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SEX DRIVE IS BENEFICIAL FOR FEMALE FITNESS COMPETITORS
It’s common for a woman’s sex drive to become nearly non-existent when she’s training for a fitness competition.
But just because it’s common doesn’t mean it’s normal or healthy. Not only can a low sex drive wreak havoc on your relationship at home, but it actually hinders your competition performance as well.
According to a study about women’s physiological sexual arousal published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine, women are more sexually responsive after twenty minutes of vigorous exercise. But let’s be honest. If you’re training for competition, you’re spending way more than twenty minutes each day at the gym.
Components of Female Fitness Competition Training
- Compound exercises that focus on building and maintaining muscle
- Focus on strength training
- Some cardio to supplement nutrition
- Interval training to burn fat
- Understanding what the judges are looking for
- Tanning, suit selection, quarter turns, posing, and stage presence
- Determination, dedication, and unwavering motivation
Why Competition Prep Lowers Sex Drive
As you ramp up your workout routine to prepare for competition, you’re undoubtedly going to be sweating more – which leads to excessive mineral loss. When you sweat excessively, your body’s magnesium and zinc levels plummet – which leads to lower Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) levels too. DHEA is an important endogenous steroid hormone that is produced in the adrenal glands, the gonads, and the brain.
According to a study published in The Journal of Steroid Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, it’s also the hormone in charge of the female sex drive.
As explained by strength coach, Charles Pollquin, low magnesium levels make the female body more hyper-sensitive to stress, causing an abnormal boost in cortisol.
The hormone, cortisol, is released in response to stress to increase blood sugar, suppress the immune system, and aid metabolism. When your body feels more stress, it takes pregnenolone hormones from DHEA pathways to make more cortisol.
Once again, less DHEA is produced and the female sex drive dips even lower than before.
When women begin exercising more, both estrogen and progesterone hormones become depleted as well. These two hormones are essential in maintaining both sex drive and sexual satisfaction.
Why Sex Drive is Important When Competing
Not only is sex drive important in your relationship, but it can actually enhance your competition performance as well. For athletes who experience pre-competition jitters, engaging in sexual activity the night before can be a relaxing distraction from stress and anxiety. Scientists also discovered that the female orgasm has the power to stop the release of specific pain transmitters for up to 24 hours. This is particularly important for women competitors who have frequent muscle pain and soreness.
You can often judge how your body is responding to a training routine by simply monitoring your sex drive. If your normally heightened sex drive weans after rigorous gym sessions, it could be a sign that you’re overdoing it. Allow your body to get enough rest and re-evaluate how much time you need to spend at the gym so that your body has enough time to repair itself and grow.
These are few other benefits of a healthy and active sex drive, which nicely complement a training-style diet and fitness routine:
- Boosts immune system
- Increases overall energy throughout the day
- Serves as an extra cardio session
- Encourages a healthy heart
- Stimulates brain and hormone production
- Strengthens your core and leg muscles
- Stretches out your tight back hips
Vegetarian Foods to Boost Sex Drive
Since intense competition training essentially lowers DHEA production, it’s important for female fitness competitors to supplement their diets to support more DHEA production. Even if you’re trying to shed some pounds before the competition, natural sources of saturated fat and cholesterol can help fuel the body’s sex hormone production.
Men fitness competitors sometimes think they need to eat meat to boost their testosterone levels, thereby enhancing their sex drive. However, studies have yet to definitively link any positive effects of meat on the male or female sex drive. Processed foods, simple sugars, and alcohol should be avoided entirely.
These are some delicious vegetarian-friendly foods known to help boost your sex drive:
- Avocados
- Olives
- Coconut milk
- Bananas
- Nuts
- Garlic
- Pumpkin
- Chocolate
Vegetarian Supplements to Boost Sex Drive
Your Hydrochloric acid (HCL) levels should be optimized before you start taking any type of supplement to boost your sex drive. If you don’t have an adequate amount of stomach acid, the healthy foods you eat and supplements you take will be ineffective. Some medical experts suggest testing your stomach acid with a kit before starting a new supplement routine.
Although you shouldn’t think of supplements as a quick fix, they can get your hormones back in check if diet and exercise simply aren’t cutting it. These are a few of the supplements known to boost women’s sex drives:
- Arginine
- Yohimbe
- Ginseng
- Zinc
Yoga Practice to Boost Sex Drive
If you’re feeling the effects of a low sex drive, yoga may be able to help you more than anything else. Yoga helps you get in tune with your body’s natural movements, it triggers untapped sensations in the libido, and it stretches out those muscles you keep forgetting about.
Few things kill a sex drive quicker than stress. Although a full yoga session is most effective, you can alleviate the effects of stress by simple controlled breathing exercises or even going for a brisk walk in the outdoors.
These are some of the best yoga positions to boost the female sex drive:
- Kneeling core plank – works the pelvic floor muscles, glutes, waist, and hips
- Wide-legged straddle pose – encourages blood flow to the pelvic area
- Pigeon pose – releases tension in the hips and increases flexibility
To boost your sex drive before a competition, you should focus on greater intensity and less volume. Try doing only one or two really long workouts each week so you can focus on high intensity interval training on the other days.
Summary
Fitness competition preparation involves a great deal of endurance training, and unlike power and speed training, it depletes the hormones that promote sexual health. Seasoned athletes who optimize their recovery and eat a healthy diet of fruits and vegetables are less likely to experience sexual dysfunction while training. A vegetarian diet and regular yoga practice are great places to start finding your libido again.
However, the correlation between endurance exercise and sex drive is wholly dependent upon the individual. Some women’s sex hormones dip so low that they develop irregular menstrual periods or stop having them altogether. But above all, be accepting of fluctuations in your libido and patient with your body as you transform it into a masterpiece. Sexual dysfunction from training can be worsened by a variety of underlying issues, so learn to love your body and feel confidence in each physical stage you go through.
For topics related to why strong sex drive is good for female fitness competition training, watch this video – Sex Drive Changes BULKING vs CUTTING | Increase Libido (EASILY)
Author Bio:
Chris Willitts (creator of V3), is the founder and owner of Vegetarian Bodybuilding.
V3 Vegetarian Bodybuilding System is a mixture of science and author’s advice, providing users with optimal diet and exercise. This system is designed for vegans and vegetarians only.
A lot of research has been put in this program. Furthermore, a lot of professional bodybuilders and athletes tried and tested the program, praising its progressiveness and efficiency.
The program is about taking control of your own body and health according to your potential and needs. And worry not; you’ll get plenty of proteins with this system. It will boost you with energy, and you’ll feel just a strong as any carnivore would (perhaps even stronger, depending on how much you invest in your exercise). It avoids vitamins deficiency and provides you with a lot of proteins, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.
Instead of saying things like “I think a plant-based diet is good for athletes and bodybuilders,” the V3 Vegetarian Bodybuilding System claims “I know a plant-based diet is good for athletes and bodybuilders, and I have results to prove it.” To find out more, visit the website at V3 Bodybuilding – Why Strong Sex Drive is Good for Female Fitness Competition Training
