Table of contents:
- Why can cardio exercise increase sperm?
- What cardio exercises can you do?
- Be careful, excessive cardio can actually damage sperm quality
- How often is cardio exercise ideal?
Sperm quality is one of the important factors that affect pregnancy success. Sperm can be said to be healthy and of good quality if they have normal shape, number and mobility. If there is only one abnormality of these three factors, the risk of a man becoming infertile or even infertile can increase. One way to increase quality sperm is exercise - especially cardio exercise.
Why can cardio exercise increase sperm?
The good and bad quality of sperm depends to some extent on heart health. The heart is responsible for delivering blood to all tissues and organs. The stronger your heart is, the better it will do its responsibility to circulate oxygenated blood throughout the body, including to the testes where sperm and semen are produced.
Cardio exercise is a type of sport that specifically aims to increase stamina and strength of the heart and lungs. The reason is that sports require high and fast energy burning through dynamic and repetitive movements, for example running, swimming, or jumping rope. Therefore, consistent cardio exercise will have a positive impact on the quality of your sperm.
A study conducted by Maliki and his team at Urmia University of Iran involved 280 healthy men. They were randomly assigned to do cardio exercise with varying intensity, from low, medium, to high. Apart from those who were asked to exercise, there were also those who were classified as people who did not exercise regularly.
About six months after the study began, their semen quality was measured. As a result, men who exercise regularly are known to have the best quality of semen compared to those who do not exercise. Sitting for long periods of time, such as watching TV, will reduce sperm count.
What cardio exercises can you do?
According to a study reported by Reproduction, routine 30-45 minutes of running every week is useful for improving sperm quality and male fertility.
But if you don't really like running, you can choose other types of cardio, such as swimming, jumping rope, going up and down stairs, brisk walking, cycling, to hiking. All of these sports are as effective as running to help boost heart and lung fitness.
Be careful, excessive cardio can actually damage sperm quality
Even if the benefits are tempting, it's still important to pay attention to the intensity and frequency of your exercise. Exercising too hard will turn around to endanger the health of the body, from fainting, decreased sperm quality, to cardiac arrest which is at risk of death.
The research above suggests that even moderate intensity cardio exercise is effective for increasing quality sperm.
How often is cardio exercise ideal?
According to experts, it is recommended that you practice cardio three times a week. Each exercise session should be done at moderate intensity, in about half an hour. You can choose sports running, jumping rope, and swimming. In order not to get bored, you can change the type of exercise. For example this week jumping rope, swimming next week, and so on. The important thing is you choose cardio exercises.
If you are working on offspring, you should avoid vigorous exercise every day. Moreover, cycling. Although healthy, cycling too long and too often may harm sperm quality due to an increase in temperature in the testicles and penis area. Temperature that is too hot can indeed kill male sperm cells.
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