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Male Gym Rats May Have Less Active Sex Lives: Study

This is the first study of its kind.

Fellas, all that huffing and puffing at the gym may be hurting your sex life.

According to a recent study published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise by the University of North Carolina, men who exercise vigorously may have a low libido, the New York Times reports.

This, of course, is compared to men who do lighter workouts.

"Exposure to higher levels of chronic intense and greater durations of endurance training on a regular basis are significantly associated with a decreased libido scores in men," researchers wrote.

The study, which is said to be first of its kind (studies like this one are usually done for women), asked active men about their sex lives.

Using a questionnaire, researchers asked almost 1,100 men how often they thought about sex and how often they actually had it. Along with these types of questions, they also asked the men how much they worked out.

A pattern definitely emerged.

"The men whose exercise routines were moderate or light in intensity or duration were far more likely to report moderate or high libidos than were the men whose workouts were especially prolonged or intense, even after the researchers controlled for age," the New York Times reports.

But researchers also point out this type of study could be useful for men who have sexual disorders or who have fertility issues.

"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," researchers wrote.

However, previous studies have found quite the opposite.

And as Ask Men points out, always avoid overexercising.

"When a man participates in heavy weight training, the levels of testosterone in his body will shoot up — assuming, of course, that this program is appropriate. Do note that overtraining is one of the biggest killers of testosterone, so taking this point too far and doing a very large volume of weight lifting will actually work against you and your testosterone levels."

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