Cast member Ronda Rousey attends the premiere of the film "The Expendables 3" in Los Angeles August 11, 2014. (REUTERS/Phil McCarte)
In 2012, Ronda Rousey said she likes to have “as much sex as possible” before a big fight because it boosts her testosterone.
Turns out, she may be on to something.
A new analysis from the University of Florence in Italy, published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology, examined hundreds of studies and found no connection between pre-competition sex and lowered athletic performance. It also determined that any connection was based on anecdotal stories, rather than scientifically reported studies.
“In fact, unless [sex] takes place less than two hours before, the evidence actually suggests sexual activity may have a beneficial effect on sports performance,” lead author Laura Stefani says.
As for Rousey’s claims that sex boosts a woman’s testosterone, “there has been some research that’s found that,” says Sari Locker, Ph.D., a sex educator at Columbia University. But she reiterates that sex doesn’t cause much physical effect.
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