# IVF and exercise



## 2nd time lucky (Jul 6, 2014)

Hi ladies. I just received my supercur spray, along with our treatment plan (long protocol) and been told to start the spray on my May period. I want to try to prepare by getting as healthy as possible and am considering taking out a corporate membership (through my work) for fitness classeSo, however I'm not sure if this will turn out to be a waste of money if I can't go to most of them during tretreatment. The ones I am interested in are metafit (only until I start treatment, I'm sure this would be too intense during it), body conditioning, pilates, body balance and RPM. What are your thoughts on exercise during IVF? Is it best to avoid classes such as this and just stick to walking? Just feel it will get me fit and focus my mind leading up to treatment and some of the classes might relax me once it's underway? Any thoughts greatly appreciated x x


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## CrazyHorse (May 8, 2014)

Certainly pilates and body balance should be just fine for most of your treatment cycle as long as you don't over do it. What's RPM? 

I think the main thing is making sure you avoid anything which could lead to ovarian torsion while you are stimming, as your ovaries can become quite enlarged if you respond well to the drugs (not an issue I ever had!). So you don't want to be contorting yourself at that point, and you're likely to be too tender to do anything that uses your abs a lot. Then after EC you need to take it moderately easy and let your body focus on trying to get pregnant.

As long as you're not creating a huge calorie deficit and making your body think you're starving it, I think you can do pretty much whatever exercise you want during down-regulation before starting stims.

Good for you for working on your fitness!


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## daisyg (Jan 7, 2004)

This may be interesting?

http://www.medpagetoday.com/OBGYN/Infertility/4207

D x

/links


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## CrazyHorse (May 8, 2014)

Ooh, interesting article, daisyg! Now I'm feeling better about the fact that my exercise regimen for the last 8 years has mainly consisted of low-key walking, plus pottering in the garden!   

I wonder what the average BMI was among the women in the study who mainly did cardio workouts? If it was on the lower end of the "normal" range, that could have something to do with the findings.


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## goldbunny (Mar 26, 2012)

that sounds like way too much. don't start anything your body isn't used to doing. i'd say pick at most two things from your list eg pilates and another class and just swim or walk the rest of the days as these are safe to continue through treatment etc (though don't swim after egg collection). you want your body to be repairing and healing and not trying to build muscle so don't divert your energy. try meditation, breathing exercises or other means of relaxing as part of your fitness plan as being mentally in the right place is as important as physical readiness. 
good luck with your treatment.


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## goldbunny (Mar 26, 2012)

that article makes no mention of diet and i wonder, if the people who are most likely to exercise a lot are also eating insufficient good fats and filling themselves with low-fat products which might be another reason for people with higher exercise appearing to have poorer results. while being overweight is bad for fertility, dieting can also have negative effects if the types of food aren't carefully chosen.


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## CrazyHorse (May 8, 2014)

goldbunny said:


> that article makes no mention of diet and i wonder, if the people who are most likely to exercise a lot are also eating insufficient good fats and filling themselves with low-fat products which might be another reason for people with higher exercise appearing to have poorer results. while being overweight is bad for fertility, dieting can also have negative effects if the types of food aren't carefully chosen.


Yes, you make an excellent point. The low-fat diet mob have a lot to answer for -- taking good fats out of your diet really isn't healthy!!


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## 2nd time lucky (Jul 6, 2014)

Thanks for the advice ladies. Haven't managed to access the link as still at work but I think common sense def needs to prevail. RPM is like spinning (cycle class) - again, would not be attempting this during stims or anything. Will obviously just need to listen to my body. I'm no fitness freak by any means so this shouldnt be an issue x x


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## Kieke (Apr 8, 2015)

Hi Dawny, I'm also on my first cycle (ICSI) and am currently on day 8 of stimms.
For the past couple of years I have been running 5K on a Saturday morning and have been going to an outdoor military style boot camp 2/3x a week. The boot camp is full on, lots of core work, crawling etc.
My clinic told me to continue as normal but to listen to my body whilst stimming. I don't feel any different at the moment but have decide to put the exercise on hold (did my last 5k on Saturday). Saying that I did go for a 'gentle' cardio session in the gym yesterday ;-) I have EC next week and will take it easy and will only go for walks during my 2WW. My clinic told me that exercise during stimms can be uncomfortable but that I could carry on... this contradicts most of the advice I have found online. I would however not start anything new, unless it's yoga.

My acupuncture lady told me not to do anything if in doubt. In case you have a negative result you don't want to think 'if only I did or didn't'....

Good luck with your treatment!


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## 2nd time lucky (Jul 6, 2014)

Thanks Kieke. Wow, that sounds like quite a full on fitness regime you had going there but sounds like you're being sensible about it. Having read all the responses I'm not sure whether I'd be best of taking a rain check on the full fitness class membership. I'm maybe best to just dip in and out of a few of the "lighter" classes because, you're right, if things don't work out with this cycle I certainly don't want the added "what ifs" torturing me as well. Thanks for all your comments ladies, really does help. And best of luck for your treatment!! X x


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## ZM (Feb 20, 2015)

I agree with some of the others here- it's great to do light exercise, but don't overwork your body! I've been a dedicated fan of Pilates for a few years now, and I really believe it's helped me so far. 

I haven't tried body balance yet, but I keep meaning to go- are you going to that soon? 

I also love swimming, as it's very gentle but can still be a good workout if you want it to be. 

Good luck!!  xx


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## Kieke (Apr 8, 2015)

Dawny - I would definitely go for the lighter, more gentle exercise approach. I could not help myself and went running this morning (day 11 of stimms). Went fine but so tired afterwards! 

ZM - I have tried body balance and quite like it! Saying that, I'm not the most flexible person so did find it rather tough at times when the rest around me all looked very relaxed  

xx


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## ZM (Feb 20, 2015)

Kieke- I was the same at Pilates initially, haha! I felt very very unbendy. Maybe I should try Body Balance, too, it's so relaxing.


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