Men: extreme endurance exercise is unhealthy for your hormones

While a sedentary lifestyle is bad news for hormone health, extreme exercise habits – lots of lengthy cycles, swims or runs without adequate recovery and refuelling – will take their toll on male hormones. “In men who obsessively maintain a high training load that is not balanced by sufficient sleep and good nutrition there can be suppression of the control centre of the male hormone network,” Keay says. “In an attempt to save energy, the body shuts down processes that are less essential, including reproduction and fertility.”