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Trouble Breathing When Exercising

asthma breathing exercise muscles

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#1 Mind

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Posted 23 February 2015 - 09:07 PM


Because I am too lazy to investigate myself for a couple of hours and because you guys are so smart, I thought I would post here about exercising and breathing.

 

Just in the last week or so, I have had trouble breathing while exercising. I am wondering if I have hit my VOmax for my age.

 

Background:

 

I won an charity auction item for a gym membership for a few months, so I started exercising during the winter. It is basically a high intensity routine and I vary it from upper body to lower body. A lot of complex movements/exercise. I have put on about 10 to 15 pounds of muscle in the last 2.5 months. I am pretty much at the top of my normal weight lifting plateau. Much more weight and my joints might not cooperate.

 

Feel quite well. Don't have any breathing problems outside of the gym, although I did have some minor asthma about 3 to 4 years back for which I got an inhaler, but the real solution was to have cleaner indoor air. Dust and cat hair build-up had caused it for the most part.

 

Why I think I might be hitting my VOmax is that I start my gym session with 10 minutes on an elliptical machine. Started a couple months ago getting 100 calories in 10 minutes. Today I ran it at max and it calculated 224 calories in 10 minutes, after which I couldn't catch my breath. Just thinking I might have built up too much muscle for the oxygen carrying capacity of my old and decrepit body. It seems the breathing trouble coincided with my burning more than 200 calories on the elliptical in 10 minutes (just in the last 3 or 4 sessions).

 

If I don't do much cardio, then the breathing is fine, no matter how heavy I lift. Running/jogging does not produce problems. I like the high intensity combination of the short cardio and lifting, but I think I might have to change it. Just can't catch my breath. Just wondering if anyone else has experienced anything similar.



#2 12 String

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Posted 23 February 2015 - 11:31 PM

 

Why I think I might be hitting my VOmax is that I start my gym session with 10 minutes on an elliptical machine. Started a couple months ago getting 100 calories in 10 minutes. Today I ran it at max and it calculated 224 calories in 10 minutes, after which I couldn't catch my breath. Just thinking I might have built up too much muscle for the oxygen carrying capacity of my old and decrepit body. It seems the breathing trouble coincided with my burning more than 200 calories on the elliptical in 10 minutes (just in the last 3 or 4 sessions).

I noticed the same thing after I was prescribed something that lowered my max.heart rate: as you describe, extreme gasping after short term efforts. While your 10 minutes is mostly aerobic there could be something about the additional muscle demanding more AFTER the exercise is over. Muscles do require their oxygen eventually. 

Have you checked your pulse? It might not be high enough. I don't know how to fix that other than not taking beta-blockers or the like.

It's a weird feeling for sure. First time it happened I thought I was going to die.



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#3 sensei

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Posted 24 February 2015 - 05:32 PM

Exercise induced asthma.

 

"Exercised-induced asthma is a narrowing of the airways in the lungs that is triggered by strenuous exercise. It causes shortness of breath, wheezing, coughing and other symptoms during or after exercise.

The preferred term for this condition is exercise-induced bronchoconstriction (brong-koh-kun-STRIK-shun). This term is more accurate because the exercise induces narrowing of airways (bronchoconstriction) but is not the root cause of asthma. "

 

http://www.mayoclini...on/con-20033156


Edited by sensei, 24 February 2015 - 05:34 PM.

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#4 Mind

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Posted 24 February 2015 - 10:00 PM

Thanks for the responses. I knew you were smart. It definitely seems like exercise induced bronchoconstriction. Dammit. My body is falling apart. I am getting old. This never happened before...Arggg!. Okay, I exaggerate, but it is a little disconcerting.



#5 johnross47

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Posted 25 February 2015 - 08:42 PM

Similar gulping for air symptoms were the first sign of mitral regurgitation for me.



#6 Mind

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Posted 26 February 2015 - 09:32 PM

Did a little less cardio over the last couple of days, definitely helped. The Mayo site says dry air can aggravate this type of bronchoconstriction. It has definitely been very dry around here lately.



#7 cani!

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Posted 16 March 2015 - 03:49 PM

How long does it take before you catch your breath? Do you monitor your heart rate? Do you feel muscle pain when you have trouble breathing?

 

Maybe you just need to give it time. Exercising hard for 10 minutes is anaerobic in nature and you have to breath harder to compensate for the oxygen debt you've created. If it takes you longer than say, 2 minutes to catch your breath and you stay at that level for 2-3 weeks, than it is possible you have an issue.

 

When training Evander Holyfield for his match against Buster Douglas, Dr. Fred Hatfield noticed something similar: even while being in great cardio vascular shape, the athletes struggled to catch his breath when doing 2-3 minutes interval. Different energy pathways...

 



#8 Mind

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Posted 16 March 2015 - 09:16 PM

Like an idiot, I ramped-up my 10 minute cardio blast right before the end of my gym membership. End up getting 240 calories in 10 minutes. Did notice a little of the breathing trouble. but it was not as bad as before. If I rested for a minute or so, it would get better, but due to the high intensity nature of my work-out, the trouble would stick around (at least a minimal level) through the full 30 to 45 minutes. If I rest more than a minute between sets, then it would almost go away entirely.



#9 niner

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Posted 16 March 2015 - 10:01 PM

Like an idiot, I ramped-up my 10 minute cardio blast right before the end of my gym membership. End up getting 240 calories in 10 minutes. Did notice a little of the breathing trouble. but it was not as bad as before. If I rested for a minute or so, it would get better, but due to the high intensity nature of my work-out, the trouble would stick around (at least a minimal level) through the full 30 to 45 minutes. If I rest more than a minute between sets, then it would almost go away entirely.

 

It sounds like you are just pushing too hard given your current fitness level.  Maybe you could spring for the gym membership (if you like it) and use a more gradual approach.  You could try doing the cardio section after lifting, instead of before it.  That's supposedly better, although whatever reference once existed for that is lost to the sands of time...  That shifts the breathlessness to the end of the workout, when you could chill in the sauna or shower.



#10 cani!

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Posted 17 March 2015 - 04:27 PM

Yup, it seems like you have trouble getting rid of excess waste and pushing oxygen back in your muscles at the end of your cardio. You might be pushing it too far.

 

Try doing your intervalls at the end of your workout. Or, you could try some Tabata intervalls to get your glycolitic energy system more efficient.

 

 



#11 Zakariah

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Posted 18 March 2015 - 11:17 PM

If you have been pushing yourself to the extreme for an elongated period of time without the right amount of nutrition, your body will certainly grow intolerant (i.e. asthma, joint pain, day-time fatigue)

 

If I were you, i'd look into my:

 

* Nutrient profile (What nutrients you're getting from your food each day)

* Vitamin and mineral profile (If you're deficient in any for the calories that you're burning)

* Thyroid levels (If they're low, it could be an indication of CNS breakdown)

* Nasal cavity (Can you breath out of both nostrils?)

 

For example - My heart would beat at an incredibly fast pace while I was working out, I started taking magnesium and my heart began to regulate itself normally again

Another example - I was diagnosed with vasomotor rhinitis (Sometimes I feel like I can't breath), and they told me to take a permanent prescription nasal spray - Instead I decided to put some hydrogen peroxide / water mixture into my nasal cavity a few times within a month, alongside a nasal spray product that has saline and xylitol, and my vasomotor rhinitis is almost completely gone. - (What i'm trying to say is that the culprit was bacteria within my nasal cavity that caused the issue)



#12 Multivitz

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Posted 16 December 2015 - 02:28 PM

Heres a tip for you. Silica, start taking it, you'll see what I mean! It works well at storing oxygen with vitamin E.
Silica removes stubon heavy metals, is part of the intracellular protien matrix that stretches, especially in the lungs. You'll get younger if your diet can support your demands!
I discovered a reflex reaction of the lungs, let me explain. Breath out, quite alot, then hold it like you are holding your breath. Now try to breath in with your diaphragm and chest. Only make one good effort at a time, then gasp for air calmly, you'll feel the Brochioles open up with successive breaths. I can make one cough if theres mucous about, but L-Cystine/zinc/B12/Selenium/Molybdenum/Omega oils sort out stubbon mucous.
Omega A oils stop the blood platelets clumbing up in cold weather and causing pain from localised clotting, reduces lung freeze.
I totally agree with Zak but the Silica rout works everytime. Its deficiencey is shown to cause a multitude of ailments that drugs alleviate but seldom cure, we adapt an are told we are aging:(

Edited by Multivitz, 16 December 2015 - 02:36 PM.


#13 Mind

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Posted 17 December 2015 - 06:32 PM

Thanks again for the advice everyone. Really appreciate it.

 

It does seem to be exercise induced bronchorestriction, however I am not completely ruling out mitral regurgitation.

 

Haven't had much trouble in the last few months because gardening and landscaping (while very good exercise) don't push me toward my VOmax. When I go for a long jog, I do get a little bit of the restriction effect.



#14 niner

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Posted 18 December 2015 - 04:34 AM

Mind, I concur with your call on exercise-induced asthma.  I doubt it's a heart issue, but a doctor could rule it out.  Although you may never have had allergies as a kid, anyone who is constantly exposed to a potent antigen stands a good chance of developing an allergy to it.  After living with cats in the house for many years, I developed an allergy to cat dander.  You may have had the same experience.  It's usually allergy-induced lung inflammation that sets you up for cases of mild adult-onset asthma like this.   Before I started treating my allergies, I had a touch of exercise-induced asthma.  There are a lot of things you can do-- You could get a cheap non-drowsy antihistamine; Costco has generic Claritin for next to nothing.  I'd recommend a visit to an allergist for an airflow test (spirometry-- you blow into a flow meter) and a skin test for common allergens.  From that you can figure out if you need any treatment, and if so, what.  Allergy shots are a common fix for antigens that you can't avoid.   I get shots every two weeks, which is a hassle, but I occasionally run into my local celebrity weatherman there, who has the same allergist.  So that's a meteorological connection you might relate to.  If you have a lot of airway inflammation, inhaled steroids are common, but you may not need them. 



#15 proileri

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Posted 20 December 2015 - 08:26 AM

If you do an aerobic exercise in the beginning of your gym session, remember that it takes something like 15-20 minutes just to get your body warmed up properly. I usually do 10-15 minutes on a treadmill both at the start and end of each gym session, and there is a big difference. During the end session my heart rate goes up easier, and intervals are not as taxing - it feels like muscle circulation and energy production are in optimal state.

 

I've also experienced a few exercise/cold-induced asthma attacks when I was younger, and there was always a very clear feeling of obstructed airways and wheezing even when at rest, and it took a long while to clear. Hence, I doubt it's a proper asthma attack, unless you can clearly feel such symptoms for 10-15 minutes after stopping. Of course, there could be slight irritation or something going on. On the other hand, if it is bronchoconstriction, it would be solved by taking a shot from an inhaler before the exercise - your doctor would probably prescribe you one just to try it out, if you asked.           


Edited by proileri, 20 December 2015 - 08:30 AM.


#16 Multivitz

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Posted 20 December 2015 - 01:23 PM

So no one here has tried a Silica supplement or have read about the guy who got a Nobel prize for studying Silica. No, thought as much, just a bunch of drug addicts at the moment eh?
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#17 Manwhoworkstoomuch!

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Posted 17 August 2016 - 10:14 AM

Thanks for the responses. I knew you were smart. It definitely seems like exercise induced bronchoconstriction. Dammit. My body is falling apart. I am getting old. This never happened before...Arggg!. Okay, I exaggerate, but it is a little disconcerting.

 

If you have trouble breathing then you are not responding well to your medication. Asthma has nothing to do with age! But it could also be that you are not relaxed but tense. When I was stressed I used to breathe very tightly. Now when I work out it actually feels like I don't breathe as much, but slower and less but take the air down in to my lungs.







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