people have been demonizing it for most of the AD years i think but it’s quite pleasant really. are there any proven negative effects?

  • StaySquared@lemmy.world
    629·
    20 days ago

    Literally good for you, eh?

    Masturbate right before gym, then go train. Note how your performance was. Especially if its a squat or a deadlift day.

    Note down what time you went to sleep, when you woke up, and every meal you ate (all calories, including macros).

    Now refrain from masturbation from that day until the next session you have of the same exercise, make sure you go to sleep within the same time the night before, wake the same time the day of training, and eat the same exact meals, go train the same exact exercise, same sets, reps, and weight. Note your performance.

    yeah yeah down vote me.

    • jabathekek@sopuli.xyz
      11·
      19 days ago

      Positive results on a quasi-scientific self-experiment is not a good way to gain knowledge. At best it is how you specifically react to the variables introduced; however, it seems that you only performed this self-experiment on two separate occasions or perhaps only when you planned to go to the gym. Although your attempt to limit confounding variables is commendable, it is not enough to reach a conclusion. To definitely find the truth on the matter, many more participants must be enrolled and the experiment should last for at least three weeks, but hopefully much longer so as to definitely reduce any confounding variables that will influence the results. Some of the better studies regarding physical performance were running for around six months just for this reason.

      Specifically regarding your self-experiment, if it was indeed performed as one session vs. one other session, there could be any number of confounding variables that could have effected your performance other then masturbation. Did you keep a sleep journal during the experiment (recording night mood, morning mood, amount of sleep)? Did you consume alcoholic beverages in the seven days leading up to the session? What was your specific workout routine?

      In my opinion you should continue this experiment, but record more data for longer amounts of time; say six months of abstention, and six months of regular masturbation. Of course, this produces it’s own confounding variables because it could very well be that the result you get has nothing to do with whether or not you masturbated, but rather the gains you made during the first trial period. Which is why to be able to tell people what is truth and what is incorrect, more participants must be recruited to validate the results; otherwise, it will only ever be (again) at best (i.e. confounding variables properly accounted for to the best of your ability), how you specifically react to abstention.

      • Cethin@lemmy.zipEnglish
        7·
        19 days ago

        With only a single event, it could be something as boring as what music you listened to during a workout. That can actually have a pretty strong influence, where maturation at best has a small influence, if any. If that weren’t the case, the Olympics wouldn’t be full of athletes fucking, because releasing their sperm somehow has a negative effect on performance. (If you believe it’s only masturbation, not sex, I’m going to need you to consider what mechanism could possibly effect this, because I can’t think of any.)

    • lightnsfw@reddthat.com
      8·
      20 days ago

      I don’t notice much of a difference personally and I have several years of consistent workout logs to go off.

    • Cowbob12@lemmy.world
      1·
      20 days ago

      I’m actually curious on this one, I don’t have gym equipment or membership, is there something else I can do to compare performance if I were to masturbate vs if I didn’t?

      • dustyData@lemmy.worldEnglish
        7·
        19 days ago

        It’s all old coaches tales. Olympic athletes not only masturbate but actively fuck each other senseless during the Olympics and you don’t see any effect on their performance in the slightest. If you are such a wimp that busting a nut makes you lose your breath sooner when jogging, then you have different medical problems. Cardiac atrophy for example. Masturbating barely even burns calories to begin with.