before his big fight.

It might seem obvious that preserving energy is important, but is anything actually gained. OR is it more harmful than beneficial. Then there's the whole mental side of things. How important is sleep (nothing like sexual frustration to keep you awake )? How important is mental relaxation?

Given that testosterone is a naturally occuring performance enhancing drug, abstaining for 9 weeks seems like counter-productive lunacy to me. I wonder what the theoretical reason for that is. My guess is that there is sod all scienetific basis to this behavior.

Incidently, a few acquantances who've been to the olympics reckon that the olympic village is a hotbed of sexual activity. You really loose out if your event is late in the games, apparently.

Gringo78

Enduro wrote: »

There's a good discussion in here somewhere!

I've always wondered why some athletes (by athletes I'm referring to men, specificially, who participate in any sport) think that sexual abstinance before event participation is a good idea. Long before I was an athlete myself I can remember seeing Raging Bull, and wondering why Jake LaMotta thought it necessary to avoid sex with his GF before his big fight.

It might seem obvious that preserving energy is important, but is anything actually gained. OR is it more harmful than beneficial. Then there's the whole mental side of things. How important is sleep (nothing like sexual frustration to keep you awake )? How important is mental relaxation?

Given that testosterone is a naturally occuring performance enhancing drug, abstaining for 9 weeks seems like counter-productive lunacy to me. I wonder what the theoretical reason for that is. My guess is that there is sod all scienetific basis to this behavior.

Incidently, a few acquantances who've been to the olympics reckon that the olympic village is a hotbed of sexual activity. You really loose out if your event is late in the games, apparently.

Bernard Hopkins actually explained it as being mental rather than physical. The fact that he could abstain proved to himself that he was in full control of his body and could deny himself things he really wanted. As you say though, slight lunacy there...denying yourself chocolate for 9 weeks would show just as much control AND be physically beneficial (if you have problems holding your desired weight)

TFBubendorfer

Enduro wrote: »

Incidently, a few acquantances who've been to the olympics reckon that the olympic village is a hotbed of sexual activity. You really loose out if your event is late in the games, apparently.

I've read that during both of the last 2 Olympics they ran out of the free condoms provided.

It's not much of a surprise, really. Put a lot of young people in their 20s together and that's bound to happen. Now add the fact that they are all extremely fit and, after their events, probably bursting with energy, then there's not much left for imagination.

I also remember a few years ago after a very successful season the president of Real Madrid thanked the players' wifes and girlfriends for sustaining from sex before important games, which left the players with plenty of energy, apparently. Not sure how he monitored that, though.

ecoli

TFBubendorfer wrote: »

I've read that during both of the last 2 Olympics they ran out of the free condoms provided.

Its been going for longer than the last two Olympics and it extends to other major championships

http://www.aolnews.com/2010/10/08/report-condoms-clog-drains-at-commonwealth-games/

And yet we saw records smashed over that period. If anyone was staying up all night it was the worlds fastest man which says to me its good for you i know what i will be doing day before my next race;)

ultraman1

i read a piece on this that sugested that its benifical for a woman to ogasam before an event...thik it mite of been written by female athletes husband,...

donothoponpop

ultraman1 wrote: »

i read a piece on this that sugested that its benifical for a woman to ogasam before an event...

So that's what I'm doing wrong. Will try harder before my next race.

BeepBeep67

We need to put this one to bed, so to speak.
Where do I sign up as a Guinea pig?

Krusty_Clown

According to Bond in 'The Man with the Golden Gun' both Scaramanga and bull-fighters have this in common: they both like to enjoy the forbidden fruit the night before the big action, as it improves their aim. So if your event includes some form of targetting/aiming (map reading? navigation?), you might want to bring some flowers home the night before the big event.

village runner

If your in the conrad night before nxt years dublin marathon i willbbe only glad to help you out. I like blonds.
Personally i wouldnt(well my mrs says i shouldnt)

Krusty_Clown

village runner wrote: »

If your in the conrad night before nxt years dublin marathon i willbbe only glad to help you out. I like blonds.
Personally i wouldnt(well my mrs says i shouldnt)

Thanks for the offer village runner, but I'm more of a brunette, and will be staying as far away from the Conrad as I can on the 30th October.