Cycling Is A Great Way To Boost Your Sperm Count
Did I get your attention with that title?
OK, so there’s a lot of rubbish written about cycling - stuff about how all cyclists jump red lights, how it’s really, really dangerous, and if you believe the Daily Mail amongst others , it’s a sure-fire route to erectile dysfunction and significantly reduced sperm count. Apparently,
…competitors covering more than 186 miles per week on their bicycles had just four per cent of normal-shaped sperm. To father a child, at least 30 per cent of sperm should have a normal shape.
The report [by Professor Diana Vaamonde, from the University of Cordoba Medical School in Spain, researching Ironman triathlon competitors] speculated that poor sperm quality results from a number of factors: irritation and compression of the testes against the saddle, and the heat produced by wearing tight Lycra cycling shorts . Sperm production is highly sensitive to body temperature.
You could get seriously worried about this sort of thing. So I looked up tips for improving sperm count - purely in the interests of research, you understand. The
babyhopes site gives five things us guys can do:
- Get regular exercise [CHECK! ]: While you should avoid vigorous training programs [Uh-Oh, UN-CHECK! ], regular and moderate exercise helps you maintain a healthy body weight, helps control stress, and gives you a healthier overall body.
- Perform relaxation exercises [Uh, I relax while running or cycling a long way. Does that mean my relaxation is good or bad relaxation? ]: Since infertility and life in general can be stressful, learn to relax. Stress is sometimes responsible for certain infertility problems such as hormonal problems.
- Maintain a healthy weight: Not too under or overweight since weight influences estrogen and testosterone levels. [I'm eating as FAST as I can! ]
- Watch your body temperature: Avoid vigorous exercise, hot tubs, and saunas since they raise the body temperature and may cause … reduced sperm count.
- Take age into consideration: A man’s fertility begins to decrease after he is thirty so take this into consideration when deciding when to have children. [Girls - the clock is ticking for US too ]
Well there you go - the only one of these that I knew about was #4. And I think that cycling’s good for this - if it’s cycling like I experienced today around Durham. It started to snow, and after a while I looked down to see that the nose of my saddle was covered in snow . . . as was the front of my shorts:
Fortunately we have all the family I could ever want. Otherwise, I could get quite stressed out about this sort of thing!
Filed under: Bike Culture, Cycle, Photographs, Silly Stuff, Weather
You should put this in for caption friday!
[...] Cycling is a great way to boost your sperm count. [...]
Nice photo!