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Exercise improves sperm quality
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Continuous exercise training for 24 weeks significantly improved sperm concentration, but moderate-intensity continuous training yielded the most favorable outcomes compared with high-intensity continuous training and high-intensity interval training, according to findings published in Reproduction.
“Our results show that doing exercise can be a simple, cheap and effective strategy for improving sperm quality in sedentary men,” Behzad Hajizadeh Maleki, MSc, a PhD student in the department of sports medicine, Justus-Liebig-University in Germany, said in a press release. “However, it’s important to acknowledge that the reason some men can’t have children isn’t just based on their sperm count. Male infertility problems can be complex, and changing lifestyles might not solve these cases easily.”
Maleki and colleagues evaluated 280 men aged 25 to 40 years randomly assigned to moderate-intensity continuous training (n = 70), high-intensity continuous training (n = 70), high-intensity interval training (n = 70) or no exercise (n = 70) to determine the effects of exercise on markers of reproduction. The study was conducted for 24 weeks.
The training consisted of running on a treadmill for 30 minutes 3 to 4 days per week during moderate-intensity continuous training and running on a treadmill for 1 hour for 3 to 4 days per week during high-intensity continuous training. Short 1-minute bursts of sprinting on a treadmill, followed by a 1-minute recovery period repeated between 10 to 15 times comprised the high-intensity interval training.
At baseline, the end of weeks 12 and 24, and 7 and 30 days after training, inflammatory markers, oxidants, antioxidants, semen parameters and sperm DNA damage were measured.
Compared with baseline, all exercise groups had improved sperm concentration by 12 and 24 weeks of exercise (P < .05 for all). The moderate-intensity continuous training group had significantly greater changes in progressive motility and sperm morphology compared with the high-intensity interval training group and the no-exercise group at 12 weeks, and changes were significantly greater after 24 weeks compared with the other groups. Sperm concentration changes were greater in the moderate-intensity continuous training group at 12 and 24 weeks compared with the other groups (P < .05). At week 24, changes in number of spermatozoa were greater in the moderate-intensity continuous training group compared with the other groups (P < .05).
“These results further indicate that [moderate-intensity continuous training] was more beneficial in improving markers of male reproductive function, compared to [high-intensity continuous training] and [high-intensity interval training],” the researchers wrote. “These observations suggest that the intensity, duration and type of exercise training could be taken into consideration when investigating reproductive responses to exercise training in men. It remains to be determined how changes in seminal markers of male reproductive function may be connected with reproductive outcomes in healthy human subjects.”
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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