UKC

Was having a discussion with a friend of mine whos about to take part in the TGD Ultra race this month and he mentioned he's been completely celibate for 2 months so far whilst he's been training. He claims it encourages him to focus his 'frustration' into his training. I laughed at the thought of him being celibate (mid 20s male with access to the internet) but he swears by it. This got me thinking, I've got a serious lack of personal motivation and have been considering doing the same. Anyone else done it? did it work for you?

In reply to higherclimbingwales:

The Pope boulders V10, so there's gotta be something in it?

In reply to higherclimbingwales: Nah, screw that.

In reply to TheDrunkenBakers:

well done.

In reply to higherclimbingwales: Indeed celibacy for some unknown reason causes a rapid development of the forearm muscles. Though it comes sometimes with blurred vision.

On a side note, I am far more motivated since I have a daughter (the wife didn't change anything in my motivation IIRC). I think I have a far better balance in my general life, and that helps me to keep motivated (for climbing) in the long run. On my poor level, but still.

In reply to drolex:

Not the way, he's doing it - absolutely no 'emissions'!!

In reply to higherclimbingwales: Well I am because my missus lives away... but don't think its any benefit. There are actual studies on it..

In reply to higherclimbingwales:Ah, abstinence? HE LIES!

In reply to drolex: yes, that's the word I was looking for. I don't think he is lying.

In reply to drolex: But seriously, I had read somewhere that abstinence was not really good for male athletes as it causes a drop in the production of testosterone, which helps with the muscular development (I might talking rubbish, but remind something around these lines). That's on the chemical point of view, there are surely a lot of other implications on the psychic side that could explain motivation.

In reply to higherclimbingwales: If he manages to remain abstinent to improve his performance, I would think he is highly motivated in the first place. The motivation would cause the abstinence, not the contrary. That's quite impressive

In reply to higherclimbingwales: It's been shown in several surveys that regular lifelong sex, even if it's manual, reduces the incidence of prostate cancer in later years.

In reply to drolex: Yeah, my thoughts too although I can't go more than a couple days with some kind of 'release' unless I'm keeping myself busy doing something constructive.

In reply to higherclimbingwales:

I'm sure I read something by Neil Gresham talking about training methods employed by various people, which mentioned 'testosterone intervals'. Neil was a bit coy, but I think the gist of it was sort of the opposite of what your friend is doing.
He didn't seem to be recommending it as a particularly effective method.

I'd have thought that full abstinence would lead to a lack of focus - or just overtraining, if it becomes the method of venting 'frustation'.




There was a documentary about this with Josh Hartnett, I believe

In reply to higherclimbingwales: It was supposed to be a joke.

You know, SCREW that, geddit?

In reply to Al Evans:

Actually, simplistically, research suggests that frequent sex in younger life (20-30s) increases the likelihood of prostate cancer, and that after 50, frequent bouts of self abuse can start to lower the likelihood.

Source:

http://www.nhs.uk/news/2009/01January/Pages/Masturbationprostatecancer.aspx

Regarding the OP, I'm asexual, and have pretty much no libido. So I don't tend to partake regularly in the odd ham shank, have only had one long term relationship, and that was pretty much barren in the bedroom department, and at my best, climbing, mountain biking & running wise, I was rubbish!

Being tight, I found paying for events usually enabled me to find the motivation to train for them. I'm not sure if this helps your case though.

In reply to higherclimbingwales: He wants to be married to my wife then.

He would have plenty of "frustration" to focus on his training

My mate's brother is a pro footballer and he isn't allowed to do the business before a match for some reason.

In reply to higherclimbingwales:

Are you still celibate if you don't have a choice?

In reply to TheDrunkenBakers:

yes sorry I forgot to include the lol on my reply. I wrongly assumed it wad implied.

In reply to higherclimbingwales:

Not celibacy but have dabbled in some of the daoist methods of, er, retaining.

Feels like it works, no slump after a good shag. Not sure about the esoteric qualities, but a smoother ride. Some of the breathing and muscular stuff is beneficial in other ways too.

In reply to ice.solo:


Sounds good. Maybe UKC will let you write an article?

In reply to ice.solo:

Though re-reading, you could just as easily be talking about pipe smoking

In reply to nufkin:

hmmmm....pipe smoking or 'pipe smoking'?

In reply to higherclimbingwales:

I don't know any scientific studies, but taking this seriously for moment, anything which helps you relax and avoid building up aggression should be a good thing for most people in preparation for an ultra.

In reply to higherclimbingwales:
>
Christ, if it worked I'd have been leading E8 and running 4 minute miles around the time my daughters were born

.... anything which helps you relax and avoid building up aggression should be a good thing for most people in preparation for an ultra.

So are you suggesting celibacy works or not?

In reply to higherclimbingwales:

He'd have to quit throttling the pink custard chucker for any noticeable effect. Otherwise it would be like just flicking the cherry of the cream cake if you were trying to drop some weight.

In reply to The Big Man: should read "off the cream cake"

In reply to Milesy:

Seem to recall that the Trevor Bailey biog of Garry Sobers has him saying that he made a point of having sex the night before a big match - it helped his batting and was "good for the eye".

In reply to higherclimbingwales:

Some studies have shown that sex the night before a marathon may be linked to a faster time.

http://www.thatsfit.com/2010/09/03/sex-before-a-race-may-help-your-pr/

In reply to higherclimbingwales:
it was reckoned that during the 70s the likes of George best not only had sex before a match but at half time too ! didn't seem to matter too much ,same can be said for the likes of james hunt and barry sheene ....aye ,them were the days!

In reply to colina:

The late snooker player Paul Hunter famously activated "Plan B" (for Bonk) during the mid-session interval of a final when he was losing. It appeared to work - after the break he rattled off four centuries and won comfortably. Nice work if you can get it...

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2004/apr/12/snooker

In reply to Dave Hewitt: Maybe its the quality of the missus though.. she was pretty special..

In reply to higherclimbingwales:

Is he going to win this race? I'm often amazed by the extremes people go to to finish 47th in a road race.

E