Olympics and safe sex ... what's the harm in that?
Sex and sports have always been familiar bedfellows, from groupies stalking athletes in spikes, sneakers and shoulder pads to Wilt Chamberlain and his legendary conquests.
So the news that Olympic organizers are providing 100,000 condoms for the 10,500 mostly young, well-conditioned athletes in Beijing barely causes a rise.
Sex may not be an Olympic sport, but that won't stop athletes of all disciplines from going for the gold. And this time around, 100,000 might not be enough. In Sydney, Olympians went through 70,000 condoms, and 20,000 more had to be brought in. In Athens, 130,000 were distributed.
Fact is, Olympians have received free condoms at every Games since Barcelona in 1992 to raise awareness of AIDS.
After all, swimmers will be swimmers, wrestlers will be wrestlers and beach volleyball players will be ... well, let's just say those outfits leave little to the imagination. Love is in the air throughout the Olympic Village, from archers who have more than one bull's eye in their sights to equestrian riders who have been known to go sans saddle.
Hey, who said sex before competition is bad, anyway? A fellow named Pliny the Elder wrote back in 77 A.D. that intercourse prior to an event did anything but weaken an athlete.
"Athletes when sluggish are revitalizing by lovemaking," Pliny wrote, according to
MedicineNet.com. In fact, according to the same Web site, treadmill tests before and after sex prove that sex does not impair performance.
According to
AskMen.com, "Scientific studies have found that having sex actually increases testosterone levels." In other words, sex can be like a power bar.
So much for Muhammad Ali's practice of abstaining from sex six weeks before a fight.
Kai Fusser, Annika Sorenstam's long-time trainer and director of fitness for her golf academy in Orlando, says sex has never come up with the golfers and other athletes he has trained. "But obviously, before a big competition, you want rest. Rest is different for everyone. Some need more mental rest and if sex gives them that, then fine.
"If it's physical rest, I don't think sex, with the calories used, will make a difference. But if you stay up all night to get it done, then that's a different story.''
Sexual intercourse, according to scientific research, can expend up to 50 calories ? if done with appropriate levels of vigor and enthusiasm. Michael Phelps, who is on a 10,000-calorie-a-day diet, would have to practice a lot more than the breaststroke to burn off that many calories away from the pool.
Fusser's advice to Olympians: "Be responsible. And think ahead. Don't just think in the moment. If Michael Phelps has to stay up until 2 a.m. to be with his girlfriend, that's not going to do him any good.''
Dr. Jack Singer, a Southern California-based sports psychologist, doesn't incorporate sex into his advice.
"Athletes may contact me about relationship issues that are impacting their sport,'' he says. "But not in 30 years have I ever had anyone ask me, 'Do you think it's a good idea or a bad idea?'"
Apparently, most NFL teams believe sex before a game is a bad idea. Some teams sequester their players in hotels, even at home, on nights before games.
"They want them focused on what they need to be doing and not be distracted,'' says Singer.
For the ultimate word, we turn to that esteemed forum of contemporary morality, "MANswers," courtesy of SPIKE.com. It asked the question: Should athletes abstain from sex the night before a big game? One reader's answer: "No Sex before Sports. Sex before EVERYTHING, Buddy!!!!" Condoms, anyone?
Entire article:
FOX Sports on MSN - Olympics - Olympics and safe sex ... what's the harm in that??
