Five Exercises to Boost Up Your Fertility During Lockdown


 “Exercise doesn’t get in the way of your life, it adds to the quality of it.” 
If you’re planning for a baby it is of utmost importance to become “fit & healthy” before conceiving. Why? Both in relation to maintaining fertility as well as carrying on successfully with pregnancy without feeling stressed out and sore, you need to be in the pink of health. And thus, a regimen of proper exercise is pivotal for preparing your body for the forthcoming pregnancy. But before we move on to the nitty-gritty, let’s chalk out the basics. 


Be agile! Now that doesn’t mean that you should consider moving around all the time in vehicles. Instead, make sure to get out of your (almost) sedentary lifestyle. This is one BIG problem for people these days! We’re so hooked on to our ‘mentally active’ SMART lifestyle that we forget to hit the park or the street corner shop to buy groceries, for a change! “There’s an app for that!” And as a result, we pay with our health and fertility. Consider taking a break from your ‘online’ persona and simply walk a little every day, or you can take a hike with your partner, ride a bicycle, swim and jog; walk up the stairs to your workstation etc. Small yet powerful changes such as these will give you the inner stamina and agility needed to prepare for conceiving a baby and the forthcoming months of pregnancy. Infertility can be a real dampener for couples and there’s no better thing than getting in shape and thus keeping yourself strong by way of daily (planned) exercises.

Five Exercises to Boost Up Your Fertility
Herein we have chalked out Five Exercises to boost your fertility and keeping you healthy during preconception days!


Walk-Jog-Run – Cardio Exercises


Mild cardio exercises include - walking, running or jogging as well as aerobics. You can do any one of these or all together. However, never ‘overdo’ these mild cardio exercises. And, only do those exercises what feels “comfortable”! But then, as the term ‘workout’ itself means ‘working out’ so there is ought to be a certain level of discomfort involved. Do not panic if you feel exhausted. Look at the positives. Your fertility level will boost with the increased blood flow to the reproductive glands and organs during mild cardio exercises. You may ask – what should my daily workout look like? Well, we would suggest that ideally, it’s like walking or jogging for at least half an hour every day. This regimen if properly followed may not be too strenuous for most people while it helps to ‘break a sweat’ and increases heart rate and blood flow to the organs.

Strength Building Exercises
By definition ‘strength training’ is a “type of physical exercise or set of exercises and movements that specifically includes the use of resistance (in the form of weights and mechanical devices) to induce muscular contraction thereby building up the size of skeletal muscles, anaerobic endurance, and stamina.” Strength exercises can directly influence your level of fertility. How? By way of boosting muscle build up which again keeps you physically strong and induces reproductive hormone production in the body, thereby influencing the level of fertility. Besides strength training helps in supporting your reproductive organs by increasing your ‘muscle mass’ which again keeps everything ‘well-aligned’.

 
Yoga 
This ancient form of exercise helps to strengthen your core and vitalize your ‘chakras’ – the seven centres of spiritual power present in every human, as per the philosophy upon which it is centred. Although Yoga has predominantly originated and propagated over centuries by sages and teachers of Indian origin and is linked to Hindu spirituality, today people all over the world have recognized the healing power of yoga irrespective of their religious adherence and are drawn to it. Yoga can be practised at any time of the day but best under the watchful inspection of a teacher. If you’re a pro already then you can practice this gentle form of exercise on your own. Prefer to wake up early (before sunrise) and practice yoga for an hour. You’ll definitely feel the positive vibes after a few weeks of uninterrupted sessions. Yoga strengthens muscles from the inside and refreshes your mind imbibing positivity in thoughts and action which will definitely boost fertility.

Pilates 
Pilates offer almost similar benefits as Yoga, the only difference is in the use of machines in some ‘Pilates’ exercises, whereas in the case of Yoga, no machine is involved. Moreover, Pilates focuses on muscle toning whereas Yoga stimulates the region of our brain which controls hormone levels in our body besides acting as a body healer. However, Pilates can help you develop a more toned up and sculpted the strong muscular body in a short time compared to Yoga which by the way, acts its way right from the centre of your body by inducing the nervous system. So choose wisely what you want to achieve. Either way, both Pilates and Yoga can help you with boosting your fertility.



Stretching Exercises
You might be undergoing workout sessions every day to boost your overall health and fertility but remember one crucial point – make sure to do stretching exercises before and after workouts to loosen up your muscles and prevent your body from any ‘pull and tear’ injury. It has been observed that during intense workouts muscle strains might result due to the fast buildup of lactic acid in the muscle cells, which slows the muscle activity resulting in soreness. To avoid that, you should start with stretching exercises to loosen up your body muscles which in turn will help the muscle cells to breathe in oxygen and ensure flexibility all throughout the workout sessions. Also, finish off your workout with stretching exercises for the cooling-off your muscles! Stretching exercises are also recommended for women during pregnancy and labour under the guidance of an instructor. Stretching exercises help to ease the process of delivery.

Our sedentary lifestyle has its role in interfering with our fertility and when neglected even lead to infertility. Then the only option left is to walk into a fertility centre for treatment. However, simple exercises like walking, yoga or stretching can act as an antidote. There may not be any ‘magic’ exercise as such but following our 5 fertility exercise tips will certainly keep you in good shape and spirit. Remember “good things come to those who sweat.”

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