Training & Nutrition - breathing

How do certain breathing techniques during cycling (and other intense cardio) affect you in the long term? will breathing as slowly and deeply as possibly make your lungs bigger/stronger?

Breathing is one aspect of training I don't know much about. If you have any good info on the subject please share w/ me.

I breath when I need to. I don't really think about. When I'm not going hard I probably end up breathing mostly though my nose but if I'm really pushing my mouth is gaping open and I'm sucking in air as fast and hard as I can.

During hard efforts, it's important to expel the "bad air"....so, while you're sucking wind up a climb, focus more on exhaling fully - inhaling will come naturally.

I learned breathing in karate. It's great to do for relaxing/streching before a workout. Do some searches, I'm sure you will find ALL kinds of technics. Before karate class we would strech and visualize the air flowing from the ground, up our backs, over our heads and down into our noses. On the exhale we would visualize the air flowing out of our bodies through the finger tips and toes. Do this breathing along with large general body streching, you'll feel great and it will get your chest opened up for those hill climbs.

During hard efforts, it's important to expel the "bad air"....so, while you're sucking wind up a climb, focus more on exhaling fully - inhaling will come naturally.

+1
This really helps to slow down your breathing and heart rate. It ensures that you fully fill your lungs with each breath. Sunday I just did a race with 4500' of climbing. I passed many guys on the major climbs and I noticed how many of them were breathing shallow.....almost panting. Regulating your breathing like this on a climb helps to keep you in a rhythm.

The rhythm I use to make sure I get the oxygen in the system is like a ratio of 2 to 1. I would take in two inhalations to one exhale. The first inhalation brings in the first air followed by the second inhalation which is suppose to hold in that new air to allow the lungs to absorb it. Then the exhale expels the air that is not used. The exhale is intentionally slower to a certain degree, depending on how hard you are taxing your body.

The timing varies according to how aerobic or anaerobic the exercise is becoming. Sometimes I go for a longer ride and start to feel tiredness setting in. Then I would intentionally concentrate on this breathing to make sure that the oxygen is getting into the bloodstream. I would also concentrate on this technique when I know the leg muscles are being taxed hard like when off the saddle and climbing say 30 to 60 rpms. I know I need all the strength I can muster and the oxygen will help me.

I think this breathing helps if you start early in the first stages of the phase of the ride that requires more oxygenation of the blood. If you start this too late, then the body cannot adjust so you eventually will slow down or burn up.

On easy riding I don't do this.

I came from a running background where I learned 2:2 breathing (2 steps inhale, 2 steps exhale) followed by (2:1) for hard workouts. I tried initially to try to get a "cadence" to my breathing when I started cycling and just simply got frustrated. Now I don't pay any attention to it and just breath naturally. It works for me.

I cannot give you a source(s) for this, but I know it works for me. A breathing pattern should involve twice as much time exhaling as inhaling. I use 2 second inhale to 4 second exhales. Of course, the harder the work, the more deviation from timing. However, when I think about it, I still work to breathe in through the nose for 2 seconds and breate out for 4. I also heartilly recommend that when cycling, you imagine your somach (navel) touching the crossbar. Extending your abdominal muscles for breathing makes greater room for diaphram movement. Aiming for the top tube helps keep the back straight. Rythmic, deep breathing applied consistently, even when peddling lighly in the flats or downhill, make those short bursts to climb or sprint a good deal more tolerable. That is my routine.

One other problem most people have is not relaxing their chest muscles to fully breathe in. I catch myself doing this off and on while running and biking. The one thing I tell myself is that the air is your fuel and it is free take in as much as you can. check your grip on the bars is it somewhat relaxed or deathgrip? How about your jaw, neck? This may sound crazy, but it is not, try Yoga and learn belly breathing it will amaze you.