Life
A woman's fertility is no simple thing. Whether you're trying to get pregnant or avoid it, knowing when you're most likely to get pregnant is important knowledge for women. Aside from having sex on the days your ovulating, there are certain events and habits that can increase or decrease your chance of conception. If you frequent the gym, have a career in the fitness industry, or even workout occasionally, wondering if you are more likely to get pregnant right after working out is a valid question to ask.
Understanding how exercise effects your fertility is, you guessed it, no simple task. In fact, Fitness noted that there is a definite "guideline gap" when it comes to recommendations on working out and getting pregnant. Here's what experts do know: according to the New Kids Health Center, adopting a regular exercise regime before conceiving has been shown to increase fertility and ovulation. Parents also noted that regular light to moderate exercise can increase your chances of getting pregnant, even for women with fertility issues like polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) or those who are obese or underweight.
But don't sign up for a gym membership just yet, because working out can have some potential negative effects as well. One study from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology found that intense workouts can temporarily reduce a woman's fertility, due to the stress that difficult workouts can have on their bodies. Overdoing it can also cause women to cease to ovulate, which makes conception impossible.
When it comes to each individual workout, however, there isn't much research available about how it can affect your chances of getting pregnant. If you're at a fertile point in your cycle, working out shouldn't have much of an impact — negative or positive — on your ability to conceive after a specific workout.
Instead of focusing on specific workouts, shifting your perspective to your health as a whole is important. In an interview with Romper, Gina Cannon of the Fertility Center of Illinois noted that although exercise can boost your fertility within reason, it's really all about maintaining a healthy body weight, managing your stress, and not overdoing it. Keeping track of your cycle and ensuring that you're living as healthy a lifestyle as possible are your two biggest assets for increasing your likelihood of conceiving.