The Chastity Belt; Boxing's biggest motivator

David Haye, Manny Pacquiao and Mohammed Ali were all world champion boxers. Competing at the highest level and training their bodies to the extreme. During the final phases of training they had one thing in common, they all abstained from sex. The theory was that for the weeks preceding a fight they would abstain in order to essentially wind themselves up. They believed the more wound up they could be, the better they would fight. It makes sense that this could work, and after all they all had huge success. But did they consider the implications of unnecessary stress on their conditioning goals?



The universe in which we live exists as a duality on every level, matter has antimatter, protons have electrons, good has evil and so on. The human body is no different and one of these dualities is in the nervous system.

The branch of your nervous system which controls your subconscious bodily functions is called the autonomic nervous system. Within this there are two parts, the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) and the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS). The SNS is responsible for the fight or flight response, it is catabolic in that it releases energy when you need it; to wake up, to fight a lion, whatever you’re in to. The PNS is the anabolic system that rebuilds you body following stress, it encourages the preservation of tissue, absorption of nutrients, immune maintenance etc. They have a delicate balance, where Yin is equal to Yang.

Anything which stresses us causes the SNS to increase activation, and it’s not just the obvious things; alcohol, smoking, caffeine, food intolerances, mineral deficiencies, body fat, insulin intolerance and ineffective sleep all contribute.

What does this result in? Well Yin does not equal Yang any more. The SNS is overwhelming the PNS and catabolic hormones are running riot. Hormones such as adrenaline, cortisol, and thyroid hormones swamp the already diminished efforts of growth hormone, testosterone and DHEA. Resting heart rate and blood pressure increase, and even the production of enzymes in the gut is compromised, reducing the nutritional benefit from the food.

Now before I get carried away with scaremongering, it’s important that you know that there is a diurnal patterning of these systems. In the morning when you wake the SNS activity peaks and gradually drops all day until bed time, where the PNS should be strongest. What is important is that there is harmony between the two and that these rhythms are not chronically altered.

So how can you tell if you’re out of balance? Stubborn abdominal fat is an obvious one, inadequate sleep is another, digestive discomfort and inability to gain muscle are both related too. Realistically though, you know if your stressed, and by now you should want to know what to do about it.

I will skip the obvious ones, eating well, supplements (particularly magnesium) and exercise. What will make a difference is taking time out every day to chill, meditate, do yoga, read rather than watching TV, laugh, don’t allow yourself to become worried or anxious most importantly invest a little time in yourself. If you do, you’ll have the mind and the body to tackle all of those issues with ease. 


https://www.facebook.com/JeffLynchRwlGymCoach
@JeffLynchRWL