Asthma can suck it!

[wyld thang]

Hi! K, I know how this might sound, but...I've always had allergies and asthma, as a kid it was in reaction to hay(though I'd ride horses every chance I got! I didn't care), but it was kept in check pretty much as I played a wind instrument all through school(someone mentioned playing a french horn). WHen I quit and was less active being a new mom, as well as adding in new triggers of living next to a busy road and a house that used a gas furnace it got really bad, I was using an inhaler all day and on pills too. And now besides the allergy induced I got exercise induced too. I did get back into cycling, but was still huffin the inhaler. I HATE being dependent on drugs!!!

About ten years ago though we moved way out into the country, and the clean air really cut down the ongoing hazy feeling. I happened to pick up Dr Andrew Weil's book on asthma which goes into the mechanical angle of it--that we are very sedentary and dont' really BREATHE. I started doing his breathing exercises and got so I could stop an attack by using his technique(basically very similar to playing a wind instrument)--at this point I was down to using an inhaler pre-exercise, no pills. I also learned about HIIT and lactic threshhold heart rate training. I used this with walking, later running.

I learned how much to push--which means work up there near the LTHR, which is HARD, and that pushing really made me breathe deep and open up. No more asthma, I dont' even have an inhaler anymore, and haven't used one in 5 years now. With the asthma I was sick a lot with respitory stuff(including pneumonia) a lot as well, and I haven't been sick, with anything, for 5-6 years.

The HIIT I do about twice a month, HARD, as in I wring myself out COMPLETELY, by sprinting inclines on the treadmill. I did have a chance to test this whole thing since I had a crash last summer busting my tailbone and couldn't put out an effort much above recovery. The exercise asthma did return, nothing I needed an inhaler for tho--just did Weil's breathing techniques. But it wasn't long to get rid of it as I healed and could crank out more effort.

I know this probably sounds like no way, but I've described this to a trainer(mx, and who has used this technique to fix his asthma himself)) and a doc(who is an cycling athlete herself), and they say it's right on. The tricky part is getting a feel for how far to push and when to back off. You do have to work within the wheeze because you're working on the mechanical function, ie you can't use drugs to chemically open airways, but force them to relax and open mechanically by big gobs of pressurized air, and mental relaxing(not letting the anxiety of not breathing take over)--however... disclaimer caveat n all that. I did do this at home on the treadmill so if I needed help it was there(but I never did).

I hope this helps someone! I can't believe the difference, and the freedom from drugs really makes me happy.

PS, back when I was cycling I didn't know about HIIT, LTHR etc, and was probably working at about 80% VO2max, or 90% LTHR. That was not enough to affect the asthma for me. I got results at 85%+ VO2max, 95%+ LTHR.

PPS< good posture and a strong core also really helps breathing too, so focus extra on that too