Make Breathing Easier During Workouts

If you have asthma, life can be quite difficult—especially if you want to lead a healthy and fit lifestyle. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean that you can’t do so. All you really need are some tips on how to manage your condition during intense physical exertion and that’s what we are going to discuss now.

5 Tips to Breathe Easier When Exercising if You Have Asthma

It is very important to keep in mind that these are tips for chronic breathing problems such as asthma.

If your breathing problem originates from a heart condition, you should most definitely check with your doctor before involving yourself in any sort of intense exercise.

Effective and Intelligent Breathing

You would be surprised at how a few simple tips on intelligent and controlled breathing can help you counter breathing problems during high-intensity sports or workout sessions.

• Use only your nose to breathe in and out of and keep your mouth closed
• If you have to breathe out through your mouth, keep your lips pursed while doing so
• Do not open your mouth too wide for too long at any point during the exercise session

If you practice these breathing techniques consciously, not only will you be able to control your asthma, but you will also last longer in anything that requires physical exertion.

Use the Right Inhaler

Taking a prescription inhaler just before you begin your session is an effective way to keep asthma attacks away and give you the boost you need to complete it. Consult your doctor to find out which inhaler would be right for that specific purpose because they are not all the same.

Be Selective with Your Exercises

This is the most crucial piece of advice on this list! You need to gain control of your exercise routine and turn it into something that your body can manage. What this means is that you should not be trying to go for a long run on your first week or try to participate in a full-time football match right from the start!

Set small goals and, once you have achieved them, set new goals with higher standards. While that’s how endurance, in general, is built as well, you will need to be more flexible to accommodate your respiratory problems. Try short sessions of intense sets instead of prolonged cardiovascular sessions.

Strength training, swimming, and HIIT are perfect for those who suffer from asthma and other breathing difficulties.

Don’t Ignore Red Flags

It isn’t uncommon to be out of breath after a particularly intense workout session but listen to your body if it’s telling you that you are crossing a line. The trick is to never overexert and stop when you need to.

Keep your inhaler with you at all times and take puffs as soon as you feel you need to. Exercise is important, but so is controlling your asthma!

Skip Workouts when You Are Sick

Asthma is hard enough to control when you’re healthy. If you are having difficulty breathing, don’t push it by exercising when you’re sick—be it with the flu or a stomach upset because your body needs to rest and recover. Be sure to get plenty of quality sleep, recoup and recover.

Wrap-Up

By following these five tips closely, you should be able to manage your breathing problems and lead a fit lifestyle at the same time.

However, it is also important that you figure out the source of your breathing troubles in the first place.

Legionella training programs, for example, are equipping people with the necessary knowledge and skills to detect the common, yet often undetected, respiratory disease legionellosis which is caused by the legionella bacteria. It breeds in infected plumbing systems, water tanks, bathtubs, showers, and faucets.

Similarly, asthma attacks are mostly triggered by exposure to allergens such as pollen, dust, etc. If you cut these triggers out of your living environment, the problems will also take a step back.

The bottom line is: figure out what’s causing the problem and address it immediately.