Fitness for fertility!

With one in six couples trying for a baby in the US not finding baby success after a year, the issue of infertility is a ripe one. Whether environmental, genetic or other health reasons are to blame for the rising rates of fertility problems, there is a growing interest in how lifestyle choices can potentially affect possible pregnancies.

Nobody is saying that exercising is going to make a woman’s ovaries more accepting or a man’s sperm more virulent. However, that same nobody could not be in doubt that the way you live your life affects all aspects of your physical being, including your fertility. Men and women who face pregnancy problems are usually advised to change aspects of their behavior to see if smoking less and eating more healthily can help in the baby stakes.

There are certainly some fertility relates fitness thoughts to consider if you’re a woman trying to conceive:

Exercise for 30 minutes a day
An optimal amount of working out reduces a woman’s risk of infertility. But work it too hard – 15 hours or more a week – and there’s a risk of ovulation problems which may interrupt the flow and would-be mom’s ability to get pregnant. Exercise regulates hormones which in turn have a huge impact on ovulation.

Ideal weight
Whether overweight or underweight, a woman can put extra challenges in the path to motherhood if her body is not within a target weight range. Everybody is different of course, but exercising to keep weight off or even build up your physique is a good idea if you’re about to start a family. Some women, knowing they will add on weight during their pregnancy use this as an excuse not to lose weight beforehand.

Feel relaxed and ready
When trying for a baby turns into calculations about ovulation times and temperature readings it is easy for a quest for a family to become a stress factor, rather than a loving journey. Every woman knows that anxiety is not doing her body any wonders and the result can be a less than natural approach which heightens tensions. Exercise can be the perfect antidote when it comes to de-stressing, giving you mental clarity and focus, as well as what might be some much needed time away from your partner.

Diet and exercise go hand in hand
Studies reveal the importance of diet, such as the big effects trans-fats can have on a woman’s fertility and the need for a vitamin rich diet, or multivitamin supplements. It is often easier to stick to a healthy diet if you are exercising too, as they are both connected. Nobody wants to workout and then spoil the effect with a fertility dampening diet. Exercise is part of an holistic approach which many women adopts to fight fertility problems.

Men need to get in on the action too
If you’re tackling your health and fitness in order to conceive then remember that it takes two to tango. Research suggest a link between semen quality and men’s lifestyle, so make sure that your efforts are not all one-sided and that the daddy-to-be is ready for active duty too.

Aside from the fertility aspects, getting fit prior to pregnancy is a real positive for the strength and extra reserves a woman needs during each trimester. After giving birth an exercise plan can make muscles tighter in all the right places and help a woman reclaim her pre-baby body.

Planning on conceiving? Want to get fit and potentially increase your chances of fertility? Find an exercise plan that works with your body, not against it.