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Lung problems/asthma

 
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Hibbs
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PostPosted: Mon Sep 13, 2010 10:18 am    Post subject: Lung problems/asthma Reply with quote

Does anyone have any tips on how to improve lung capacity/performance over winter? Running is out due to my knees, so would the cross-trainer at the gym be as good?

Any other general tips on how to improve lung performance or reduce asthma effects would be appreciated... I don't find the inhalers provided by the NHS are any good and my lungs feel in a pretty bad state at the moment, I have no VO2 max capacity whatsoever.

Cheers.
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mattr
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PostPosted: Mon Sep 13, 2010 10:33 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

swimming.

when i swam (lots) my asthma attacks became extremely few and far between. From maybe a couple a month, down to once or twice a year.
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Hibbs
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PostPosted: Mon Sep 13, 2010 11:07 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks Matt. A bit odd, seeing as you hardely breathe when swimming! I've a bit of a phobia about public pools after seeing a used tampon sitting on the floor of the pool the last time I went. I've since moved though so might check out how clean the one here is.

Do you find you are susceptible to chest infections during winter too? If so, how do you minimise those?
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mattr
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PostPosted: Mon Sep 13, 2010 11:10 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hibbs wrote:
Thanks Matt. A bit odd, seeing as you hardely breathe when swimming! I've a bit of a phobia about public pools after seeing a used tampon sitting on the floor of the pool the last time I went. I've since moved though so might check out how clean the one here is.

Do you find you are susceptible to chest infections during winter too? If so, how do you minimise those?
erm, you breathe lots during swimming. Or you suffocate.
Its just controlled and to a pattern, seemed to help strenghten things up.

And in the winter i just dress warmly and avoid plague pits (kids)
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Daphne Brackett
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PostPosted: Mon Sep 13, 2010 9:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Anything that requires you to control your breathing will help improve asthma. My son improved when he did a lot of swimming, my daughter never had any problem until she stopped her ballet classes. Others I know have been helped by singing or playing wind instruments.

You could try Yoga if swimming is an issue. Many people do not breathe fully and deeply and it takes some practice to do it without thinking about it but can be done. I can lower my heart rate by a bout 5 beats a minute fairly rapidly just by slowing and controlling my breath, it also helps with concentration as it is essentially a form of meditation.
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eastway82
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PostPosted: Thu Sep 16, 2010 1:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

mattr wrote:
erm, you breathe lots during swimming. Or you suffocate.
Its just controlled and to a pattern, seemed to help strenghten things up.

And in the winter i just dress warmly and avoid plague pits (kids)


+1 on the swimming.
I find I'm more susceptible to exercise induced asthma:
1: in cold dry air
2: if I don't warm up properly

Helps to keep my chest/neck warm - fleece neck-warmer pulled up over my mouth/nose looks daft but helps a lot. Otherwise the biggest difference has been a Foradil/formoterol inhaler (the kind that spins a plastic capsule of powder as you breathe it in) used just before exercise. You'll need a TUE if you're racing though as it's on the banned list.
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Hibbs
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PostPosted: Fri Sep 17, 2010 11:09 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

eastway82 wrote:


+1 on the swimming.
I find I'm more susceptible to exercise induced asthma:
1: in cold dry air
2: if I don't warm up properly

Helps to keep my chest/neck warm - fleece neck-warmer pulled up over my mouth/nose looks daft but helps a lot. Otherwise the biggest difference has been a Foradil/formoterol inhaler (the kind that spins a plastic capsule of powder as you breathe it in) used just before exercise. You'll need a TUE if you're racing though as it's on the banned list.


That's interesting, I'll look into the Foradil inhaler. Do you use that alongside the Seretide inhaler?

I used to pull the neckwarmers up but tried using those pollution masks at the end of last winter and they worked brilliantly at keeping warm air to breathe.
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eastway82
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PostPosted: Mon Sep 20, 2010 9:20 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hibbs wrote:
I'll look into the Foradil inhaler. Do you use that alongside the Seretide inhaler?



No, just the Foradil one and only before exercise. It's a preventative thing, not to treat syptoms once they've already appeared.
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pete1001
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PostPosted: Mon Sep 20, 2010 9:42 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

eastway82 wrote:
mattr wrote:
erm, you breathe lots during swimming. Or you suffocate.
Its just controlled and to a pattern, seemed to help strenghten things up.

And in the winter i just dress warmly and avoid plague pits (kids)


+1 on the swimming.
I find I'm more susceptible to exercise induced asthma:
1: in cold dry air
2: if I don't warm up properly

Helps to keep my chest/neck warm - fleece neck-warmer pulled up over my mouth/nose looks daft but helps a lot. Otherwise the biggest difference has been a Foradil/formoterol inhaler (the kind that spins a plastic capsule of powder as you breathe it in) used just before exercise. You'll need a TUE if you're racing though as it's on the banned list.


+1 I often find it takes up to an hour before I feel anywhere like good
Strong wind makes it worse too, must be 'cos you're fighting for every breath. Olbas oil has helped me, on your *CENSORED* the night before a race and all over your chest and back during. A warm drink in your bottle to get you started on cold days can be good too
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pete1001
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PostPosted: Mon Sep 20, 2010 9:44 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

why is pil-low on the censored list? Laughing
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PostPosted: Mon Sep 20, 2010 12:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Daphne Brackett wrote:
Anything that requires you to control your breathing will help improve asthma. My son improved when he did a lot of swimming, my daughter never had any problem until she stopped her ballet classes. Others I know have been helped by singing or playing wind instruments.

You could try Yoga if swimming is an issue. Many people do not breathe fully and deeply and it takes some practice to do it without thinking about it but can be done. I can lower my heart rate by a bout 5 beats a minute fairly rapidly just by slowing and controlling my breath, it also helps with concentration as it is essentially a form of meditation.


rowing mate.easy to control breathing as well (exhale on drive, inhale on recovery). swimming also excellent for control/strengthening of chest& breathing muscles.
i have asthma since very young & cycling aerobic fitness made it better as i got fitter. i had no problems when i was rowing at all & now started mountain bike racing and also had no issues. funnily enough my mrs was a rower & struggled with her breathing until she started cycling then it got better.

have you tried one of the breathing trainers (powerbreathe etc)?
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olamba
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PostPosted: Tue Sep 21, 2010 12:08 pm    Post subject: Re: Lung problems/asthma Reply with quote

Hibbs wrote:
reduce asthma effects would be appreciated...

Cheers.


As a matter of interest, did you have any breathing problems with the large fields of r-apeseed in your area? Seems to be more & more in our region.
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Last edited by olamba on Thu Sep 23, 2010 9:37 am; edited 1 time in total
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Hibbs
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PostPosted: Wed Sep 22, 2010 3:37 pm    Post subject: Re: Lung problems/asthma Reply with quote

olamba wrote:
Hibbs wrote:
reduce asthma effects would be appreciated...

Cheers.


As a matter of interest, did you have any bretahing problems with the large fields of r-apeseed in your area? Seems to be more & more in our region.


Oh yeah, big time. I might try those legal anti-histamines to see if they help next year, but in any event i'm organising next season so that I will have a mid-season break in the Alps visiting the Mrs's family during r-apeseed season as training/racing here is likely to be futile.
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eastway82
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PostPosted: Fri Oct 01, 2010 11:57 am    Post subject: Re: Lung problems/asthma Reply with quote

Hibbs wrote:
olamba wrote:
Hibbs wrote:
reduce asthma effects would be appreciated...

Cheers.


As a matter of interest, did you have any bretahing problems with the large fields of r-apeseed in your area? Seems to be more & more in our region.


Oh yeah, big time. I might try those legal anti-histamines to see if they help next year, but in any event i'm organising next season so that I will have a mid-season break in the Alps visiting the Mrs's family during r-apeseed season as training/racing here is likely to be futile.



That stuff is absolutely horrible you can feel it coating the back of your throat as you ride by... Grew up with the stufff in Suffolk, thought I'd put it behind me when I moved to France but it's getting more and more common here as well.
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