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Curious to know what you should and shouldn’t do when it comes to working out while trying to conceive?
Turns out that regular moderate exercise can boost your fertility!
In fact, women who get at least 2 hours of moderate physical activity each week are about 15% more likely to conceive than women who don’t exercise.
But the just-right exercise intensity for getting pregnant varies from woman to woman.
So keep reading to learn how exercise during ovulation and implantation can support your unique fertility journey.
Key Takeaways
- Healthy levels of physical activity can help with hormonal balance, insulin regulation, and your immune system. All are important factors for being able to get pregnant and have a healthy pregnancy!
- Your ideal exercise levels while trying to conceive depend on a variety of factors. These include your body mass index (BMI), your current activity levels, and any underlying conditions you may have.
- Women with PCOS may benefit from more intense exercise to boost fertility. Meanwhile, generally healthy women not undergoing ART should stick to more moderate exercise.
- For some women, excessive exercise could lead to fertility issues. These are usually tied to anovulation or a shortened luteal phase.
- Consult with your doctor to how much exercise you need for a successful fertility journey.
Benefits of exercising while TTC
Exercise can actually help protect against infertility in multiple ways.
For starters, it supports hypothalamic–pituitary–ovarian (HPO) activity. This helps maintain healthy female reproductive function. Regular exercise can also boost your immune system. It does this by charging up your antioxidant defenses and lowering inflammation.
But that’s not all. Physical activity also has the power to regulate vital hormones like testosterone and estrogen. This leads to improved insulin sensitivity and hormonal balance.
Plus, exercise is a natural stress-reliever that keeps your cortisol levels in check. This further supports a healthy balance of other reproductive hormones like progesterone.
Basically, the right amount of exercise supports your overall health. And it assists your body in doing its natural thing when you’re trying to conceive.
But that probably still has you wondering: what exactly is the “right amount” of exercise? Hang in there, we’ll go over this next!
Exercise recommendations for women TTC
As mentioned, moving your body provides invaluable fertility and health benefits. But there’s a fine line between getting enough exercise and getting too much exercise.
So let’s get super clear on what’s considered light, moderate, and vigorous physical activity.
In the table below, you’ll see various levels of exercise and how they translate into Metabolic Equivalents of Tasks (METs).
In case this is new terminology to you…
MET is the ratio of energy you expend during an activity compared to your resting metabolic rate. For instance, an MET of 4.0 means you are burning 4 times the calories that your body would in its natural resting state.
Intensity of exercise | METs | % of max heart rate | What this looks like |
Light | 2.0-2.9 | 57%-63 % max heart rate (HR) | Housework, light walking, activities you can still easily talk through |
Moderate | 3.0-5.9 | 64%-76% max HR | Riding a bike, brisk walking, activities where you can only say short sentences in |
Vigorous | ≥6 | 77%-95% max HR | Swimming, running, activities that only allow you to get out 1 – 2 words |
How can you determine your max heart rate and your heart rate while exercising?
Generally speaking, your max heart rate is your age subtracted from 220. This means, on average, the max heart rate is around 190 bpm for a 30-year-old and 180 bpm for a 40-year-old.
Keep in mind that this is just a helpful estimate to start with. Exact resting heart rates and max heart rates vary based on other factors. These include your overall fitness level, certain medications you may take, and more.
Here are two ways you can figure out your heart rate while working out:
- Wear a smart watch or activity tracker that automatically records your heart rate.
- Check your heart rate manually. You can do this by using your pointer finger and middle finger to count your pulse (on your wrist) for 30 seconds. Then multiply the number of pulses you count by 2 to get your beats per minute (bpm).
That’s the gist of determining how intense your level of activity is.
Now, it’s time to see what the latest research says about the ideal range of activity for trying to conceive.
In one meta-analysis, researchers found that both moderate (30 to 150 minutes/week) and high physical activity levels (>150 minutes/week) significantly lowered the chances of infertility.
However, another study found that while moderate exercise for 2 hours/week was associated with a 15% increased chance of pregnancy, regular vigorous exercise detrimentally affected fertility in healthy or underweight women.
Here’s what happens behind the scenes in women who are underweight or who exercise heavily:
- High energy expenditure causes a dip in leptin levels (Leptin is a hormone that helps your body with energy balance and hunger cues.) and fluctuations in naturally occurring brain chemicals.
- This affects the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis.
- When the HPA axis is out of whack, it can throw off your hormonal balance and keep you from ovulating.
In contrast, this wasn’t that big an issue for obese and overweight women. In fact, all types of physical activity, along with other weight loss interventions like a balanced diet, help lower insulin and free androgens.
As a result, this can help regulate the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. And in some cases, that leads to the return of regular ovulation.
So what’s the bottom line? If you’re trying to conceive and are at a low or healthy Body Mass Index (BMI), it’s probably best to aim for a more “moderate” intensity activity. If you’re overweight or obese, you can up the intensity. And of course, talk to your doctor for more precise exercise recommendations.
What if you have PCOS or will be undergoing ART? Keep reading for even more specific recommendations!
Exercising while TTC with PCOS
Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) may need a slightly different approach to exercising while trying to conceive.
For PCOS patients, moderate exercise proved to have minimal effects on their fertility.
Instead, resistance training and vigorous aerobic exercise are better options. They are linked to a higher chance of reproductive benefits for women with PCOS.
If you have PCOS and are new to more intense exercise, keep in mind that it will take some time for your body to adjust. For women with high androgen levels to begin seeing the true benefits of exercise, it takes time. It could take up to about 1 month or 50 training hours.
The good news is that weight loss isn’t the only indication of these benefits! Adopting a more intense fitness regimen is likely to boost conception regardless of what the scale says.
Exercising while undergoing IVF
For women who undergo in vitro fertilization, the story is a little different.
Research actually shows that exercising before and during IVF didn’t make much of a difference in successful pregnancy outcomes.
This may sound surprising at first. After all, overexercising can negatively impact ovulation in a natural menstrual cycle. But it seems that exercise has a minimal effect on IVF due to the careful manipulation of ovulation.
So what does this mean for women who are undergoing or plan to undergo IVF?
If you’re considering IVF in the next year or so, adopting a more consistent fitness plan now may be beneficial. If you’re already fairly active, it’s likely fine to maintain your current exercise habits. One study found that women who had an active lifestyle in the year leading up to IVF had a more favorable outcome.
There’s a little more gray area after the embryo transfer, though. Minimal research has been done to see the effects of vigorous exercise on implantation in IVF patients. (Probably since most women engage in little to no physical activity after an ET)
Exercises to prepare for pregnancy
Ready to game-plan your level of activity for the weeks leading up to a potential pregnancy? Here’s what to focus on at each stage of your menstrual cycle!
Exercise during ovulation
When you’re about to ovulate, you are likely to experience a natural boost in energy levels. This is because your estrogen levels and testosterone levels are rising at this time.
So you may feel more motivated to engage in higher intensity activity or push yourself a little harder than usual. You may even feel inclined to try a totally new physical activity.
Leaning into these natural urges based on your energy levels is great! But keep in mind that balance is important, and too much exercise could impact fertility.
So if you feel inclined to push yourself around this time, choose one or two workouts that you really want to go hard in. Then keep your other workouts more in the moderate zone. Or decrease the overall amount of time spent exercising for that week.
Realize that you may also need to change up your diet during this time when you are pushing yourself harder. Some research shows that increasing calorie intake may help healthy-weight women ward off the negative effects of vigorous exercise.
Exercise during implantation
Your implantation window happens during the luteal phase of your menstrual cycle, 6-12 Days Past Ovulation. Your activity level during this time matters. Some studies show that exercising too intensely can decrease the length of your luteal phase.
When you have a short luteal phase (less than 11 days long), it can make it more challenging to conceive. This is because your uterine lining is bulking up to help the embryo implant. And if it doesn’t have enough time for this thickening, even a healthy embryo will struggle to implant.
Know more: How to Lengthen the Luteal Phase? Fertility’s Game-Changer!
In general, your luteal phase is also a time in your menstrual cycle when you naturally have less energy. (Thanks to decreased estrogen and increased progesterone). So if you’re trying to stay in sync with your natural cyclical patterns, avoid new or vigorous physical activity during your luteal phase.
Know more: Cycle Syncing: What it Is and How to Start
No evidence has yet proven that exercise can completely disrupt implantation. But due to the effects of over-exercising on luteal phase length, it’s best to keep from overexerting yourself too much if your goal is to conceive.
Exercise levels throughout your cycle
In case it’s helpful, here’s a quick overview of ideal levels of activity over the full course of your cycle:
At the start of a new cycle when you’re on your period, take it easy to support your body.
Once you get into the follicular phase and ovulatory phase, feel free to take your workouts up a few notches. This is when your energy is at its peak.
Post-ovulation, during your luteal phase, go back down to those lower intensity exercises.
What are the best exercises while trying to conceive?
It’s all very dependent on your unique circumstances. The best exercises for you are ones that align with your health and fertility goals. As well as ones that you are able to sustain!
But as a recap, here are some general parameters to follow:
- For women who have a healthy weight, aren’t undergoing IVF, and don’t have PCOS, moderate exercise seems to be ideal.
- If you have polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), more intense exercise may be more beneficial.
- For women undergoing IVF or other fertility treatments, sticking to your current exercise routine is likely fine. To be on the safe side, you may want to consider avoiding super vigorous exercise. For example, perhaps stay away from high-intensity interval training.
- Regular vigorous exercise for more than one hour could increase your chances of anovulation.
- If you want to include high-intensity exercises in your routine, 30-60 minutes of strenuous activity per day is adequate.
- If you do include more high-intensity workouts, it’s important to adjust your calorie intake. Keeping your calories in line with your physical output can help prevent adverse effects on your fertility.
- Check in with your doctor about what exercises are appropriate for you specifically. They can provide more guidance based on what they know about your health and fertility goals.
Want to keep track of what’s light vs. moderate vs. rigorous exercise?
The precise exercise activity you choose is less important than how you feel while engaging in it.
So no matter the physical activity you choose, keep these tidbits in mind:
- Knowing your maximum heart rate is a helpful starting point. Simply use this equation to determine your max HR: 208 − 0.7 × age.
- If you’re aiming for moderate exercise, your heart rate should reach 64-76% of your max HR.
- You can also gauge your exertion level based on the ease or difficulty of speaking. Light exercise = you can easily keep up a conversation. Moderate = you can only speak in short sentences. Intense = you can only get out 1-2 words.
Lastly, trust your body and what feels right. You know the current level of physical fitness and whether or not you’re in good physical shape.
If you’re more of a beginner, perhaps a brisk walk is a moderate intensity exercise for you. Or if you’re an athlete, maybe it takes a brisk run to reach that moderate intensity level.
And if you’re really serious about taking charge of your physical activity to help conceive? Try tracking your exercise to help make it a habit. Inito’s free fertility app allows you space to do exactly this!
FAQs
Making changes to your normal activity levels could delay or keep you from ovulating. This is especially true if you are engaging in regular high-intensity exercise. Excessive physical activity can affect your hormonal balance. It can even cause anovulation in some women.
It depends on your fertility goals and your health! If you are trying to conceive and have a healthy weight, increasing your workout intensity around ovulation is likely fine! You naturally have higher energy levels at this time in your cycle. But if you are having challenges with ovulation, it’s best to consult your doctor.
The main way exercise can affect implantation is by making your luteal phase shorter. A healthy luteal phase is between 12 – 14 days long. These days are critical post-ovulation. This is when your uterine lining is getting thick enough to allow for the embryo to implant.
But for some women, regular exercise that is too intense can decrease luteal phase length. A short luteal phase is less than 11 days. And it may make implantation more difficult by not allowing the uterine lining to grow enough.
In general, excessive or intense physical activity means engaging in more than 60 minutes of strenuous activity per day. Another way of looking at it is regularly engaging in physical activity where you reach 77-95% of your maximum heart rate.
Those are just general parameters, though. Your unique exercise needs during your TTC journey depend on several factors. These include your BMI, your current activity levels, and your fertility plan. For example, women with PCOS may need to engage in more intense exercise to improve fertility.
Yes, this is possible. If you start working out more excessively or intensely than usual, you could have delayed or missed periods. On the flip side, incorporating moderate exercise may help decrease PMS symptoms.
It’s probably okay to stick with your current activity levels after an intrauterine insemination (IUI) and other fertility treatments. There hasn’t been a ton of research done determining if exercise after an IUI poses any risks to conceiving. But talk to your fertility specialist and adhere to their specific recommendations.
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