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Muhammad Ali famously claimed he would abstain from sex for six weeks before a big fight to allow him to focus on the task at hand.
However scientists now say the world heavyweight champion shouldn’t have bothered.
Researchers have discovered that making time for romantic physical contact before exercise could actually enhance people’s sporting performance.
A team from the University of Valladolid in Spain tested 21 healthy, physically fit men to find the truth about abstinence rituals used by some sportsmen.
They gave each man an intense cycling test twice, once after they had abstained from making love for a week, and again 30 minutes after they had been amorous.
The results showed that after sexual activity, the men could actually cycle for a little longer.
The researchers said in a report: ‘These findings suggest that pre-exercise sexual activity does not impair athletic capacity in trained men, challenging the long-standing myth of mandatory abstinence before competition.’
Dr Athalie Redwood-Brown, senior lecturer in performance analysis of sport at Nottingham Trent University, who was not involved in the study, said that, for a long time, ‘athletes thought that if they had sex, they would have less strength, speed, or aggression left for their sport’.
However, she added: ‘The new research shows that this worry is mostly based on old beliefs, not how the body really works.
‘After sex, the body releases chemicals that help people feel calm, happy, and relaxed.
‘That can help athletes concentrate better, being less nervous can help muscles move more smoothly, and feeling relaxed can make exercise feel a bit easier.’
The research was originally published in the medical journal Physiology & Behavior.
