If you exercise or play a sport, you’ve probably read’ or heard advice, at one time or another, about how you can breathe better. Here are answers to some frequently asked’ questions on the ‘subject.
Q: What does it mean when you’re out of breath?
- Your lungs capacity to inspire oxygen and expire carbon dioxide is considerably more than adequate, even when you’re exercising at your maximum. During moderate exercise, in fact, you may even “over breathe,” taking in 20 to 25 liters of air (four to five liters of oxygen) for each liter of ‘oxygen consumed by the muscles.
So-called shortness of breath during exercise doesn’t indicate: inadequate air reserves. Your 1ungs aren’t the problem. During an. unaccustomed sprint or a fast volley, it’s your heart that temporarily can’t keep up; it can’t pump enough oxygen ich blood to the muscles and return carbon dioxide rich blood ‘to the lungs efficiently. At this stage muscles bum carbohydrates with little or no oxygen, stepping up the production of byproducts like lactic acid, which can cause muscle pain and fatigue (experienced as a burning sensation). This is called the anaerobic threshold: As your body neutralizes lactic acid, carbon dioxide is produced. You breathe faster to expel the carbon dioxide and you feel “short of breath.”
Trained athletes accumulate Jess lactic acid at a given level of intensity than unfit people do because they’ve raised their anaerobic threshold. That is, they’ve enhanced the capacity of the heart and blood vessels to deliver oxygen to the muscles and removed carbon dioxide. Training also enhances the muscle fibers’ ability to use oxygen. Thus it enables you to work out more intensely before you become short of breath.
Q: Can you improve your performance by training yourself to breathe more efficiently?
A: The fact is that the more regularly you exercise, the more efficient your breathing becomes, Improving your “wind” takes time, but it’s a concomitant of training.
Trained athletes and regular exercisers breathe more efficiently than the rest of us, at least during moderate workouts, because they breathe deeper. In contrast, athletes tend’ to breathe less deeply and less efficiently. The best to improving your wind is simply not to think too much about it, You’ll settle into an easy respiratory pace that suits you. Making too conscious an effort can cause you to “Joose” your breath that is, throw you off your natural breathing rhythm. Q: Is it healthier to breathe through your nose instead of your mouth?
A: Probably though researchers are still at work on this question. In any case, only a few athletes estimates range from less than 8% to 17% manage to breathe only through the nose. You can gulp greater quantities of air through the mouth because the nasal passages are smaller and the nasal labyrinth slows down airflow. But breathing through the nose conditions air more efficiently than breathing through the mouth, filtering out harmful airborne particles and organisms, warming cold air before it reaches the lungs, and humidifying dry air,
Q: When exercise in winter, is it risky to breathe subfreezing air? A: If you’re prone to exercise induced asthma or angina, cold air can precipitate an attack. A lightweight scarf or ski mask pulled loosely in front of your mouth can help warm up incoming air. For healthy individuals the main danger is dehydration, which will hinder the body’s ability to regulate its temperature. When you’re active you lost fluids by sweating and particularly in winter during breathing. The dry winter air has to be warmed and moistened by the respiratory system. As you exhale you lose water, when you “see” your breath, you’re seeing water droplets. You also lose water through urine production, which is stimulated by the cold. So make sure you drink plenty of nonalcoholic beverages when exercising in winter and throughout the year.
Article extracted from this publication >> May 5, 1989
