Cycling training damages triathlete sperm

Article très intéressant pour les Triathlètes...

Cycling training damages triathlete sperm

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands, July 7 (UPI) --

The high-intensity training undertaken by triathletes has a significant impact on the quality of their sperm, Spanish researchers said.

Diana Vaamonde of the University of Cordoba Medical School in Cordoba in Spain said triathletes who did the most cycling training had the worst sperm morphology.

The research team had previously shown that both high exercise intensity and high exercise volume may be detrimental to sperm quality. Of the three modalities of the triathlete, only cycling -- the activity for which triathletes undertake the most training -- showed a clear correlation with sperm quality.

The more cycling training the sportsmen undertook, both in time and miles, the worse their sperm quality became, Vaamonde said.

Vaamonde said the researchers believe it is likely the findings may be due either to irritation and compression caused by friction of the testes against the saddle or localized heat produced by wearing tight clothing.

The team studied the semen values of 15 healthy Spanish triathletes, who had an average age of 33. Their training routines were analyzed in detail and particular note was taken of the time they spent cycling each week.

Sperm was taken after three days of sexual abstinence and analyzed for their shape and form.

The study was presented at the 25th annual conference of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology in Amsterdam.