A 6-month study among 261 sedentary life-style men in Iran found that those who start exercising have improvement in their sperm quantity and quality, too. According to the research leader Behzad Hajizadeh Maleki, doing excercise is a simple, cheap and effective way to significantly improve sperm capacity in sedentary men.
The best results belonged to group of men who have moderate excercise (running at moderate speed for 30 – 45 minutes, 5-6 days a week). It was showed that their sperm semen volume improved by more than 8%. Their sperm motility was 12% higher, shape and size also improved by 17% and they had 22% more sperm cells compared to the control group, which did no exercise at all.
Unfortunately, when they stopped excercise for one week, their sperm count, shape and concentration dropped back to their previous levels. Sperm motility return to its previous rates after 1 month. (2)
Obviously, there are medical methods to treat male sperm problems. However, they are often expensive and invasive. Doing excercise is a much more simple, cheaper and also effective method. That’s why exercise should be the fisrt step for men to improve their sperm quality, says Dr. Jesse Mills, Director of the Men’s Clinic at the University of California, Los Angeles (1). He also emphasized that men should:
- Keep their laptops far from their groin.
- Avoid too hot saunas, hot tubs and hot yoga to protect their testicles.
- Add more vegetables and fruits to their diet
- Surprisingly, a cup of coffee per day may also help improve sperm motility.
Of course, male infertility problems can be complex and might not be solved easily with exercise. Couples under the age of 35 who have not succesful conceived after a year should seek for medical treatment, while older couples after just half a year. However, it is totally worth doing excercise regularly because there are positive changes men can do for themselves which cannot be replaced by any kind of medicines.
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