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If you’re wondering what impact your athletic prowess is having on your sex life, then you’ve come to the right place. We’ll tell you everything you need to know about both libido and the benefits of sports, before explaining how weight training affects your sex drive.
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Libido: a sometimes complex mix
Libido is what we commonly call sexual desire, in the biological sense of the term. But in psychoanalysis, libido is a fundamental notion: it represents a vital, psychic and sexual energy, and would be at the origin of our instincts of life and our sexual impulses. Like any energy, the libido sometimes experiences many fluctuations.
The hormonal impact on our sexual desire
It is obvious that hormonal variations in women cause many changes in sexual desire, depending on the period of the cycle. Although men don’t experience the same changes, their hormone of choice, testosterone, can also fluctuate. Testosterone levels have a direct impact on male libido. In principle, it remains constant…
But in fact, any physical or mental activity can already strongly increase or decrease testosterone production.” However, it’s possible to improve hormone levels with the help of testosterone replacement therapy in Los Angeles, CA. It can help individuals with low testosterone regain hormonal balance, potentially improving energy levels, mood, muscle mass, and overall well-being.
The psychological impact on our sexual desire
Have you ever been so preoccupied that your libido is at half mast? Everyday concerns, chronic stress or certain life challenges can totally reduce your sexual desire to nothing. But it happens to everyone! Libido depends on your state of mind as well as your general physical condition.
Libido and health
The more fit you are, the better you perform in bed. In any case, it is clear that if you have health problems, or if you do not take sufficient care of your well-being, you will not have the same capabilities as when you are in perfect health. Being overweight or smoking will inevitably decrease your stamina, just as alcohol abuse will impact the quality of your erection. Your quality and quantity of sleep is also very important!
Bodybuilding: a sport with multiple benefits
Generally speaking, the practice of a sport leads to well-being both immediately after the session, but also over time if the activity is practiced regularly. Let’s take a look at all the benefits of physical exercise, and weight training in particular.
Physical benefits
The primary motivation for physical activity is to maintain oneself, in both senses of the term: to maintain good health, and to develop physically, depending on the objective sought. Sport allows us to train our cardio-respiratory capacities, to maintain or increase our muscle mass, and consequently to greatly limit the negative effects of a sedentary lifestyle and the occurrence of health problems.
But sport has many more positive effects than you think! It boosts and improves your blood circulation throughout your body, it stimulates your immune system, it oxygenates and irrigates each of your cells in an intense way, it maintains your joints… It even improves your digestive comfort and the quality of your sleep.
Moreover, a sporting activity (whatever it is) triggers a production of endorphins, these hormones of pleasure also secreted during the love affairs. Endorphins are very similar to morphine… They provide sensations of physical relief (pain reduction, even anaesthesia), as well as a relaxation of the entire body, associated with mental relaxation.
Psychological benefits
At the psychological level, the discharge of endorphins provides an incredible well-being, with a feeling of relaxation and incomparable satisfaction. Just like after an orgasm! It is estimated that endorphins are released after 30 to 40 minutes of practice, but they can be felt long before that, especially if you really enjoy the activity in question.
Thanks to sport, you can relieve pressure and reduce stress. It is a real break from the daily routine, a time that you give only to yourself and for yourself. This benefit is felt immediately, and will only last if you practice your sport(s) frequently and especially regularly.
Finally, the long term psychological benefits are mainly related to self-esteem. It allows you to regain confidence in yourself and in your body, both in its capabilities and in its aesthetics. By gradually building the body of your dreams, you feel more comfortable in front of the mirror and in front of others. You will feel more attractive and confident in your powers of seduction!
The practice of bodybuilding
Weight training is the sport of excellence when it comes to sculpting your body, whether to lose weight and/or gain muscle mass. What many men (and women!) are looking for in this activity is, above all, the challenge of surpassing oneself and the constant progression. Bodybuilding becomes a kind of booster, a physical and mental activator that you can’t do without.
For men, sport helps to activate testosterone production, especially bodybuilding. Perhaps the pride of lifting more and more weight plays a role… But what is certain is that weight training provides intense and very interesting sensations for your physical, mental and sexual well-being. You take control of your body and its appearance, and you get to know it better: and that changes everything!
The influence of sport on our sexual desire
As we have seen, sport is the source of many benefits. But what influence does it concretely have on the libido according to the duration or the intensity of the practice?
Moderate sports activity
It is with regular practice that your body will reap all the rewards of your sports work. The WHO recommends 90 minutes of intense activity or 150 minutes of moderate activity per week to stay in shape. This is only a maintenance schedule, therefore these times should be increased for weight loss, muscle mass gain or any other physical goal to be achieved.
With moderate exercise, your physical, mental and sexual energy should be at its best. As long as you don’t overexert yourself, sports can boost your libido.
High intensity sports activity
You may already know that too much is the enemy of good. This applies to all areas, including sports! Great athletes experience this constantly: they put all their energy into their practice, and consequently have very few resources available for anything else. This is the case if you try to play sports at a high level, or if you do very intense and/or very frequent physical activity (or even overtraining).
In this case, the sexual desire no longer benefits from the sport, quite the contrary. Many athletes experience libido problems because they are physically or mentally exhausted. Especially since training that is too intense, too long and/or too frequent inevitably decreases the available testosterone level, since this is required and absorbed by your body for sport. And as you will have understood: less testosterone, less libido…
Bottom line
Weight training, like any sport, is a great way to do yourself good. In addition to your personal goals, it will help you grow physically, psychologically and perhaps even sexually. To boost your libido, a moderate and regular practice will have no equal. But beware of overdoing it if you don’t want to put your sexual energy to rest!
