Sperm Walking

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no exercise three sessions a week of high intensity interval training (10 one-minute bursts of very fast running with a short recovery period between each bout) three sessions a week of moderate exercise (30 minutes on a treadmill) three sessions a week of intense exercise (about an hour on a treadmill)
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Doing at least half an hour of exercise three times a week may boost men's sperm count, say scientists.
Men who took up running and stuck with it had more "healthy swimmers", according to the research in the journal Reproduction.
The boost was only temporary, and began to wane within a month if the men stopped their treadmill training.
Experts say it is important to strike the right balance because too much exercise can harm sperm production.
Studies have shown that participation in competitive sports, like cycling, can lower sperm quality.
Keep your testicles cool - avoid tight underwear and hot baths
Avoid sexually transmitted infections
Get some exercise, but not too much!
All of the 261 men enrolled in the recent trial were healthy and did not have any fertility problems as far as they could tell. They had normal sperm counts and healthy-looking sperm and led fairly sedentary lives.
The men were allocated to one of four programmes:
Exercise training appeared to boost sperm quantity and quality, with moderate exercise coming top.
Men in all three exercise groups lost weight and saw improvements in their sperm test results compared with the men who did no exercise over the 24-week trial period.
The researchers say at least part of the benefit may come from shedding excess weight - all three exercise groups lost some body fat.
Experts already know obesity can lower a man's fertility. A third of the men in each study group were overweight.
What is not clear is whether the boost from exercise translates to better fertility. That is something the researchers plan to explore in the lab by checking if training-induced changes affect the fertilising potential of sperm.
Lead researcher Behzad Hajizadeh Maleki said: "Our results show that doing exercise can be a simple, cheap and effective strategy for improving sperm quality in sedentary men.
"However, it's important to acknowledge that the reason some men can't have children isn't just based on their sperm count. Male infertility problems can be complex and changing lifestyles might not solve these cases easily."
Allan Pacey, professor of andrology at the University of Sheffield and spokesman for the British Fertility Society, said: "We have a very poor understanding of how physical exercise affects male fertility and sperm quality, but it is a question commonly asked by men wishing to improve their chances of having a child."
He said there probably was a level of exercise that is optimum for male fertility, but recommended that men check with their GP before embarking on anything too strenuous.
UK guidelines recommend that adults do at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity, such as cycling or fast walking, or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity, such as running, every week.
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Sperm banking is the process of collecting, freezing and storing sperm. It’s also called sperm freezing or sperm cryopreservation. The sperm can be thawed and used in the future for procedures such as intrauterine insemination (IUI) or in vitro fertilization (IVF) .
There are lots of reasons to freeze sperm, explains urologist Amin Herati, M.D ., director of Male Infertility and Men’s Health Clinic at Brady Urological Institute .
“The most common reason is if you need treatment for cancer,” says Herati. “After chemotherapy or radiation therapy, there might be very few sperm or no sperm left in the ejaculate (seminal fluid). Or a surgery such as orchiectomy (removal of the testicles) for testicular cancer means sperm can no longer be produced.”
Other reasons for sperm banking include:
The sperm freezing process involves several steps. First, a person undergoes an infectious disease screening to make sure there are no sexually transmitted diseases. This usually involves a simple blood test.
Next, the person provides a semen sample. Masturbation at a fertility clinic is the most common way to provide the sample, but in some cases, a sample can be produced at home and delivered to a lab within 24 hours.
“The specimen must go into a cup that’s approved by the lab and remain as close as possible to body temperature. The sample also can’t contain any lubricants or moisturizers, unless they’re approved by the lab,” says Herati.
Sometimes a surgical procedure is necessary to extract sperm from testicular tissue. This might be the case for those who have already had a vasectomy or undergone cancer treatment. Individuals with infertility (a very low sperm count or no sperm in the semen) might also need surgery to extract sperm.
Once the semen is in the lab, andrologists (specialists in sperm and male fertility) analyze and prepare it for storage. They separate the sperm from the seminal fluid or testicular tissue and look at a small portion of the sample under a microscope.
“We make sure there’s sperm in the ejaculate. If sperm is absent or low, the patient undergoes more testing,” explains Herati. “We do a routine semen analysis. The results of the analysis guide additional testing for infertility.”
Andrologists evaluate the sperm’s concentration, morphology (shape) and motility (movement). They make sure the sperm is healthy and that there’s enough to freeze.
Andrologists place prepared sperm into a special freezing solution in small vials. The vials go into storage freezers that contain liquid nitrogen. “Sperm has to stay frozen at a constant temperature of minus 196 degrees centigrade,” says Herati.
Each patient’s sperm is typically split into several vials and kept in multiple storage tanks. If one freezer fails, the remaining sperm samples remain safe. Sperm can be frozen indefinitely.
When someone is ready to use the sperm, it’s carefully thawed in the lab until it reaches room temperature. “After thawing, it’s analyzed to make sure there are motile, active sperm remaining,” says Herati. “Unfortunately, in some cases, one-half to two-thirds of sperm may not survive the freeze-thaw cycle. But the ones that do survive may be at an advantage from a fertility standpoint. Studies suggest that these sperm may be more likely to result in a pregnancy when they’re used in IVF.”
The cost of sperm freezing varies. There’s often one cost for sperm collection and analysis, then ongoing storage costs for freezing. Storage costs can range from $100–$500 per year, but it’s important to check with your insurance provider and physician to understand the costs.
It’s not possible to successfully freeze sperm at home. Sperm freezing needs to happen in a laboratory with the proper quality controls in place. The temperature of an average home freezer is about minus 18 degrees centigrade. Sperm needs to be stored at minus 196 degrees centigrade.
It can be possible to collect sperm at home in preparation for freezing. There are services that send you a sperm collection and storage kit. You collect the sample at home, then overnight the kit to the lab for storage.
Talk to your oncologist and a fertility expert. Any type of cancer or treatment has the potential to affect your sperm production or quality. Don’t feel embarrassed or hesitant to start this important conversation with your providers.
“After receiving a cancer diagnosis, people are so worried about the treatment that they don’t think about what could happen after treatment,” explains Herati. “Studies show that about 90% of men who have undergone cancer treatment would like to have frozen their sperm beforehand.”
“My opinion is that any person between the ages of 18 and 25 should freeze their sperm,” recommends Herati. “You never know what kind of environmental exposures you’ll come across or what health conditions could occur. Sperm tend to be healthiest at this stage of life.”
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Erin Heger is a freelance journalist located in the Kansas City area. She primarily covers stories related to healthcare policy, maternal mental health, parenting, and personal finance. Her work been featured in The Atlantic, Rewire.News, Refinery29, HuffPost, and more.

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