Exercise to Increase Fertility in Females
If you're wondering how exercise impacts your fertility, I’ve got you girlie.
I’m going to tell you everything you need to know and help you cultivate a sustainable plan to remain active on your fertility journey.
Exercise can both positively and negatively impact fertility. Movement is one of the best tools we have to support:
Overall health
Inflammation levels
Insulin resistance
Stress management
Hormone health
But just like most things in health & life, more is not always better.
Things like strength training and Pilates can improve insulin resistance, which improves overall inflammation, and that is huge for reproductive health. Skeletal muscle is one of the biggest consumers of glucose in the body, so building and maintaining muscle mass can be incredibly beneficial for blood sugar regulation and overall hormone health.
At the same time, excessive running, excessive HIIT workouts, or overtraining while underfueling can negatively impact fertility. Your body has to feel safe enough to ovulate consistently. If your body is constantly stressed, inflamed, undernourished, or exhausted, reproduction is often not the top priority.
The goal is to learn how to fuel your body appropriately for your exercise regimen and make sure you’re moving in a sustainable way that supports your reproductive health. Don’t worry. I’m going to help you cultivate a plan that works best for your life.
Low Impact Workouts That Support Ovulation
One way that exercise can negatively impact fertility is through overtraining or underfueling. Things like:
Excessive HIIT training
Marathon training
Running a lot without appropriately fueling your body
can negatively impact ovulation.
Now, this is not a blanket statement that running marathons or doing HIIT workouts will automatically hurt your fertility. There are plenty of people who do these forms of exercise and ovulate consistently. However, if you are someone struggling with:
Irregular ovulation
Missing periods
Difficulty conceiving
it may be worth taking a closer look at your exercise intensity and overall nutrition intake.
Your body has to feel safe enough to ovulate. If your body is constantly in a stressed state from:
Excessive exercise
Inadequate calories
Not getting enough fat and protein intake
ovulation can absolutely be impacted.
This is why I am such a huge advocate for actually knowing if and when you are ovulating. Cycle tracking can give you so much information about whether your current exercise routine is supporting your body or stressing it out too much. If you are not ovulating consistently, it may be beneficial to reel the intensity in a little and focus on fueling more appropriately for your activity level.
If this is you, I’d love to encourage you to consider things like:
Pilates
Yoga
Walking
in lieu of excessive HIIT training or running for a season. That way, you still feel like you’re getting movement in and supporting your overall health while also giving your body a chance to feel a little safer and less stressed.
Exercises to Reduce Stress and Improve Fertility
Another thing that has a huge impact on fertility is stress, and exercise can be an incredible tool for stress management. Movement is one of the best ways to help regulate the nervous system, improve mood, and help your body feel safer overall.
Specifically for stress management, yoga and breath work are some of my favorite recommendations. They can help:
Downregulate the nervous system
Decrease overall tension in the body
Improve your ability to manage stressors day to day
Running can also be a really great tool for stress management. Running is actually a very natural form of EMDR therapy. In fact, that’s where EMDR therapy originated from. The repetitive, rhythmic movement can be incredibly beneficial for processing stress and emotions.
Now, if your cycle is normal, you’re ovulating consistently, and you do not have a luteal phase defect, then running can absolutely be a great addition to your routine. I just typically suggest doing it in moderation and making sure you are appropriately fueling your body for your activity level.
How Much Exercise Is Too Much?
Tracking your cycle is the most important thing here. I actually have a free guide you can download that walks you through all the ins and outs of your cycle because understanding your cycle gives you so much information about your overall health.
Ovulation is queen. Periods get all the press, but really, ovulation is the star of the show. It’s incredibly important to know if and when you are ovulating because that’s one of the biggest ways to tell if your body is being adequately fueled and supported for your current exercise routine.
One thing I look at often with patients is luteal phase length. A luteal phase defect can negatively impact fertility outcomes because it can impact implantation and pregnancy maintenance. A luteal phase defect is considered a luteal phase of 11 days or less. Ideally, you want at least 12 days between ovulation and the start of your period.
If your luteal phase is consistently shorter than that, it can sometimes be a sign that your body is:
Underfueled
Overstressed
Overtraining
This doesn’t automatically mean exercise is the only issue, but it is absolutely something worth evaluating when looking at overall fertility and reproductive health.
Creating a Weekly Fertility Friendly Workout Routine
Remember, research shows benefits with just 10 minutes of exercise. Because of that, I would much rather you focus on less time per day and more consistency throughout the week instead of feeling like every workout has to be intense or an hour long.
In general, I typically suggest aiming for 3 to 4 days of strength training per week. If you are brand new to exercise, start small. Ten minutes absolutely counts. Build consistency first, then gradually increase duration over time.
If you are already exercising consistently, then you may tolerate and benefit from closer to 30 to 45 minutes of strength training sessions. The biggest goal is finding a routine that supports your reproductive health while also fitting realistically into your life and schedule.
Here are a couple of sample workout structures I often recommend:
Beginner Workout Routine:
Monday: Strength training, 10 to 20 minutes
Tuesday: Walk, 20 to 30 minutes
Wednesday: Strength training, 10 to 20 minutes
Thursday: Walk, 20 to 30 minutes
Friday: Strength training, 10 to 20 minutes
Saturday: Walk, 20 to 30 minutes
Sunday: Rest or gentle movement
Arrange the days however you need based on your life and schedule. This is simply a sample structure.
Intermediate/Advanced Workout Routine:
Monday: Strength training, 30 to 45 minutes
Tuesday: Strength training, 30 to 45 minutes
Wednesday: Walk/run
Thursday: Strength training, 30 to 45 minutes
Friday: Strength training, 30 to 45 minutes
Saturday: Walk/runSundayRest or gentle movement
Lifestyle Habits That Support Fertility Goals
Don’t forget about other lifestyle habits that support fertility goals, like nutrition. Anti inflammatory and Mediterranean style diets are some of the best diets for fertility and overall reproductive health.
Stress management is also important. I encourage my patients to carve out at least 5 to 10 minutes per day to do things they enjoy and that help them manage stress levels.
And sleep. Sleep is so underrated when it comes to fertility. Your body does so much repair and hormone regulation while you sleep. Things like:
Vitamin D
Magnesium
Melatonin
can help support sleep quality.
Also remember that your hormones are part of a delayed feedback system. Meaning, what you are doing now can impact your cycle weeks to months from now.
Ready to Take the Next Step?
If you’re trying to conceive and feel like you’re stuck in the frustrating phase of being told to “just keep trying,” I want you to know that waiting does not have to mean doing nothing.
Your cycle gives us so much information about:
Ovulation
Hormone patterns
Inflammation
Stress
How your body is responding to exercise, sleep, and nutrition
Inside The Cycle Script, we help you better understand your cycle patterns, symptoms, hormone health, and possible next steps so you can move forward with more clarity instead of confusion.
We would love to work with you.
You can also subscribe to our newsletter, The Cycle, for fertility tips, cycle education, hormone health insights, and TTC support delivered straight to your inbox.
