Sexual intercourse does not affect performance?

Does sexual intercourse before exercise affect performance?

It is often suggested that sexual intercourse before exercise can be detrimental to exercise performance. However, is this really the case?

This study investigated the effect of sexual intercourse 12 hours before exercise on strength performance. They included sexually active, strength-trained men who were in a sexually active relationship. The subjects performed muscle strength tests on two occasions after engaging or abstaining from sex in the 12 hours before the test.

The sexual activity was not standardized between subjects. Four of the twelve subjects reported that their sexual activity lasted longer than 30 min.

Sexual intercourse 12 hours before the strength test did not affect knee extension or knee flexion force production.

Therefore, it appears that sexual activity is not detrimental to muscle strength. However, a limitation of the study is the small sample size. Nevertheless, the data suggest that it is unlikely that sexual activity will have a large impact on strength performance.

Study:
Valenti et al. Effect of Sexual Intercourse on Lower Extremity Muscle Force in Strength-Trained Men. J Sex Med, 2019

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