Is Exercise Legit?

I'd worry less about it as "a way to fight urges" and more about a way to generally improve your sense of self.

Exercise has dozens of benefits that have nothing to do with PMO. It helps you feel better about yourself (because you've done something productive and conducive to your health and fitness), it makes your body healthier and stronger, it increases your mental toughness (because you're pushing yourself to do something that inherently isn't comfortable) ... those are all good reasons to do it.

For me, it isn't about fighting my urges ... it's about doing things that make me feel good about myself, because when I feel good about myself, I'm less likely to PMO. PMO always seems the most attractive when I feel like a worthless failure who's been sitting on his ass all day. Exercise helps me get out of that mentality.

 

The other big things about exercise especially lifting weights:

- natural dopamine and endorphins (replacement for PMO dopamine)
- keeps you busy
- makes you tired
- should improve sleep
- you will lose weight especially stomach fat due to higher testosterone

 

Some tips of mine:

1-Work out only 3 times a week, if you feel tired the body needs rest. I work out day 1, rest day 2, work out day 3, rest day 4 & 5, repeat.

2-Start small by doing 5 pushups, 5 situps, 5 lifts, etc. then after resting day increase everything by another 5. Before you know it you’ll be at 100, no pressure, there’s noone to compete against but ourselves.

3-Find even more reasons for working out. Along with doing it to feel good about my body, I also do it for cosplay as well so I can one day dress up as muscular characters at conventions (you also could work out for athletic reasons as well).

 

It took me about 6 months but at the more leisurely pace I went I noticed my arms & legs increasing along with my stomach flattening. I would imagine some increase their regimen beyond what i do, but I also have a feeling others cheat and receive faster results through anabolics.

 

You have got to start, regardless of whether or not you feel like it. If you wait around for the motivation to come to you, it'll never come. Remember, a big benefit of exercise is that you're doing something uncomfortable. Exercise is hard. It's a big part of the reason why we have an obesity problem in the United States. People are inherently drawn to comfort, and exercise isn't comfortable.

But once you start, you're more likely to start experiencing the motivation to continue, because you'll slowly see differences.

When I was 16, my parents bought a NordicFlex Gold, which was a home workout system. It had these pulleys you could configure for different motions and different levels of resistance. I did it each night for about three weeks--maybe around 30 minutes each time. I vividly remember looking in the mirror one night and seeing definition in my arms that I'd never seen before. I could see the outline of my tricep.

The next day, I was in the weight room at my local gym. No more home gym for me--I had some gains there, but now that I saw that it worked, I wanted the real thing. I've been an avid weight lifter ever since.

There's no bigger motivator than seeing (and feeling) the results of the work you put in. So just start, whether you feel like it or not.

 

A minimum of 40 min vigorous exercise per day for optimal health and longevity. No joke.

 

Look at it this way: Exercise, like other things, keeps you occupied. When you're not thinking about PMO, you won't have urges.

 

Yeah if I don't exercise for a week I become a ticking time bomb as far as PMO is concerned.

It's as if that sexual energy that is not released, has to go somewhere. And the usual daily tasks just don't use up all that pent up energy.

One important thing to note: Physical exercise is directly correlated to a healthy brain. The very thing we're trying to repair. Just doing a quick search for studies or short docos on this subject will give you more perspective.

And as far as attitude is concerned, you'll often find there's a mental barrier when you know a task is worth while, but the effort involved or anxiety around it can be used to put it off.

Seriously, if you don't feel like doing something that you know is worth while, you can just say "this will suck, but I'll do it anyway". And afterwards, it never feels like it was a waste of time.

 

Right this is going to be a REALLY long post, so bear with me. I'm going to start by talking about urges, and then move on to exercise at the end.

Urges:

I think it helps to understand urges are just a bunch of chemicals being released in the brain and body. It can't be boiled down to a single chemical, but numerous ones are involved, with the main ones likely being testosterone and dopamine.

Here's the thing that's important to remember. Arousal is just one of thousands of roles that these chemicals play in your body. Testosterone for example we normally think of as being associated with sex, and with building muscle, but it does a lot more than that. Testosterone plays a role in your mood, your confidence levels, and it can also create an urge to be competitive, which can make it a powerful driving force in being productive. Testosterone is also a positive allosteric modulator for GABA-A receptors, meaning it actually shares some functionality with benzodiazepines like Valium, and can relax you and decrease anxiety and stress.

Then there's dopamine. Dopamine is the feel good chemical. You wanna know why it feels good to eat? Dopamine. You wanna know why sex feels good? Dopamine. Why do drugs feel good? Dopamine. Why do you feel really good and happy on some days? Dopamine.

There's a tendency these days to fear dopamine, because it can fuel perpetual self-rewarding cycles, as we see in addictions to porn, drugs, gambling etc. However dopamine itself is good, it is only activities that release too much of it that are bad, because like anything, the dose makes the poison, and too much of a good thing can become bad. Without dopamine, you would feel crippling depression, zero energy, and would not be able to get up and live your life.

Notice anything there? Anything that sounds a little familiar? Mood? Confidence levels? Energy levels? Productivity? Decreased anxiety?

Doesn't that sound an awful lot like the benefits of NoFap?

Your sex drive and your energy levels are intertwined. This is the real reason semen retention has been practised for thousands of years. It's not so much the sperm itself, because the exact same techniques work equally well for women. It's the redirection of the chemicals that produce your sex drive. Nothing says your testosterone and dopamine levels have to be used for masturbation or sex. It's you that gets to decide what they're used for.

That's what the masters of semen retention type practices learned over the years. The transmutation of sexual energy, which in simple terms, just means taking the energy you feel when you're aroused, and using it for something productive instead of wasting it on masturbation.

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What I'm getting at, is that it is you who has, over time and habits, labelled the release of those chemicals as urges. It's not urges, it's just arousal, and that arousal could be directed towards sexual desires, but it doesn't have to be. Exercise is one way of redirecting that energy in a positive way. Yes, exercise too will improve testosterone and dopamine levels, and that in turn will improve your mood, and energy levels, and further increase the energy you feel.

Early during a streak it'll feel as if that just makes you more horny, and desire PMO more, but as you learn to redirect that energy and spend it elsewhere, instead of fearing sexual arousal, it'll soon become your best friend, because you'll discover that it can be used for anything you like. Work, exercise, or the confidence to approach that girl or guy you've always had a thing for. You get to decide how you use that energy.

Use it wisely.

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Exercise:

As for exercise, the reason you see conflicting advice on how many days per week to work out is that.. there isn't a right answer. Three components are required for progress with exercise: proper exercise, proper nutrition, proper recovery. There are many different ways to achieve those 3 things, there isn't a one size fits all answer.

How many days you work out per week is about ensuring you get enough exercise, and sufficient recovery, but those two things interact. For example, if you're working with light exercises, or at very light weights, you can exercise literally every day, 365 days a year, and you'll still recover just fine. This happens even at a high level, there are many strength programs out there at a higher level that actually have you doing the same exercise every day for 5-6 days in a row. The key is that they do a lot less each day, so they are fully recovered still by the next workout.

On the other hand, if you've just had a powerlifting meet, where you tested your maximum ability for squat, bench, and deadlift. Not only are you probably going to need a couple days off entirely afterwards, but you're probably going to need a deload week where you work with lighter weights or less volume to allow your body some additional recovery.

Most of the time though, if you're doing a regular workout program, the simple rule is as follows: Take at least 48 hours before targeting a specific muscle group again.

As an example, if you bench on Monday, you're perfectly fine to workout Tuesday, but you normally wouldn't be benching again. You'd leave benching until Wednesday or Thursday.

So programs are often divided up by body part. You also have full body programs, which just take a day off between workouts.

So for example. Full body programs often look like:

Monday: Full body.
Tuesday: Rest.
Wednesday: Full body.
Thursday: Rest.
Friday: Full body.
Saturday: Rest.
Sunday: Rest.

A push/pull/legs program will look like:

Monday: Push (Basically chest, shoulders, triceps)
Tuesday: Pull (Back, biceps, rear part of shoulders)
Wednesday: Legs (Legs, butt, and core)
Thursday: Push
Friday: Pull
Saturday: Legs
Sunday: Rest.

An upper/lower program typically looks like:

Monday: Upper (all upper body exercises, so bench press, chin-ups, rows, overhead press, curls, dips, ANYTHING that involves the upper body)
Tuesday: Lower (legs, butt, and core again)
Wednesday: Rest.
Thursday: Upper
Friday: Lower
Saturday: Rest.
Sunday: Rest.

As you see, none of those examples have someone targeting the same body part 2 days in a row, they always hit other muscle groups the next day, or if they've already hit everything (as in a full body program) they take a rest day. This is the simplest way to do things, because while like I said earlier it is possible to hit everything 7 days a week if your volume and intensity are low enough, as a beginner it's hard to know how hard your taxing body, so it's better to stick with a tried and tested formula.

Which is better? Well it depends on your situation. For example if you can only workout 3 days a week, then a full body is obviously the best choice, because then you still hit every muscle group 3x a week. On the other hand, upper/lower and push/pull/legs programs split up the weekly workload over more days, so you can have shorter workouts, and really focus more on each muscle group. So each type of program has its advantages, and all of them work perfectly fine.

So what program should you do? Well pick a good beginner one and start it.

If you have access to the a gym, that's the best, since weight training will lead to much faster improvements than bodyweight exercises. In which case, I recommend one of the following programs:

Starting Strength https://startingstrength.com/get-started/programs
GZCLP https://thefitness.wiki/routines/gzclp/
5/3/1 for Beginners https://thefitness.wiki/routines/5-3-1-for-beginners/
Reddit PPL https://www.reddit.com/r/Fitness/comments/37ylk5/a_linear_progression_based_ppl_program_for/

If you don't have access to a gym, I recommend picking up a simple door pullup bar, you can buy one for literally like $10 or less, and it'll just go between your doorframe, or clip onto it. No need to screw anything in (although you can for added security if you want).

Then try this routine: https://www.reddit.com/r/bodyweightfitness/wiki/kb/recommended_routine

There aren't as many good and effective bodyweight routines out there, but this one I just linked is golden, and while the results might come a little slower than with barbells, you'll still eventually get very strong, fast, and muscular, and also develop some skills that you won't develop with weights alone.

In general if you're unsure about anything diet or fitness related, the Fitness Wiki is a good start: https://thefitness.wiki/

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Finally, get started! Starting exercising was one of the best decisions I ever made, and it's made such a huge improvement to how I feel. When I completed a whole year of hard mode NoFap (so no sex either) exercise was one of the things that helped the most for sure.

Good luck

 

Okay first, I really love to lift weights in the gym and I do it with passion. Even when I have had times where I masturbated regularly, I still did it, and whenever I have to skip a workout I feel bad.

BUT, and this is a big but (and I cannot lie), I don't think this sport is for everyone. Yes, everyone should find a sport for them, but I don't think everyone gets the same happiness from lifting weights. It is a very specific sport after all, you are all on your own, you fight against yourself, you're in a tunnel. There is no opponent, only the weakness, laziness and pain inside of you.

Some people just enjoy more sports in a team. or where you are 1 on 1 with a real opponent. or maybe they just enjoy sports with a ball, or they love to be in the water, or whatever. I you think this is more for you, then I'd recommend testing some sport clubs in your area. It's also a nice way to meet new people and to train your social skills.