Men Who Prefer High-Intensity Workouts Have a Less Active Sex Life, Study Finds

Men who strenuously exercise on a regular basis have a significantly decreased libido than those who engage in lower-intensity exercise, a new study has found.

Researchers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill surveyed 1,100 men aged 18 and older using a questionnaire to ascertain detailed information about their exercise training habits. They were also asked about their libido, answering questions on their sexual activity, arousal, desire, attraction, fantasy, appetite, fulfilment, need for intimacy and more.

The study’s authors found that participants with the least-intense training regimes had greater odds of having a high or normal libido than those who trained at the highest intensity. The conclusion, therefore, was that regular exposure to high intensity and endurance exercise was “significantly” associated with a lower libido state in men.

“Clinicians who treat male patients for sexual disorders and/or council couples on infertility issues should consider the degree of endurance exercise training a man is performing as a potential complicating factor,” the study’s conclusion added.

The research paper, called “Endurance Exercise Training and Male Sexual Libido,” was published in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise.

Write to Kate Samuelson at kate.samuelson@time.com.