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Have you ever wondered whether masturbation is helping or hurting your ability to build muscle? If so, then you’re definitely going to want to watch this video. Here, we’re discussing the affects of masturbation in relation to whether engaging in the activity increases testosterone and boosts muscle growth or does the direct opposite.
It helps to start with the fact that this is not a new discussion at all. Dating back years and years ago, many athletes were advised by their coaches to not engage in masturbation or even sex prior to a game or athletic event. The thought was that it made you “weak in the knees” and less aggressive in your sport.
Years later, some proponents of a movement called “No Fap” have encouraged people to abstain from the activity in order to build up testosterone and lead to increased “manliness”, desire to set and achieve goals and even make them more attractive to others. Along the same line of thought was the idea that the rise in testosterone would lead to making it easier for these people to build muscle mass.
Much of the thought process behind this theory was based on two studies that often times get cited as reason to engage in this practice. The issue of both of these studies was that they were flawed. The first only included ten subjects. This is far too small of a group of people to make any mass assumptions on in the first place. The second study showed a 45% increase in testosterone with even just 7 days of sexual abstinence however neither of these looked at the levels of SHBG that could have and likely did rise along with the testosterone (thereby negating the effects of the elevated T in the first place).
It is not advised to look at the actions of any one hormone in isolation given the fact that there is a giant interplay between hormones in our bodies. When one is elevated there is often times another that rises in response to the elevated levels as a way of keeping its actions in check and maintaining homeostasis in the body.
Not to mention the fact that for every study that advocates no fap as a way of boosting testosterone there are others that say the direct opposite. They will say that the more frequent engagement of masturbation helps raise T levels in men and women. That said, this begs the question of whether the activity itself raised the levels of testosterone or whether these subjects already had higher levels of T which made them desire the activity more often.
So as you can see, there are many variables that are out of our control and not well measured making these studies questionable.
However, what if we could rely on more anecdotal evidence when we look to whether masturbation is really killing our gains or not. Many will say that they feel more relaxed after climaxing. The science supports this notion as it has been shown that serotonin levels rise after sex or masturbation. If this could be used as a pre-sleep ritual then would it help those who are often restless at night to get a better night’s sleep and in the process experience better muscle recovery and ultimately more muscle gains?
Something to definitely think about.
Not to mention, it’s been shown that for those that train later at night, post workout arousal levels can be elevated in those that train at a low to medium intensity. If you’re not training hard enough already, which many people are not, and do not do something to help bring your arousal level down then you will most certainly have a hard time getting energy recuperative and muscle building sleep.
Your options would be to either find a different time of the day to train, opt for a higher intensity in your training, or engage in masturbation as a way to help you get through your night in a more rested way.
To fap or no fap, that is the question. The answer as always is going to be an individual one. You have to decide whether it is something you feel is necessary or even something you want to engage in if you’re looking to build more muscle or simply just feel better about life.
For a complete workout program that prioritizes recovery as a way of building muscle faster, be sure to check out athleanx.com and use the program selector linked below to find the program best suited to your specific body goals.
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