6 Ways Masturbation Can Kill Your Gains

Go to any bodybuilding forum and you will likely see the following question:

Will masturbation impact muscle growth and athletic performance?

The typical bro asking this question is between the age of 18 and 30. Yes, I said bro. I've never seen a female athlete or lifter ask about over-masturbation. Frequent (or too frequent) masturbation, and the fear that gains or performance will be lost because of it, is prominently a male fear.

Can masturbation kill your gains? Before I answer this question, let's look at some statistics. Understand that some of these statistics may not be completely honest. Yes, I AM implying that some men might be lying about how often they handle the 'ol sausage, so to speak.

How common is masturbation?  Approximately 60 to 65% of men between the ages of 15 and 50 reported that they have masturbated sometime during the previous month. This number peaks (pun intended) between the ages of 25 to 29. ^[1]

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How many men masturbation? 95% of men will admit that they masturbate. Surprisingly, this number drops to 70% for married men. ^[2]

Have they been caught? 41% of men state they have been caught masturbating. ^[2]

Masturbation frequency. Approximately 25% of men only masturbate a few times per month. 15 to 20% of men masturbate more than 4 times per week, but this percentage declines over the age of 30. By the age of 50 only 6% of men masturbate more than 4 times per week. 1.5% of men OVER the age of 70 still masturbate more than 4 times per month. ^[3]

So back to the question. Can masturbation kill your gains? I say yes!

6 Ways Masturbation Kills Gains

Can masturbation really kill my gains? The short answer is yes, pun intended. After a bit of studying and application, I've come to the conclusion that masturbation can kill your gains in 6 different ways.

#1 - Masturbation is Catabolic

The act of masturbating is similar to high intensity interval training (HIIT), which is extremely catabolic. For those who do not know what catabolic means, it means "muscle destroying." Masturbation kills your gains, bro.

There are a few fixes for this catabolism. They may, or may not be feasible.

You can drink BCAAs or protein during the act. I'm all about keeping the gains train rolling, but this could potentially lead to a big mess. Sip your BCAAs with caution.

#2 - Masturbation Lowers Testosterone

Even if you are new to the gym, you know that testosterone is important. In fact, it's one of the most important things you need to make gains.

I hate to say it but masturbation is (quite literally) draining the testosterone from your body.

There are studies that show your testosterone levels take 6 days to spike AFTER a masturbatory session. This means that to keep your levels high, you need to masturbate less frequently.

Who can hold out a whole week?

Long story short. Masturbation is causing your testosterone levels to drop. This means you are losing muscle, which also leads to increased estrogen. This begs the questions...

Do you even lift?

I hate to say it but masturbation is (quite literally) draining the testosterone from your body.

#3 - You Have No Energy Afterwards

I don't care who you are. No amount of pre-workout and stimulants can get someone up for heavy squats after you fap.

The loss of energy is actually from the HIIT cardio session you did, along with your loss of testosterone. Your body goes into shock and doesn't know how to respond and recover.

#4 - Loss of Muscle Glycogen

All of the carb loading you've just done to help shuttle energy into your muscles are NOW being depleted faster than you can say gains train. If you've ever wondered why your muscles are flat and do not have the "pop" they usually do, you now know why.

Masturbation is draining your muscles of glycogen and making your pump look more like a dry hump.

#5 - One Arm Bigger Than the Other

Time under tension is like the 10th wonder of the world. It builds muscles, makes people cry during a rep, and makes people look like sloths in the gym.

Unless you are ambidextrous, masturbating with only one arm creates the risk of being asymmetrical.

You are probably wondering how one arm can be bigger than the other if masturbation kills gains. You still make some gains, but why do you think one arm is naturally stronger than the other?

Unless you do some form of grip and forearm work on your other arm, you are running the risk of looking like Popeye - but only on your tugging side.

#6 - Procrasturbation

Let's face it, people love to procrastinate and put off going to the gym. what's worse is procrasturbation; procrastinating by masturbating.

I saved this reason for last since it pulls (pun intended) everything together:

• Put off going to the gym by masturbating
• Lost all energy
• In a catabolic state
• No muscle glycogen
• Low testosterone

This is a vicious cycle. It leads to you not even going to the gym, further killing your gains; the gains you've spent so much time and money on earning.

Conclusion

Masturbation is detrimental to your gains. If you want to look like you lift, you are going to have to stop with those extracurricular activities you are doing in your room or shower.

If you've ever hit a plateau, not gained the muscle or strength you thought you should, or even lost gains, you now know why.

According to multiple scientific studies, men who masturbate less gain more on average. This may be because of the reasons I listed, or it could be they are in the gym actually training.

Editor's note: Is this article being facetious? Well yes, kind of. If you don't know what facetious means, I assure you it has nothing to do with sex.

References

1) "Statistics | Masturbation | Sexual Health | SexualityandU." SexualityandU. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2015.
2) "Infographic: Masturbation Facts and Statistics." Pleated-Jeans.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2015.
3) "Dear Mona, I Masturbate More Than Once a Day. Am I Normal?"FiveThirtyEight. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2015.