Unless the sex we鈥檙e talking about is of the one-night-stand, where-are-my-pants variety (in which case your biggest worry is oversleeping and missing the race entirely), science doesn鈥檛 have much to say about your pre-race behavior in bed. Neither do the pros: Muhammed Ali famously abstained from sex before a fight; Oscar De La Hoya and Manny Pacquiao have been said to follow suit. On the other hand, Olympic swimmers and have made clear that they have no such beliefs, and No. 1-ranked female MMA fighter Ronda Rousey said last year that she before a fight because 鈥渇or girls, it raises your testosterone.鈥
Even ancient history has its conflicting opinions: In 444 B.C., the philosopher Plato said that 鈥淥lympic competitors before races should avoid sexual intimacy.” In 77 A.D., however, Pliny the Elder wrote that “athletes when sluggish are revitalized by lovemaking.”
So what does the research say? A from Georgia State University researchers backs up Rousey鈥檚 claim that sex does indeed increase testosterone levels, for females as well as men鈥攁lthough it鈥檚 unclear whether the change would be enough to offer a performance advantage. An editorial published in 2000 suggested that 鈥渟ex the night before competition does not alter physiological testing results,鈥 based on the results of three previous studies. However, the psychological effects of knocking boots have not been studied or proven, editorial author Ian Shrier, professor of epidemiology at McGill University in Montreal, in 2006. In other words, there鈥檚 no knowing whether sex will mess with your mindset or concentration the next day, either negatively or positively.
In lieu of definitive advice, I鈥檇 stick with the old training mantra: 鈥淣othing new on race day.鈥 If a little bit of premature celebrating is part of your regular routine, by all means, have at it. But if you think it has the potential to keep you up all night, wear you out, or distract you from your goals the next morning, save it for the victory party.