Can you be "too fit" to conceive a baby?

Rumors that female bodybuilders and athletes struggle with infertility more often than the general population have been in existence for a long time. Is this really true? It might be if you listen to the story of Sarah Joyce, a United States competitive distance runner. Sarah Joyce, from Indianapolis, had no trouble at all running 60 Miles a week and had no body fat at all. But the female runner, in her twenties, did have trouble getting pregnant. She is now 30 years old and has a newborn daughter, and decided to speak about her experiences.

"I may have been too intense and I think if I try again to have another baby, I will change my regimen," the runner told ABC news. Joyce's story is interesting to anyone who has ever asked themselves whether it is a good idea to do intense work outs while trying to conceive. Of course, when you look at Joyce, we are not talking about a few aerobics classes a week, but about a professional sports career. Her story does show that there is indeed such as thing as too much exercise in a fertility context, though. Some fertility doctors confirm this, saying that long distance runners, bodybuilders, and ballet dancers have fertility problems more often.

If you are among those women who enjoy a professional career in sports or ballet and you are trying to conceive, perhaps taking a break from your work out regimes is something that you have reason to seriously think about. Indeed, some sources claim that even recreational jogging can impact fertility. Women who are worried about their fertility, and suspect that their high level of physical activity could be responsible for their failure to get pregnant, might want to discuss this with their doctors before resorting to ovulation-inducing drugs such as Clomid.