Impact of Masturbation on Muscle Gains

Will fapping make you lose your gains?

One of the most common questions people (men) ask me is whether or not masturbation has any direct impact on their muscle and strength gains in the gym. Despite the fact that mainstream science hasn’t really looked into the connection between masturbation and gym gains, there are a few things to keep in mind.

Masturbation Doesn’t Lower Testosterone Levels

First, it’s a common misconception that masturbation can lower testosterone levels, but there is no scientific evidence to support this. In fact, several studies have found that there is no significant difference in testosterone levels before and after (healthy amounts of) masturbation over longer periods of time.

What Happens When You Ejaculate
When you ejaculate, your body ejects out and later has to replenish semen, which contains a mixture of different fluids from various glands and organs in the male reproductive system. The specific content of semen typically includes:

1. Sperm: These are the reproductive cells that fertilize a female egg to produce a pregnancy. The number of sperm in semen can vary widely, but a healthy ejaculation can contain millions of sperm.*
2. Seminal fluid: This is a mixture of fluids produced by the seminal vesicles, prostate gland, and bulbourethral gland. These fluids provide nourishment and protection for the sperm and help them to survive and travel through the female reproductive system.
3. Enzymes: Semen also contains enzymes such as prostate-specific antigen (PSA), which help to break down the semen and improve its ability to fertilize an egg.
4. Hormones: Semen can also contain hormones such as testosterone and estrogen, although in relatively small amounts.
5. Minerals and nutrients: Semen contains various minerals and nutrients such as zinc, calcium, and fructose, which provide energy and nourishment for the sperm.

Since replenishing semen is a process that takes a significant amount of energy and nutrients that could have been otherwise used towards one’s gym goals, one may think that this can have a negative impact on muscular development and performance. The reality is the direct impact will be negligible.

If masturbating a few times per week (or even once a day) is what’s keeping you from making serious gains, something is wrong with your training and your diet.

Impact of Masturbation

I only think masturbation can have an impact on one’s physique if it’s done multiple times per day because each ejaculation causes a temporary increase in prolactin levels. As you probably know, high prolactin can cause lethargy, low energy, gyno, lactation, and even lower testosterone levels, so masturbating multiple times throughout the day may cause prolactin levels to be chronically elevated, thereby leading to the aforementioned outcomes.

That being said, I still think masturbating often is a negative thing that can indirectly affect one’s gains and performance. We are all (99%) men here, and we all know how we feel after masturbating: lazy, unmotivated, lethargic, sleepy.

How are you supposed to go out into the world and make things happen if we are in that state every single day? How are you going to have the motivation to accomplish your goals inside and outside the gym?

Unless you are experiencing extremely high libido due to a gear cycle and you need to masturbate daily to be able to focus on important tasks, I do think daily masturbation can be negative for your progress in the long run.

Furthermore, studies have shown that masturbating once a week can actually cause a temporary increase in testosterone levels. It is not a far stretch to conclude that masturbating once a week can be beneficial in that sense.

Conclusion

So, to conclude, while the act of masturbation/ejaculation will not have a direct negative impact on your physical development and performance (unless you do it multiple times per day), it can still be detrimental in the long run if practiced on a regular basis.