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jason1
Jun 9, 2004, 6:42 AM
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i've had pretty bad asthma all my life too. but, when i moved out west it just seemed to disappear... no more inhailer. i've heard of people on the west coast going east and the same happening... it seems we become sensitized to the local allergens...
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jonah
Jun 9, 2004, 9:34 AM
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use an inhaler!! when ever you feel your airways are constricting then this is your best option. cold air is actually the only thing that triggers my asthma and so in an alpine environment i'm dependant on using my inhaler but otherwise my fitness is good. everybody has been saying a lot about fitness which is obviously important but many times your asthma may still be triggered by cold air, pollen, animal hair etc etc and so your fitness may not be your problem. so take your inhaler and use it!!
in terms of getting fit though THE BEST training an asthmatic can do is SWIMMING. breathing is more important in swimming than any other sport.
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antigrav
Jun 9, 2004, 10:04 AM
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In reply to: My training right now consists of climbing 3-4 days per week (mostly all on lead and mostly trad so this is mental training), hiking//jogging an average of 20 miles per week (excluding approaches) and I've also developed my own endurance workout that I do at home 2 times per week that consists of 120 pushups, 120 tricep dips, 80 forward leg lunges, 80 backward leg lunges, 120 bicep curls with 7 lbs dumbells, 120 leg extensions each leg, 120 calf raises, 40 shoulder presses with 7lbs weights and 300 abdominal crunches. It may sound a bit excessive but it's about all I can do when the kids are around. And it's a pretty good endurance workout. So I'm strong as hell but just not fast enough. Any chance I get, I get myself up at altitude.
Wow... I'm probably clueless here, but isn't this really a bit over the top? Are you sure you have the surplus of physical and mental energy you need? I consider myself pretty well fit for endurance-and-some-strength kind of trips, but this workout would have killed me off totally...
Personally I would have dropped the endurance workout and jogging, and instead climbed and hiked (with a pack.) But that's just what would fit me, I guess... (But remember also the old saying, you get better at doing exactly what you train for...)
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zenobia
Jun 10, 2004, 2:19 AM
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Great suggestions for the asthma. I have wondered how I'll do at altitude. Can't help being curious. Someone told me that I may do just great. Better than if I smoked. So we'll see. I have given up milk in favor of soy which helped. I also have started using albuterol neb treatments when I'm at home once a day in place of the albuterol MDI. Doc says as young as I am and as long as I may be dealing with this stuff...... its alot easier on my heart to go with the neb for management and the MDI for rescue only or trips. It seems like a good plan. But what about the problem of sitting still while I take the treatment? The ritalin just doesn't seem to cut it. LMAO..... I sit and do hand grip exercises for climbing while I "smoke my peace pipe". :lol:
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bobd1953
Jun 11, 2004, 7:22 PM
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Tracy here is my advice: less time on the internet and more time in the mountains.
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mother_sheep
Jun 11, 2004, 7:32 PM
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In reply to: Tracy here is my advice: less time on the internet and more time in the mountains.
For a single mom with a career, I think I'm doing quite well with that.
But thanks for your concern. :roll:
I'm going back to taking Albuterol. I've also decided to see a RT. If neither one of these helps me, I'll just have to deal with it. After all, I've been dealing with it my WHOLE life. This is good compared to the way it used to be. I could barely walk up the stairs in my house for the first 20 or so years of my life. And there was only 14 stairs!!!
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cryder
Jun 11, 2004, 7:50 PM
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Hey Tracy,
I noticed something this morning on my training loop and thought I would share with you. I hike about 6 miles through some steep hills every am., and am at the point were I increase my difficulty by adding wieght (cant add time). I was cruzing with about 75 pounds today, and notice a HUGE impact on my breathing because of the wieght. I felt ok, was not even close to going anaerobic, but just could not breath. So I looked at my pack, and the extra wieght changed the way the frame aligns, narrowing at the shoulders... and restricting my airflow triggering a asthmatic reaction by me. I made some adjustments (I have a carbon fiber load limiter - thank you Osprey) and it made huge difference.
Is it possible you might be restricted by the extrawieght on game day in a similar fashion? Your pack fit ok with the extra wieght? Just curious if those might be factors.
On another performance note, you ever consider using whats known as "overloading" or "overdistance" training? I use it (a 75 lb ruck makes a 35lb alpine load seem like a dream) and have had good results... other then the occaisional lack of oxygen. :wink:
- n -
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mother_sheep
Jun 11, 2004, 8:02 PM
Post #33 of 35
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In reply to: Hey Tracy, I noticed something this morning on my training loop and thought I would share with you. I hike about 6 miles through some steep hills every am., and am at the point were I increase my difficulty by adding wieght (cant add time). I was cruzing with about 75 pounds today, and notice a HUGE impact on my breathing because of the wieght. I felt ok, was not even close to going anaerobic, but just could not breath. So I looked at my pack, and the extra wieght changed the way the frame aligns, narrowing at the shoulders... and restricting my airflow triggering a asthmatic reaction by me. I made some adjustments (I have a carbon fiber load limiter - thank you Osprey) and it made huge difference. Is it possible you might be restricted by the extrawieght on game day in a similar fashion? Your pack fit ok with the extra wieght? Just curious if those might be factors. On another performance note, you ever consider using whats known as "overloading" or "overdistance" training? I use it (a 75 lb ruck makes a 35lb alpine load seem like a dream) and have had good results... other then the occaisional lack of oxygen. :wink: - n -
I think this is a factor for sure. Last week I went for a night slog up a 12k' peek. Since I was going by myself, I decided to load my pack up and take my time. My guess is the weight was about 40 lbs. I hiked, snowshoed, scrambled up to the summit. Normally when I hike above treeline, I'm carrying a fraction of that weight. I was breathing pretty heavy this time. Once I got up to 11k', it was getting dark and I didn't want to get lost and I wanted to summit, so for the sake of time, I ditched the pack. Sure enough, I didn't have nearly as difficult time breathing. My breathing leveled out a bit and I was able to move fast and steady. Aside from being in the mountains, the purpose of that hike goes along with your overloading/overdistance philosophy.
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mtnbkrxtrordnair
Jun 11, 2004, 8:59 PM
Post #34 of 35
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Ride a mountain bike or road bike uphill. If I had three weeks to improve cardio I would ride every other day for an hour or two after work and do a 5 to 7 hour ride on the weekend. Keeping the short rides at high intensity like intervals till you almost puke or pass out. On the long rides just keep it steady like 80% for many hours. Biking has less impact so you can push yourself harder and save the knees for the approach, just keep the gear light (spin).
As for the asthma, If I had it I would seriously do some research on alternative and complimentary approaches to controlling it. Keep an open mind, see what makes sense and what does not. I come from a family of MD's, and they don't always know what the hell they're talking about. Their perspective is from the pharmaceutical side. If there's something wrong, get out the prescription pad and scribble something no one can read! I'm not talking herbs or whatever, more like eliminating things in your diet and environment which may be contributing factors. For example, if you tried giving up dairy or detoxed and found that it relieved your symptoms then that's great. Asthma is an inflamatory disease as are many others. If you can control inflamation that would be an improvement. (Flame away wankers).
Anyway, sounds like you're doing great so keep it up. Good luck on all your adventures, I'm jelous I don't have any 12,000 ft. mountains in my neck of the woods.
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bobd1953
Jun 11, 2004, 9:30 PM
Post #35 of 35
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Registered: Nov 14, 2002
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In reply to: For a single mom with a career, I think I'm doing quite well with that. But thanks for your concern.
No problem. I am here to help.
As someone who almost died from asthma (adult asthma as a child) before I was a year old I know where you are coming from. I also manage to run a 2:41 marathon, 35.50 10k and 17.20 5k. I use to run the old Colorado trail running (Pikes Peak, Imogene Pass etc...) series in the 80's and place fairly well in those races from just spending a lot of time running (80 miles a week). Keep up the training and if you need any hope to keep you going, tune into the Tour the France in early July and watch a cancer victim who was on his death bed win the hardest race in the world for the sixth time. Keep up the good work. Sometimes the mind is way stronger than the body.
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