Does Masturbation Decrease Your Strength?
Working out our muscles and improving our strength is a key component to developing a healthy lifestyle. Here at the TENGA STORE EUROPE, we’re all about healthy lifestyles and how masturbation plays a part.
Because both strength-building exercise and masturbation are rather intensive activities, people are likely to link the two and figure them to have correlating effects on the body. Those looking to build strength are especially concerned as to whether their healthy masturbation habits might be depleting their chances at building those burly muscles.
Let’s take a look into what effects masturbation and ejaculation have on the body, and if these effects correspond in any way to strength training.
Contents
The Role Of Testosterone In Muscle Growth
Testosterone, an androgenic hormone, appears to be crucial for muscle development in both males and females. There appears to be no correlation between masturbation and changes in testosterone levels due to orgasm.
It's widely recognized that testosterone plays a significant role in muscle development. It achieves this by facilitating protein synthesis in your muscles. Additionally, testosterone elevates the production of growth hormones, which the body releases in response to physical activity.
During sexual activity and masturbation, testosterone levels surge, only to decrease after orgasm. Consequently, it's understandable why individuals speculate about its potential influence on their workout regimen.
Studies find that these fluctuations are insufficient to significantly impact any activity, including gym sessions. Testosterone levels typically normalize within minutes following sexual release.
The Link Between Masturbation And Muscle Growth
Because there seem to be no noteworthy effects on testosterone levels from sexual activity, masturbation, and ejaculation, many may assume that there is no correlation between masturbation and muscle growth.
This is an oversight of the general effects masturbation can have for one’s body and general health, and what these effects can do for one attempting to improve their muscle mass.
Ejaculation releases a number of hormones, often referred to as “feel good hormones” including dopamine, oxytocin, prolactin, and serotonin.
While these have no direct effect on muscle growth, these hormones could improve one’s mood, which is a vital component of finding the motivation to workout.
Anecdotal evidence from trainer Jeff Cavaliere mentions the importance of a restful sleep, hypothesizing that masturbating as a pre-bed activity may be good for resting well enough to maximize muscle recovery. The earlier mentioned hormones such as serotonin and oxytocin can improve relaxation levels, so getting deeper rest thanks to a pre-sleep ejaculation is very likely.
Masturbation doesn’t just help relax the mind, but also the muscles that you may be finding tense before and after workouts. Masturbation aids in decreasing muscle tension by triggering the release of endorphins, fostering relaxation, alleviating stress and anxiety, and giving a sense of relief.
If working out has tightened up your body and gotten you worked up, a masturbation session may be in order to get yourself back on track.
Also, if you’re looking to improve muscle tone in your pelvic area specifically, masturbation can be a good way to tone your pelvic muscles.
The Impact Of Overindulgence
While masturbation is great for the minds and bodies for those with a good workout routine, it is best not to keep masturbation as the only outlet for the stress that has been building in those same minds and muscles.
As shown in our 2021 Global Self Pleasure Report, everyone has different masturbation habits, so it is up to you to find out how much is too much for your body.
That being said, because your body produces millions of sperm a day, even masturbating twice a day would never cause you to ‘run out’ or have any negative effect on your muscle growth. While there are ancient beliefs that believe in ‘semen retention,’ or the practice of withholding from ejaculation to improve one’s health, don’t pay any mind to these beliefs when planning your diet and exercise, your vitality won’t come out with your ejaculation!
What you should be more wary of is ‘incorrect masturbation methods’, when you get used to sensations that are different from sex, possibly leading to ejaculation disorders.
Find a good masturbation routine that balances well with your workout routine and you’ll be sure to find that lifting weights and ejaculation can go hand and hand when looking to improve muscle growth.
Summary
Masturbation and ejaculation do affect testosterone levels, however not to any degree that will cause you to not get the gains that you’re working towards.
We suggest masturbation as a tool to balance your mood and muscle tension, as the endorphins released can cause you to relax and maximize your overnight muscle recovery. Finding a good balance on how much to masturbate is essential.
If you’d like to improve your masturbation routine which will in turn improve your workouts, find a number of our masturbators on the TENGA STORE EUROPE today!
