The effect of two types of aerobic training on quality and quantity indexes of sperm in adult rats

Background: Lifestyle factors have a dramatic impact on general health and reproductive performance in the general population. The importance of exercise along with a healthy balanced diet is well known to be crucial for health. Despite global increased interest in exercising, an inadequate knowledge and ignorance regarding exercise routines can possibly lead to harmful side effects. This study was conducted to compare the effect of continuous (CT) and High intensity interval aerobic training (HIIT) on male reproductive function.Methods: Fifteen adult male wistar rats were homogenously divided into three groups including: control, CT and HIIT. Animals were subjected to 10 weeks treadmill running, either HIIT or distance-matched CT on a motorized treadmill. Finally animals were euthanized and their left epididymis was removed and dissected in Ham s F10 solution, incubated at 37°C and sperm motility was evaluated. Total number of sperm per ml was calculated by using a hemocytometer. Smears were prepared from the suspension, stained with eosin-nigrosin and examined for sperm viability and abnormalities by light microscope. Teratozoospermia index (TZI) is defined as the number of abnormalities present per abnormal spermatozoa.Result: Results showed that CT had no significant effect on sperm number but it could increase all the quality indexes of sperm. Sperm analysis also indicated that HIIT reduced total number, viability, motility and increased TZI significantly (p Conclusion: It can be concluded that HIIT-related reproductive dysfunction remains as a strange paradox as there is a fine line between the correct and incorrect amount of exercise. Our results reveled that CT unlike HIIT can improve sperm quality.

کلیدواژه ها:

Continuous training ، High intensity interval training ، Sperm analysis ، Aerobic training