Legend has it that masturbation is an activity carrying anti-bodybuilding properties than can hinder muscle growth. Is this really the case or are they playing with us?

Many experts associate masturbation with decreased testosterone – a hormone with an important role in muscle construction. However, this is debatable, and some studies actually show a test spike after a masturbation session. Whatever the case is, the testosterone alterations in either direction (up or down) are too small to affect your muscle-building faculties positively or negatively.

Having said that, frequent and excessive masturbation could definitely have a negative impact on your mood and performance. At the very least, in some extreme cases, people develop repetitive stress injuries as a result of too much self-satisfaction. A long time ago, a man on bodybuilding.com reported a small bicep tear after playing with himself for too long.

Injuring your arm, or another body part, as a result of too many strokes is actually more dangerous to your bodybuilding goals than the testosterone that you allegedly lose after a session.

In brief, if you masturbate in moderation you are unlikely to hinder your muscle gains. However, if you go overboard, the chances of hurting yourself mentally and physically increase.

A good way to limit masturbation is to reduce your porn time. Truth be told, most individuals who masturbate too much are porn addicts rather than masturbation maniacs. Why? Because modern pornography is hardcore and diverse – qualities capable of inducing multiple erections throughout the day of the average humanoid.

There are men and women who masturbate more than 10 times a day. What’s their secret? Most of the time, it’s the ability of porn to jump start the most perverted parts of your brain.

In simple terms, porn is the best energy drink for masturbation marathons. If you limit or eliminate porn from your entertainment box, the market share of masturbation in your life is very likely to drop to sane levels, which are unlikely to induce life-changing physical or mental degradation.

Q&A

Q: Does masturbation make you weaker?

A: It depends on how intense it is. There is a world of a difference between a 3-minute session and a three-hour marathon powered by hardcore porn until 2 a.m.

In both cases, however, masturbation is an activity that takes something out of you. It drains you. This could result in a fatigued state and an excessive stress on the central nervous system (CNS). Therefore, some people recommend avoiding masturbation prior to a workout, but this is not a rule carved in stone. There are individuals who wouldn’t notice a strength or performance drop even if they masturbate 10 minutes prior to a workout. In fact, some people feel so guilty and pathetic for masturbating that they overproduce adrenaline and hit the weights with even more anger than usual.

Q: I heard that each ejaculation results in zinc losses. This could be detrimental to testosterone production, right? Should I take extra zinc?

Look, bro. Men are not designed to decompose after an ejaculation. The elements used for the formation of sperm recover faster than you think. You don’t have to take extra zinc for this purpose.

Also, take into consideration that masturbation fatigues the forearms, the upper arms, and the shoulders. As a result, upper body workouts after an intense session could suffer.

Just use common sense, and you should be fine.