I have asthma and I usually have minimal problems training below threshold, but I would really like to see more improvement. The problem is that I have trouble with efforts at and above my FTP/LT triggering my asthma to the point where I wheeze and rattle and my inhaler doesn’t do much. I was doing a Trainer Road workout the other morning and it was one of the ones with long intervals at FTP. I couldn’t even get past the 2nd interval before my effort dropped off considerably because I was wheezing so hard. There has to be a better training strategy for pushing the pace but still managing the asthma. Does anyone know of any solid references that address strategies for improving speed with asthma? Most of what I’ve found is articles about why exercise is good for asthmatics, or “don’t worry, you can still exercise!” but nothing specifically addressing training techniques.
For example, should I limit my interval time at threshold and allow for more recovery between intervals? Should I scrap the concerted speedwork and just add shorter threshold/above threshold efforts at the end of other runs/rides?
The majority of my FTP gains in the winter after I got my power meter were almost purely done using sweet spot workouts.
I’d work up to 2x20 then retest when that got easy. After a fresh FTP test, 2x10 would be much harder than the previous 2x20.
I do sweet spot as defined in training and racing with a power meter book, 85% FTP.
The reason is, whenever I do over threshold work in the winter, combined with a newborn baby and lack of sleep, along with a 4 year old in preschool, I would get a cold, every time.
However, it does not sound like your asthma is well controlled.
Are you just on an albuterol inhaler, 2 puffs as needed?
I would re-check with your pulmonologist. Retest for EIB with Pre-Post exercise spirometry. Make sure you’re using your inhaler appropriately and change / add meds if needed.
As always a good warm-up is needed for any asthmatic.
You don’t have to train above or at threshold to raise your threshold.
But, do you have a doctor, and is he or she aware that your asthma is not under control?
There may be different medications you can take that prevent this from happening. The best approach is talk to you doctor and see if you can get your asthma under control. A once/twice a day anti-inflammatory inhaler or something more aggressive like Advair which has an anti inflammatory and a bronchial dilator may allow you to work at any intensity without a problem.
I have asthma and I usually have minimal problems training below threshold, but I would really like to see more improvement. The problem is that I have trouble with efforts at and above my FTP/LT triggering my asthma to the point where I wheeze and rattle and my inhaler doesn’t do much. I was doing a Trainer Road workout the other morning and it was one of the ones with long intervals at FTP. I couldn’t even get past the 2nd interval before my effort dropped off considerably because I was wheezing so hard. There has to be a better training strategy for pushing the pace but still managing the asthma. Does anyone know of any solid references that address strategies for improving speed with asthma? Most of what I’ve found is articles about why exercise is good for asthmatics, or “don’t worry, you can still exercise!” but nothing specifically addressing training techniques.
For example, should I limit my interval time at threshold and allow for more recovery between intervals? Should I scrap the concerted speedwork and just add shorter threshold/above threshold efforts at the end of other runs/rides?
I have been dealing with this for a year and a half.
Lots of factors possibly involved.
I can’t do trainer rides in groups, it gets so hot that the wheezing starts earlier and the spasms are much harder. I now do all my trainer rides at home and it’s fine. I also add an extra 10 minutes warmup for stronger TR workouts.
Medication. I have had my medication changed/increased several times. I am taking Symbicort , 2 puffs, twice a day, then Oxeze before workouts and as a rescue inhaler. Yesterday I went to my asthma doctor who prescribed Spiriva as well and also an antibiotic for a month, foget the name, it’s apparently especially for liung inflammation. So you might want to check on the inflammation issues.
Overall, my symptoms have improved quite a bit, so we shall see what these new medications do.
It turns out that what I thought was asthma worsening was in fact a damaged resistance unit on my trainer, and I can see a huge difference with the new unit I could barely do 20 minutes at sweet spot with the old one, did 5 X 20 easily last week with the new unit.
So, like others here have said, it seems that your asthma might not be controlled.
Agree with others, it doesn’t sound like your asthma is properly controlled. What you describe happened to me when I misunderstood my doctors’ instruction when adding in Salmeterol. We’d decided to try a long acting beta agonist in addition to the corticosteroid I was already on (Beclamethasone - Clenil), I assumed wrongly that it was a replacement for the preventer so stopped taking the steroid. I was generally ok but whenever I played football the above threshold efforts would leave me gasping and I pretty much had to stop. Once I added the Clenil back in, back to normal after a couple of weeks.
I do still take my Salbutamol before exercise, but rarely if ever find myself needing it even in short fell races or on the velodrome. When I first took up triathlon I was anxious about needing my inhaler in the swim, and used to carry it on the run, but in practice I’ve never needed it.
Also as above, sweet spot could be your friend. But I’d address the asthma, that doesn’t sound right. Are you on a glucocorticoid or other preventer?
Yes. Also, make sure you tell them in advance of your EIA test that you are well-trained. They see a lot of emphysema patients who do 5 minutes on the bike or treadmill, not the 20 minutes you might do. You have to go to the red-line in some cases, assuming no other trigger is present. I have asthma and just finished the test. Get your heart rate up very high during the test. I also suspect you should be on a corticosteroid. Do you have a pulmonologist or are you getting albuterol from your Primary? See a pulmo, if you haven’t. Getting the right meds will keep you going strong. But, don’t listen to anything anyone on this forum says other than GET TO A PULMO. No one here slept at a Holiday Inn Express last night…
I agree, make sure you get the right medical advice from a real expert. When I first started having asthma attacks they used to start when I would go for a run (I was totally out of shape and overweight, and trying to do something about it) and so my asthma started. For a while I was using a rescue inhaler only, but that was not sufficient so my doctor gave me QVAR to use on a daily basis. That has made an incredible impact for me, I have zero problems except when a prescription runs out and I’m slow to get a new inhaler.
Interesting. I guess I had always assumed that it was as controlled as it could be. I take Xopenex (2 puffs before exercise) and Singulair once a day. I have tried Advair, Flovent, and Foradil without much change. The Advair also made me gain weight. Right now I actually don’t have a pulmonologist since I never got a referral when I moved. My GP does an annual PFT and prescribes the medications and leaves it at that. I never complained about the lack of a specialist after I moved because historically the specialist has just done the same thing the GP is now doing. My last pulmonologist was in Florida and he had a lot of old patients on O2 and in wheelchairs, so I was considered one of his healthier patients…complaining that I wheeze during really hard run/bike efforts was always kind of met with a “well, duh.” Also, I’m in the military and asthma is disqualifying if it’s reported as not under control, so I never made too much noise about the lingering problems. Maybe it’s time to get another referral.
One thing to keep in mind with Advair/Flovent type medications is it takes a few weeks to start working. So if you didn’t try them for a good month, might be worth trying again.
My pulmo is a young, fit guy who also sees a lot of old emphysema patients, but he’s very tuned into my goals and getting it right. I’ve had 4 pulmos and two of them have been all but worthless. Until I found a woman pulmo at the VA I was certain I was going to have to stop racing. My first pulmo diagnosed me with emphysema, incorrectly! I found that hard to believe as a lifelong non-smoker (except for those joints I smoked with Clinton in the '60’s). It turns out I had two extremely small spots on my lungs and had an almost 5.0 FEV1. Even at 71 I have a 4.34 FEV1. All my pulmonary function tests, now, on corticosteroids, on a good day with no triggers ( ) are over 110% of predicted normal. As an endurance athlete, you should have strong numbers too if your asthma is well-controlled. Get a pulmo who is still excited about pulmonology and can relate to a jock. This criterion is true for many medical specialties, IMHO again. As a caveat I would note that having asthma means you ARE going to have bad days, even on well controlled asthma. Some triggers are just too strong and aren’t always avoided. Know your triggers and those days will be fewer.
Something else. Being just 10 pounds overweight is going to effect your breathing if you are an asthmatic, IMHO. I put on 10 pounds after IM Florida and I was in agony for a month. Fortunately, I lost 5 pounds already now that I’m back to training regularly and am breathing better. Even so, I’ve found that being UNDER race weight is best for my breathing. For me, at 6’, that is about 158 lbs. I normally race around 162, however because it’s just so hard going lower as I have some muscle in the upper body (utterly useless for triathlon, except for lifting the beer can).
I’m not overweight (5’6", 137, female), although I’m up a few lbs from my typical offseason weight because I’ve put on some muscle while training for IMTX. I could stand to drop a lb or 2 to be at my leanest, but it’s not making that much of a difference right now. I honestly had no idea an asthmatic could perform at a higher level without wheezing…I just assumed there would always be a threshold at which the asthma would kick in, and raising that threshold was the only way to get faster.
You know, there has to be a market out there for a website that refers athletes to “athlete-minded” doctors. They don’t have to be athletes themselves, but there has to be some understanding of the physical demands of athletics. There are plenty of sites where you can rate your doctors, but this would be a great addition to that information. I can tell you some stories of things doctors have said to me that reveal exactly how clueless they are about athletes in general. For example, I had one GP tell me “well, your ankle isn’t broken so just take some motrin and it won’t hurt as much when you run.” Um, thanks…problem solved?
Look into the Butenyko (sp?) technique and chronic hyperventilation.
For years I had bad asthma, to the tune of using an inhaler up to 10 times an hour during a workout. Mixing up my medications to find what works, eliminating allergens in my house, and breathing techniques have eliminated about 95% of my issues.
I still tape my mouth shut at night, do controlled breathing exercises, and force myself to only breathe out of my mouth once my HR goes over 150. It sounds counter intuitive but for me breathing less helped my asthma. Some asthmatics breathe in 5x more air than the average person, causing the lungs to the constrict to regulate levels. That was my issue and it sounds like witch doctor science but it worked.
You know, there has to be a market out there for a website that refers athletes to “athlete-minded” doctors. They don’t have to be athletes themselves, but there has to be some understanding of the physical demands of athletics. There are plenty of sites where you can rate your doctors, but this would be a great addition to that information. I can tell you some stories of things doctors have said to me that reveal exactly how clueless they are about athletes in general. For example, I had one GP tell me “well, your ankle isn’t broken so just take some motrin and it won’t hurt as much when you run.” Um, thanks…problem solved?
This, a hundred times over. Doctors have no idea how to be helpful to me. I’m not overweight, I eat well, avoid prescription medicine and I actually will follow advice. They don’t know what to make of it. In all fairness I think they spend a lot of time seeing people in compromised health situations and while I might think it would be an interesting relief to advise someone who is enviably fit, they may regard my interest in getting 2% fitter as unimportant since I’m already outside the danger zones.
I do however get a kick out of the reaction from nurses when taking the pulse and blood pressure.
I do however get a kick out of the reaction from nurses when taking the pulse and blood pressure.
Ahhh… the real moment of pride. Relaxing and getting the HR under 45 or even 40bpm. Its’ funny, if I’m really sick and it’s like 70bpm, I have to TELL then that it’s high otherwise they think it’s normal.
I do however get a kick out of the reaction from nurses when taking the pulse and blood pressure.
Ahhh… the real moment of pride. Relaxing and getting the HR under 45 or even 40bpm. Its’ funny, if I’m really sick and it’s like 70bpm, I have to TELL then that it’s high otherwise they think it’s normal.
It’s all fun and games until you come out of surgery and get woken up every 15 minutes by the alarm on your vitals monitor because your HR is “too low”.
Yes, a lot of clueless doctors, or maybe we are obsessive compulsive? Er, no that couldn’t be a problem…
If I were in the military again and were worried about them being concerned about my asthma, I’d get a private pulmo. I realize you probably don’t make a lot of money in the military, but if possible, I’d go that route. Being able to breathe is all it’s cracked up to be, particularly when you are laying down 8 x 400 on 1:45.
Good for you to stay fit. I see so many older NCOs and officers who look like they’d flunk a PT test.
) are over 110% of predicted normal. As an endurance athlete, you should have strong numbers too if your asthma is well-controlled. Get a pulmo who is still excited about pulmonology and can relate to a jock. This criterion is true for many medical specialties, IMHO again. As a caveat I would note that having asthma means you ARE going to have bad days, even on well controlled asthma. Some triggers are just too strong and aren’t always avoided. Know your triggers and those days will be fewer.