Elite athletes can be extremely aggressive, their attitude and personalities are larger than life, they are the “in your face” type individuals. This aggressiveness sparks odd relationships, miscommunications and off the chart experiences. When it comes to world class athletes, there is always some aspect of craziness that occurs in their daily life and MASTURBATION is no different.

That brings us into the world of NOFAP. NOFAP is a concept opposing pornography and masturbation, specifically male masturbation. Because of our experience with world class athletes in five different sports, we felt it was time to execute our due diligence and find out...Is NOFAP effective or is it bullshit?!?!

Because elite athletes, particularly male athletes, tend to be incredibly aggressive in nature and they tend to be “thrill seekers,” we have gotten questioned thousands of times asking if sexual or masturbation based orgasms can have a negative impact on sports performance and power output. That brought us toward the concept of NOFAP.

NOFAP is an online community that is anti-masturbation and anti-pornography. It is essentially a virtual and physical support group to help those dudes who jerk off a lot to control their urges and avoid pleasure. This seems like an absurd idea so what did we do? We dove into the science from a study that analyzed the body and its performance after executing an orgasm. This helps us see if there is any reason to warrant the NOFAP movement, at least in regard to sports performance. What Happens when...The Nut Has Been BUSTED?!?!?!

It’s acknowledged in various peer reviewed studies that after a short period of abstinence from orgasm (2-3 weeks), there is a moderate increase in testosterone. After an orgasm is achieved, there is almost ZERO impact on acute testosterone levels. Meaning testosterone does not increase or decrease after male ejaculation. There is a minimal response from orgasms on testosterone BUT those with higher levels of testosterone might be more inclined to have sexual desires.

That’s why we like to use Maurus Tempo back squats. These force the lifter to be very RIGID in their torso while also teaching the lifter how to manage their breath properly while also improving the overall speed of the movement and technique. As the lifter executes their Maurus Tempo squats as rapidly as possible, they learn how to recruit high threshold motor units with a very large load on their back. The speed of the concentric movement also teaches their body how to move fast with heavy weight, a key component behind weightlifting and sports performance.

After an orgasm occurs in males, there is a period of 10-15 minutes of euphoria. This ultimate feeling that is essentially out of this world! That is the feeling and experience that lends males to LOVE having sex. Why does this happen? During this timeframe, prolactin is elevated significantly which creates the feeling of euphoria. When prolactin is high, it essentially destroys sexual desire, making it very difficult to orgasm multiple times in one evening.

When prolactin is high, we also know that dopamine decreases. Sexual desire is stimulated tremendously by dopamine and catecholamines (adrenaline). This can be recognized by an increase in heart rate which then leads to higher dopamine and sex. BUT, when prolactin is higher, this diminishes sexual desire.

Pause squats are not for the faint of heart. It may sound cruel but at Garage Strength we like to use pause squats when a lifter may struggle with the stress of time under tension. Perhaps they are a little “soft” and need some training stress to enhance their mental fortitude. When that is recognized, the pause squat is called in from the bullpen and it’s go time!

This gray area response has to factor in all of the hormonal responses that occur after orgasm. For instance, when an orgasm is achieved, higher levels of prolactin can decrease catecholamines as well as dopamine which can lead to a poor performance based on low levels of motivation. This is specifically in regard to sports performance within a 20-30 minute window.

Now, after about 90 minutes most of these hormonal responses will be recovered to a normal standard. Meaning that orgasms will not have a negative impact on sports performance IF they are done outside of a standard 90 minute window from athletic endeavors.

Testosterone can impact sexual desire and aggressiveness in many athletes. When orgasms are achieved, sexually and through masturbation, it is known that testosterone is not impacted by this action. Instead, prolactin rises tremendously after orgasm while dopamine and catecholamines typically drop off. When prolactin is high, males tend to be euphoric and lethargic, a similar side effect of low dopamine. This tells us that sexual activity should not be done within 90 minutes of a resistance based exercise and likely should be avoided altogether until AFTER competitive activities.