breathing while riding hard

[Climb01742]

while riding in italy, i had some chances to ride some long steep climbs; not as long as mt washington but every bit as steep. while riding them, i was reminded of something i do that ain't ideal:

when i'm at my max on a climb, i breathe in short, shallow, rapid breaths. when i try to take deeper, less rapid breaths, i begin to feel short of breath.

while doing hard intervals on flat or rolling terrain, i can control my breathing more easily. but when i max on a climb, i fall into the bad habit of short, shallow and rapid. any advice on how to deepen and modulate breathing while at your max? i figure unless i practice it now, before MW, i'll just fall back into bad habits. thanks!

[William]

while riding in italy, i had some chances to ride some long steep climbs; not as long as mt washington but every bit as steep. while riding them, i was reminded of something i do that ain't ideal:

when i'm at my max on a climb, i breathe in short, shallow, rapid breaths. when i try to take deeper, less rapid breaths, i begin to feel short of breath.

while doing hard intervals on flat or rolling terrain, i can control my breathing more easily. but when i max on a climb, i fall into the bad habit of short, shallow and rapid. any advice on how to deepen and modulate breathing while at your max? i figure unless i practice it now, before MW, i'll just fall back into bad habits. thanks!

This has worked for me and others in cycling, crew, and combative arts: Just concentrate on a Forcefull exhale. Your body will automatically breathe back in. It will keep you from breathing too shallow, and will keep your breathing under control.

atmo

William

[swoop]

not to get all yoda like but there are some secrets to share here about playing with your breathing. there's more to be done than just trying to breathe deep. you can actually play with your breathing a little.
three short inhallations lung expanding, pause and one very long lung emptying exhale. one long inhallation and 4 short exhales until your lungs are empty. repeat ad naseum when under pressure.

i know it sounds wrong.. but... it can change the way you perceive whether or not you are suffering.

[72gmc]

I read the same advice long ago re: breathing out completely while climbing. Alexi Grewal was the source.

[William]

I read the same advice long ago re: breathing out completely while climbing. Alexi Grewal was the source.

I've been called a freight train while climbing...could be due to my breathing style...or could be because they're shocked to have a 260 pound dude passing them up the hill. ;)


William

[BoulderGeek]

when i'm at my max on a climb, i breathe in short, shallow, rapid breaths. when i try to take deeper, less rapid breaths, i begin to feel short of breath.


I found myself doing this in the swim section of my first triathlon, yesterday.

I got hit in the face with some waves on the air-intake and got a lungful of water more than once. I started to involuntarily panic, and lost my rhythm. I couldn't get a solid stride, and was gasping for short bursts of breath. It was a losing battle.

I had to backstroke to a buoy and get my head together, calm my breathing, and get my forebrain in charge of the lizard hind-brain.

Hyperventilation is some bad juju when you want to move forward.

When I ride, I really try to focus on emptying my lower lung lobes, and filling the lungs completely. When I can taste blood, I know my lungs have stretched appropriately. :confused:

[davids]

My advice is exactly the same - concentrate on breathing out, sharply. You'll inhale naturally, and without effort.

That's like the first piece of cycling technique I ever learned, before I even changed my own flats... I wish I could recall the source.

[jasont]

I don't know if this is advisable but I started it back when I started mountain biking and it helped me: I breathe in a rhythm. In other words, I'll inhale for a two count and exhale for a two count.

[vaxn8r]

I've been called a freight train while climbing...could be due to my breathing style...or could be because they're shocked to have a 260 pound dude passing them up the hill. ;)


William
That would indeed be a frightening sight/sound! I can just imagine though.

I climbed Mount June the other day..have you done that one? The first two miles are like a wall with about 1,500 feet in elevation. I was wishing for something more than a 39x25. A lot of the guys were in 39x23 and one was in a 39x21!! That woulda made me cry right then and there. There were about 12 of us and funny thing, I think 12 individual climbers. You can't speed up and you certainly can't slow down unless you want to get off and walk. Many sections it's even hard to stand up because the road is always wet (picture rain forest) and gravelly. So you sit and slog.....and breath a lot.

[Ginger]

Climb,
I find the breathing techniques listed here work. But if I get working too hard and loose track and find I'm breathing shallow in time with my pedal strokes I hold my breath and skip breathing for a pedal stroke. Doesn't matter if it's on inhale or exhale, it breaks the cycle (as it were) and allows me to be consious of my breathing again.
Try not to run into bugs when you do this because if you held an exhale you WILL breath in deeply on the next breath. Bugs and all. :D
Ginger

[David Kirk]

I have a different something to add..............make sure your face is relaxed. Sounds crazy I know but if your face is all tense and scrunched up it makes it very hard to breathe well. Try it just sitting at your desk (make sure no one's looking!). Tense your face up and try to take a good deep breath. Your neck muscles are tight, your mouth is tight.......not good for exchanging air.

Practice keeping your face calm during hard efforts and your whole being will be more relaxed and efficient.

I was taught this years ago and it serves me well still.

Dave

[swoop]

i'll add to mr. kirk... keep your chin up. literally. you'll breathe better.

[David Kirk]

i'll add to mr. kirk... keep your chin up. literally. you'll breathe better.

And you'll balance better..........it's the whole "Lombardy Technique" thing.

I heart this stuff.

Dave

[ergott]

I have a breathing cadence that is proportional to effort. If find that a steady cadence while breathing is more important the my pedaling cadence. I have practiced many breathing exercised developed from swimmers to musicians. Arnold Jacob's book "Song and Wind" is a real eye opener.

[Tom]

It jams your lungs open.

OK, that's what William said but that's what I think of. It's a sharp exhalation through your mouth where it's closed enough that you sound like an angry deer. It forces the brachiole or broccolis or whatever they are open again. It also resets your breathing cadence.

Relax, too.

OK that's what David Kirk said.

But they're right, because I am too.

[fstrthnu]

When You are going hard "relax". Your legs should be the only muscles in Your whole body that are flexing... face, neck, shoulders should be limp. In turn this will lead to a more focused, rythmic and relaxed breathing patern when riding at LT or above.

No more freebies.

Fstrthnu

[Fixed]

bro breath you live ..no breath you die . simple
cheers words from mikami san on how to breath

[catulle]

OK, that's what William said but that's what I think of. It's a sharp exhalation through your mouth where it's closed enough that you sound like an angry deer. It forces the brachiole or broccolis or whatever they are open again. It also resets your breathing cadence.

I also breath with my broccoli, atmo...

[William]

I also breath with my broccoli, atmo...

HAAAA HAAAA HAAAA HAAAA HAAAAA

<wheeze>

HAAAA HAAAA HAAAA HAAAA HAAAAA

<wheeze>
<wheeze>
<wheeze>


Good one. ;)

[Elefantino]

No one has mentioned belly breathing, so I will. If you look at pro cyclists, it seems many of them have beer guts. They're actually expanding their diaphragms as they breathe in. The easiest way is to stick out your belly when you take a long, slow breath, then pull it in on the exhale.

[ClutchCargo]

I've been called a freight train while climbing...could be due to my breathing style...or could be because they're shocked to have a 260 pound dude passing them up the hill. ;)


William

a Rhode Island hill, is it ?
(elsewhere, I hear they're called "overpasses")

:D

[johnmdesigner]

a marathon friend once told me that when he was really suffering he would close his left eye. This would "shut down" that side of the brain that deals with pain and worry and would allow the "creative immaginative" side to take over. "What happens when that doesn't work?" I asked. "Shut both eyes." was the reply! ;)

[obtuse]

No one has mentioned belly breathing, so I will. If you look at pro cyclists, it seems many of them have beer guts. They're actually expanding their diaphragms as they breathe in. The easiest way is to stick out your belly when you take a long, slow breath, then pull it in on the exhale.


no; they're actually on human growth hormone which as a side effect enlarges the muscles around th gut.

obtuse

[ergott]

No one has mentioned belly breathing, so I will. If you look at pro cyclists, it seems many of them have beer guts. They're actually expanding their diaphragms as they breathe in. The easiest way is to stick out your belly when you take a long, slow breath, then pull it in on the exhale.

The diaphragm muscle is in a dome shape when relaxed. It sits between the lungs and the contents of your abdomen. The act of inhaling is the contraction of the diaphragm muscle creating a vacuum in you chest. Your lungs will expand to equalize the pressure in them. This in turns forces whatever is on your gut to move out of the way. If you continue to contract you diaphragm muscle it will also raise you trunk. A forced exhalation is actually the abdominal muscles contracting. A forced exhale is not necessary if your upper body is relaxed and you are not restricting you air column. The lungs are elastic and will contract on their own. The air column is free enough to get the air out very quickly. Any energy used in forcing the exhale is wasted. If the diaphragm muscle is worked out, it will be strong enough on its own. You will not have to think about it. Here is an exercise/stretch that is great for developing the diaphragm muscle.

The best exercise I've done is to lie down on a weight bench with my head off the edge. This will straighten out you air column. Allow you jaw to drop in a relaxed position. Take a 5-10lb weight and hold it above your head (in line with the bench). The point of the weight is simply to keep your hands above you head. This position will get as much of your body out of the way of the lungs allowing them to expand at their fullest. Take a slow breath in to the count of 15 so that you can no longer take in more air. Let the air out slowly. Do three reps. Wait 5 min and repeat the set three times. In the beginning, you will find yourself taking in more air with each rep.

This does not increase you lung capacity. It allows you to realize the full potential of your lungs. I got this exercise from a competitive swimming article. It is also a very relaxing stretch.

Ben should know all this, he’s a trombone player!

[William]

a Rhode Island hill, is it ?
(elsewhere, I hear they're called "overpasses")

:D

Actually, as Beungood and Molly22 can attest, I've found some hills in Rhode Island. Not long gradual grinders mind you. But moderate, steep one after the other rolling terrain. Southern & Northern RI seem flatter. Not like the climbs in Oregon....where I got the nick name "The Freight Train". ;)


William

[ClutchCargo]

Actually, as Beungood and Molly22 can attest, I've found some hills in Rhode Island. Not long gradual grinders mind you. But moderate, steep one after the other rolling terrain. Southern & Northern RI seem flatter. Not like the climbs in Oregon....where I got the nick name "The Freight Train". ;)


William

Cha boogie !

[William]

Cha boogie !

http://www.ngltc.org/train_depot/images/THOMAS1.JPG


:D ;)

[72gmc]

In addition to full exhales, and staying as loose as I can, I find it helps to simply look around. Take your mind off your legs and the road for a moment. I see so many people suffering while holding a stiff-necked death stare on the road just in front of their wheel... when I take a moment to STOP thinking about all of the things I'm supposed to be doing, it helps me stay relaxed.

[William]

One thing that helps me stay nice and relaxed is occasionally pretending I'm playing the piano, hands on the tops, fingers lightly hitting imaginary keys. Since I'm not actually grabbing the bars, it forces me to be smooth and relaxed. Shoulders loose, arms just resting.

I do it but don't really think about it anymore, except when I see folks with the white-knuckle-death-grip on their bars.


William

[swoop]

One thing that helps me stay nice and relaxed is occasionally pretending I'm playing the piano, hands on the tops, fingers lightly hitting imaginary keys. Since I'm not actually grabbing the bars, it forces me to be smooth and relaxed. Shoulders loose, arms just resting.

I do it but don't really think about it anymore, except when I see folks with the white-knuckle-death-grip on their bars.


William

what keeps me relaxed is imagining that i am little lord fontleroy and that i am going to have a garden party and maybe listen to some nice burle ives music at the top of the climb. i think pretty things and i ask myself, what line would jesus take, the steep but short inside or the long flat outside through the switchback? would he muscle a 53 or delight in his 39? if i were going to make my own cologne would it be fruity or nutty?

and by the time i've answered those questions i've made the climb. try it. it's what all the pros do. oh and while you are doing all of the above... try and put every part of your body ....that you aren't using to go forward.. asleep. if you ride witha heart rate monitor you can watch your pulse drop as you relax and breathe into it. and if you are really committed.. a good few months of serious anorexia will help too.

[William]

what keeps me relaxed is imagining that i am little lord fontleroy and that i am going to have a garden party and maybe listen to some nice burle ives music at the top of the climb. i think pretty things and i ask myself, what line would jesus take, the steep but short inside or the long flat outside through the switchback? would he muscle a 53 or delight in his 39? if i were going to make my own cologne would it be fruity or nutty?

and by the time i've answered those questions i've made the climb. try it. it's what all the pros do. oh and while you are doing all of the above... try and put every part of your body ....that you aren't using to go forward.. asleep. if you ride witha heart rate monitor you can watch your pulse drop as you relax and breathe into it. and if you are really committed.. a good few months of serious anorexia will help too.

All sounds great...except for the colonge part. I'd go slightly spicey myself.



William ;)