Athletic sex

The relationship between sex and athletic performance has been debated for centuries. The topic of sex and athletics begins over 1, years ago in Greece. The theory back then was that abstaining would build frustration, aggression and ultimately result in improved performance. It would seem the tables have turned: at the Rio Olympics, a whopping half a million condoms were handed out to the approximately 12, competitors. So, what does the science say?

In case you weren't already aware, a lot of sex goes down in the Olympic Village. This year, , condoms were handed out to all 2, participants at the PyeongChang Olympics. That's about 37 condoms per person, making it the biggest number of condoms distributed in the entire history of the Winter Olympics. But how does sex actually affect athletic performance?

Since the days of the ancient Greeks and Romans, it's been a widely held belief—particularly among men—that they should avoid sex before any type of sporting competition. The no-sex-before-sports rule is rooted in a fear that sex will sap men of their testosterone and energy, thereby harming their athletic performance. Will a pre-competition roll in the hay necessarily drain your strength? In the study, researchers at California State University, San Marcos provided the first-ever data looking at whether previous-day sex affects the amount of muscle force men can exert with their legs the following day. They studied 12 healthy young men age 25 on average who had their leg strength and endurance tested twice: once on a day when they had sex the night before, and again on a day when they had abstained from sex the previous night.

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