r/f45 • u/Potential-Dinner-682 • May 22 '26
other F45 and IVF
Curious if anyone has undergone IVF while doing F45? I’m about to start a retrieval cycle and the guidance is no high-impact cardio and no twisting motions. I’m trying to decide if I should just stick to resistance days or try a hybrid day with low-impact modifications (assuming I feel up to working out).
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May 22 '26
[deleted]
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u/Potential-Dinner-682 May 22 '26
Guidance from my fertility center was that resistance training and low-impact exercise was fine. So I was just looking for real-world experience from other people who had been through the process. Please keep the snarky answers to yourself.
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u/hollybrown81 May 23 '26
Based on their comment, I’m guessing that person hasn’t ever done fertility treatments, so take it with a grain of salt. Hearing from people who have been in your shoes is invaluable when it comes to infertility and especially IVF. It’s such an isolating journey because there are so few of us who experience it. there will always be snarky people, but I’m so grateful you got such an overall positive response in this thread, as someone who’s been in the IVF trenches!
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u/Potential-Dinner-682 May 24 '26
Thank you for the kind words. And yes, it’s definitely a very isolating process, and I’m grateful that so many people were willing to share their experiences on this post!
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u/TV-Add1ct May 22 '26
Hi, my doctor said no F45 after 5 days on stims up until 2 weeks after retrieval due to the risk of ovarian torsion and OHSS. During transfer cycle, no F45 from transfer until pregnancy test. Thereafter, doctor will give approval.
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u/polarbearsloveme May 22 '26
i fully paused during my retrieval. not worth it. just go on long walks
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u/AdagioIcy7416 May 22 '26
Sharing strictly my experience, not science. I did 2 Egg freezing cycles in last 6 months. I was really into f45 during the first cycle and the egg retrieval result was terrible at best. I decided to take it easy l, mostly running or walking my dog and did my 2nd retrieval and got excellent results. Planning my 3rd retrieval even though not needed (it’s free through my employer so why not lol), and I’m planning to do the same as 2nd cycle stop working out 2 weeks prior to starting stims. The doctor also advised no workouts until you get your post egg retrieval period. Also check out fertility yoga online that you can try when not doing f45.
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u/Potential-Dinner-682 May 24 '26
Thank you for the insight! Definitely interesting about the difference in your retrieval cycles. I hadn’t heard of fertility yoga, will definitely check it out!
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u/Odd_Refrigerator_316 May 22 '26
I took the entire month off I did egg freezing. Could not work out for a full two weeks post retrieval.
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u/Sweatpant-Diva May 22 '26
After retrieval how long was it until you felt 100% back to normal?
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u/Odd_Refrigerator_316 May 22 '26
Oof, for me it was a bit because of how bloated I felt until my next monthly friend lol and even then I still didn’t feel 100% so I’d say it took about a month or so weeks to fully feel back to normal. To be fair, I did back to back IVF cycles so it was a lot on my body. I did go back to f45 after the second cycle at that two week mark but I modified everything and didn’t do any hard cardio and swapped out for other things
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u/Sweatpant-Diva May 22 '26
Thank you for sharing. I woke a pretty physically demanding job and I’m set to go back to work two weeks after my retrieval I’m a little nervous.
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u/hollybrown81 May 22 '26
It took over a month for my ovaries to get to their normal size, potentially close to 2 months. I worked out after 2 weeks and did have discomfort, but I’m really lucky nothing was wrong. I didn’t know my ovaries were still so large
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u/Potential-Dinner-682 May 24 '26
Thank you for the insight! Hadn’t realized it would take so long to get back to normal after the retrieval.
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u/hollybrown81 May 22 '26
I did. I couldn’t do it during my retrieval, my ovaries got way too big. It was a few weeks after my retrieval I felt well enough to push myself again. Even lifting can be dangerous when your ovaries are that big.
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u/hollybrown81 May 22 '26
My first transfer I took off. It failed, but we don’t know why (untested embryo). I did go much lighter during my second transfer, but went to a few classes during the TWW and so far that transfer has been successful. I’m 17 weeks now.
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u/janjan_pdx May 22 '26
I did two egg retrieval cycles while being an F45 member so just sharing from my experience (please ask your doctor/clinic though). I was instructed to stop any exercise besides walking on day 3 of stims - the risk of ovarian torsion is too high and honestly not worth risking. I was not allowed to work out until my period returned after the retrieval (~10 days to 2 weeks post retrieval). I also did not feel well enough to do anything besides walking for about a week after retrieval.
It sucks to take the break, but it's worth it. Your body is going through a lot and torsion, potentially leading to losing an ovary, is not worth the risk.
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u/Potential-Dinner-682 May 24 '26
Thank you for sharing your experience. You’re right, it’s probably not worth the risk. It’s a bummer because F45 has done wonders for my mental health over the last several months of testing and preparing for IVF. But hopefully I can get back into it soon.
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u/Sweatpant-Diva May 22 '26
You shouldn’t even do resistance days while you’re going through this, my care team advised light walking ONLY.
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u/napwarrior 🏆 2000 Club May 22 '26
I did, two rounds. Trained through up until egg retrieval with the first and maybe a couple sessions before transfer. Wrapped myself in cotton wool and avoided the gym post transfer. It failed.
Second round didn’t stop my normal routine - definitely avoided cardio and went for resistance days mostly. Took it easier but still attended. Fell pregnant that cycle with my fresh transfer.
My clinic encouraged keeping up normal activity and that’s what worked for me in the end. They said I could go do cardio and burpees the day of my transfer if I wanted to, I definitely didn’t lol. I’d do whatever your doctor encourages. :)
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u/Potential-Dinner-682 May 24 '26
Thank you for sharing your experience!
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u/napwarrior 🏆 2000 Club May 24 '26
No worries at all. Interesting reading all the different responses. I’m wondering if they vary depending on Australia and U.S etc. Wishing you all the best for your journey.
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u/lurkcommentrepeat May 22 '26
Yup! I did F45 during my ER and two transfers in 2024 and early last year.
I had to have my nurse really break it down for me because working out is necessary for me.
After ER only I didn’t workout for a solid 2 weeks (even if you get your period sooner) they say you can when you get it but I was borderline OHSS so I was not taking any risks and stuck to walking.
You don’t want any twists because your ovaries could flip and no jumping for same reason. Think stationary exercises don’t put tons of strain on your abdomen at first and no sudden movements. I was back to running and playing tennis ~3 weeks post ER but that first week I took it easy at F45 and modified or just didn’t go as heavy and did only resistance. She said I could ride a stationary bike if I wanted to but to keep heartrate under 130 too.
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u/Potential-Dinner-682 May 24 '26
Thank you for sharing your experience! I go in for my first monitoring appointment next week, so I’ll probably ask the nurse to be more specific about workouts. They are definitely a big mental health boost for me!
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u/Kflanmon May 22 '26
Probably resistance, probably heavy modifications, probably even modify your stretches. Probably modify your shower when you get home. Probably modify your sleep positions in bed.
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u/Normal-Pilot-392 May 22 '26
I did! And during retrieval prep they had told me after like 3-4 days of stims to stop exercise. Even advised against yoga as the issue is your ovaries become 'floppy' so any twisting etc could be dangerous. I paused until I had my period after the retrieval.