Winter Cycling - How to breathe in low temperatures

How do you breathe when you cycle (or exercise hard) in the winter?
Do you breathe through your nose or mouth?
I am asking because in my case if I cycle hard I have to breathe through my mouth.
And if it is cold enough outside breathing through my nose make me catch a cold.
This is why I slow down if is cold, although I do not want to.

Thank You, this forum is great and addictive.

I breathe through a mask, with my mouth. I can't get enough air if I breathe through my nose. Exhaling through my nose also tends to fog my glasses.

If you're concerned about inhaling all that cold air, there's at least one company that makes a face mask specifically for that purpose: it has a membrane that is heated by your breath when you exhale, and then warms the incoming air as you inhale.

Oh, and you can't catch cold from breathing cold air. That's an old wives tale; the cold is caused by one of 200 different viruses. The cold virus is transmitted by exchanging fluids from your mouth and nose. During cold season, you can avoid catching cold by avoiding touching your mouth, nose or eyes before washing your hands.

Jeff called it.
I'll only add that when it's that cold, I now religiously use a Patagonia R1 balaclava which is just about perfect as it's warm and easy to breathe through.

I have a real hard time with this. If the temperature drops below about 45 degrees, my eight mile commute goes from being a nice warm up to something that makes me start coughing up blood. I picked up a mask last year to help, but the weather warmed up enough that I didn't need it before I had a chance to really use it.

WhiteRabbit, if you're coughing-up blood for any reason you need to see a doctor immediately. Don't wait for winter to arrive before making that appointment.

I've had good luck with some of the Pearl Izumi balaclavas worn beneath my helmet. I cover my jawline but leave my mouth and nose exposed.
When it's truly bitter outside, I just back down a notch on the intensity of the outdoor riding and do my tougher training on a treadmill, stairclimber, or turbotrainer indoors.

I breathe like I normally do when it is warm. I usually breathe through my mouth, and occasionally through my nose. Not a problem. And I don't like anything over my nose and mouth when I ride.

There should be no reason why breathing through your nose should make you catch a cold.

I breathe like I normally do when it is warm. I usually breathe through my mouth, and occasionally through my nose. Not a problem. And I don't like anything over my nose and mouth when I ride.

There should be no reason why breathing through your nose should make you catch a cold.

I always find this question to be odd. So apparently this issue is only for a certain percentage of the population. Perhaps a precentage with respiratory problems or just plain ol poor health. Regardless, i breathe through my mouth, just like the rest of the year.

Breathing through my mouth only causes trouble on days like today when i am riding my mountain bike through mud and a chunk makes a direct hit with the back of my throat. Yum!

Like you say, everybody is different.

But, In a few times that I breathed only through my mouth at cold temperatures (bellow freezing) I was quite sick when I finished the exercise. I addition to that I had big pain in the lungs at the beggining of the exercise.

Do you think it is OK fot the lungs to get cold air?
Thks.

Everyone is different, and from my observations, this question often comes from people who live in an area where the temperatures are generally quite warm and where they only experience a short period of time in the winter where it is cool, and maybe only a few days where it could be considered cold.

On the other hand, I have spent approx. 2/3 of my life living in temps that could be considered at least cool, and about 1/2 my life in temps that most people would consider cold. For me breathing in cool or cold air is normal. It's a part of every day life. I'm used to it.

The only time cold air bothers my lungs is if I do something like dash out the door and sprint for the bus ... and the temperature is about -40C with a bit of a wind. It can be a little bit of a shock to the system to go through a dramatic temperature change and to go from casually breathing in room-temperature air to gulping in freezing cold air.

However, if I decide I want to go for a ride on a day when the temps are in the "freezing cold" range, I will ease myself into it. I will open the garage door to let in the cold air while I'm getting my bicycle ready. I'll walk my bicycle down the sidewalk and across the street (I do that to avoid the piles and snow and ice too). Once I am cycling, I start easy and gradually build up my pace to something that feels reasonable for the conditions. When I do that ... I'm fine.

Now I will add that I have EIA, so damp, or cool, or cold conditions can create a certain amount of congestion, and potentially, breathing difficulties. And I'll often cough for an hour or two after I get in from a longer ride. I can avoid some of the discomfort of my EIA by doing things like starting slow, or never overexerting myself on my ride (outdoor winter cycling isn't the time to do interval training, or something like that, anyway), and especially by using my inhaler. NOTE: What I experience is not a cold, and I'm not "sick", even though I may appear to have some cold-like symptoms. It has been officially diagnosed as EIA, and a shot from my inhaler can make my symptoms pretty much vanish (or never start to begin with if I remember to use it before I go out.

How do you breathe when you cycle (or exercise hard) in the winter?
Do you breathe through your nose or mouth?
I am asking because in my case if I cycle hard I have to breathe through my mouth.
And if it is cold enough outside breathing through my nose make me catch a cold.
This is why I slow down if is cold, although I do not want to.

Thank You, this forum is great and addictive.


One thing that you can do is to breath in through your nose and out your mouth. This helps somewhat as the nose warms the air better than the mouth but you have to pace yourself because with harder efforts you can't get enough air in and out fast enough breathing in with your nose.

Another suggestion would be to just get used to the cool/cold temps by spending as much time outside as possible. I love being outside, and don't like being cooped up inside any more than I have to be ... so I adjust to the weather.

Another suggestion would be to just get used to the cool/cold temps by spending as much time outside as possible. I love being outside, and don't like being cooped up inside any more than I have to be ... so I adjust to the weather.

Yes,

This is very important. Your body will adjust to the cold if you can do it slowly and gradually. It's best to spend lots of time outside doing things that don't require heavy breathing but this may be harder in southern climbs where it's generally warmer.

Yes,

This is very important. Your body will adjust to the cold if you can do it slowly and gradually. It's best to spend lots of time outside doing things that don't require heavy breathing but this may be harder in southern climbs were it's generally warmer.

I supplement my cycling with a lot of walking, which doesn't require overly heavy breathing. Plus walking has a lot of extra benefits like working different muscles and being a weight bearing exercise which is good for the bones. And I can still walk, even when there are huge snow drifts and streets covered in ice, so it is a good option for winter.

For really extreme cold and heavy labor like workers in a deep freeze facility there are special re-breather masks. The exhaled air warms and condenses breath moisture onto what are basically copper Brillo pads. Inhaled air passes over the same pads and is warmed and moistened.

Here's an example of one of those heat exchange masks:

http://www.allergyzone.com/xchange.php

I wear a half-face mask from http://www.seirus.com/ It doesn't do much for the cold air I'm breathing in, but it's very good at keeping my face warm.

i can't move enough air through my nose so i use my mouth. last winter i used a scarf but it was either too hot and wet under the scarf or too cold outside it. might have to try one of those masks this winter.

I try not to breath too hard in winter; it burns my lungs. If it's cold really cold out, I just slow down (it often means that there is snow on the ground too, so I have to slow down for safety anyhow :)).

Your nose is designed to warm incoming air and provide some filtration so it's better to breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth... a decent mask can trap some heat while staying breathable enough to not get all damp inside.

I ride in extremely cold temps here ( -40 anyone ?) and use a neoprene mask that covers everything from the nose down and wear ski goggles as they provide great protection from sun, wind, and cold and don't fog up.

I also have a nice fleece hood that covers pretty mcuh everything and it is a very functional piece of winter gear.

A note on breathing difficulties in cold weather:

About a year ago I was diagnosed with cold induced athsma (some times referred to as exercised induced athsma). In effect, when you exercise and breathe harder your lung temperature actually drops as there is more air passing in/out drawing heat out of your body. With this type of athsma, your lung has an athsmatic response to this drop in temperature, which is significantly more pronounced in colder weahter.

For instance, so long as the temp is above 50 degrees or so I never notice anything. As it gets colder than that my lung will tighten up more and more. I first really noticed playing soccer in the fall when it was about 45 degrees out. I thought I was getting winded but alas. If the temp is 20 degrees or less, even a vigorous walk in gives my lungs a rasp.

Needless to say, I did get an inhaler for this condition, which I only use before outdoor exercise if its going to be cold. Works like a charm, keeps the lung from overly contracting.

Now that you mention it VonMorkai, after a long bike ride in the cold (average -10F to +10 in the winter) I cough a lot, and it's a different cough than I'm used to. My former roommate Lindsey had the same problem.

For really extreme cold and heavy labor like workers in a deep freeze facility there are special re-breather masks. The exhaled air warms and condenses breath moisture onto what are basically copper Brillo pads. Inhaled air passes over the same pads and is warmed and moistened.

-1 on the rebreathers. I picked up one at walmart instead of a standard balaclava, and it was definitely a mistake to buy it. The problem with them is that while they do warm your breath, they do it at the cost of restricting airflow. A "normal" balaclava is better, IMHO.

When it's really cold out, I love the sensation of inhaling through my nose and feeling my snot freeze. I love less the need to break off the crust of snot after a ride from the bottom half of my face.

When it's really cold out, I love the sensation of inhaling through my nose and feeling my snot freeze. I love less the need to break off the crust of snot after a ride from the bottom half of my face.


It's better to ride in temps cold enough where snot freezes and you can just break it off, than to ride in temps where the snot keeps flowing, and your entire sleeve is covered in it.

In yoga, we practice what's called the heating breath. Breath in through your nose. (start w/ your stomach, then your sternum, then your chest) When you breathe out (in the same order), act like you're breathing out of your mouth, but have your lips closed. Exaggerate it so that you get a deep, whooshing/growling sound, and rinse, repeat. (If you're around a lot of people, you can leave out the sound) It's amazing how it will actually warm you up.

I have asthma and part of my breathing exercises when the asthma flares up is to strictly breath through my knose. Apparently, although you may feel like you are not getting enough oxygen, breathing through the knose humidifies the air making it easier for your bronchial passages to asorb the oxygen. This is just based on my personal experience.

There used to be a wool hat/balaclava available. It could worn like a normal beanie, or rolled down to form a balaclava. I found wool much better than synthetic. Moisture in breath condenses on whatever you breath through, then freezes. With wool, it condensed and froze on the outside.

Now England doesn't get as cold as it used to. I just use a Buff, pulled up from my neck over mouth and nose.

Theer really are only a very few days in the winter here in southern AZ where "bitter cold" enters the meteorolgy conversation. My ride is at or above 4600 feet.

On those days, I generally wear my garage while pedaling. For the rest of the time I wear layers, set a lower pace and breathe normally, which for me is in through the nose and out through the mouth.

I've been wearing a heat exchanger mask for three winters now (http://www.psolar.com/). I always used to get colds "from" breathing cold air, but since buying the mask that hasn't happened (yes, I know the cold didn't come from the cold air, but from the extra stress that the cold air caused to my immune system's ability to fight off existing germs ...).

The heat exchanger mask even helped me to ride 720 miles of Paris-Brest-Paris with a bad cold that turned into pneumonia by the end. Without the heat exchanger, any hard exertion (like climbing) would make me suck in too much cool air at once, triggering a coughing fit. So any time I would need to ride hard in cool, damp air, I just put the mask on. I still didn't finish PBP in time, because I just couldn't maintain my normal speed. But I'd never have made it anything like as far without the pSolar.