Road Cycling - Can I borrow Some Breath?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

Ok guys, Ive been reading for a while, age 31, Ex- smoker (WOOOHHHOOO) and want to be around a little longer to see my kids grow up. I've ordered a new bike and Have started the exercise stages and eating healthier and it is already showing in my clothes and it gives me inspiration.

Im 31 5'10 210 pounds, down already from 220 in the last few weeks, Im riding a eliptical machine everyday along with eating less and heathier foods and NO SODAS. I drank sometimes a 12 pack a day of Mountain Dew and now its Aquafina only.

ONE PROBLEM......
MY BREATH!!!!!!!! I have none. I cant imagine riding 50 miles on a bike on flats much less hills yet. I take it that I am aerobic and cardio Challenged. I run out of breath and seems like I cant get enough air into my lungs. I am Heatlhy, HAve a few extra pounds but not a lard @55.

Do I just need to work on my longevity on the machine and ultimately the bike? And if so, How?

I want to ride with a group later on (maybe in the spring) but theres no freaking way I could do it right now, I would run out of breath in the first few miles.

I just want to be plain healthier, no racing, just healthier and loose some weight to boot.

My goal weight is around 185

Thanks in advance for your help!

Did you just quit smoking, if so it is going to take a little while to have your lungs start to heal. Other then that just keep working out your heart rate will come down and you breath will come to you. There is looking fit and being aerobically fit, then there is all around fit a good combo of both, keep at it and they will come.

You didn't say how much you smoked. You know it tends to narrow blood vessels. Could be neither your lungs nor your heart nor your blood vessels are working very well. If you have good insurance, a treadmill stress test would be a good idea, just to make sure narrow cardiac arteries are not going to get you. If you have bad insurance, you might want to do it anyway.

I predict you will get better, and eventually you will be nearly the match of any club cyclist. A friend of mine who is an ex-four-pack-a-day smoker is about to finish Boston-Montreal-Boston as I write this. I would have low expectations and expect slow improvement, but it's coming.....

How will you know when you are done losing weight? When the scale says 153 lbs, you're done.

The average survival rate for people who have quit smoking ten years ago is the same as for the general population. Hang in there.

Ok guys, Ive been reading for a while, age 31, Ex- smoker (WOOOHHHOOO) and want to be around a little longer to see my kids grow up. I've ordered a new bike and Have started the exercise stages and eating healthier and it is already showing in my clothes and it gives me inspiration.

Im 31 5'10 210 pounds, down already from 220 in the last few weeks, Im riding a eliptical machine everyday along with eating less and heathier foods and NO SODAS. I drank sometimes a 12 pack a day of Mountain Dew and now its Aquafina only.

ONE PROBLEM......
MY BREATH!!!!!!!! I have none. I cant imagine riding 50 miles on a bike on flats much less hills yet. I take it that I am aerobic and cardio Challenged. I run out of breath and seems like I cant get enough air into my lungs. I am Heatlhy, HAve a few extra pounds but not a lard @55.

Do I just need to work on my longevity on the machine and ultimately the bike? And if so, How?

I want to ride with a group later on (maybe in the spring) but theres no freaking way I could do it right now, I would run out of breath in the first few miles.

I just want to be plain healthier, no racing, just healthier and loose some weight to boot.

My goal weight is around 185

Thanks in advance for your help!

Be patient, you are doing a good thing. I was a road musician and didn't smoke at all...and just 15 years of second hand bar smoke made my breathing more difficult than it should have been...it took about 6 months out of that environment before I felt close to normal and 7 years before I felt like the toxicity was really gone...hang in there

Im an ex-smoker as well. Smoked for a few years but finally decided to quit cold-turkey because of cycling. I never smoked much, only 4-5 cigerettes a week(not packs). I loved cycling and smoking interferred big time. Now my lungs are slowly healing and I can feel it. I've been smoke free for about 3 months now and I have no craving and no plans to go back.

What kind of cadence are you trying to maintain? Low rpm with a big gear or high rpm with a low gear? Aerobic fitness will probably come faster to you by using a high rpm - say 90+, more as you gain comfort with it. Aerobic fitness will come over time. Stay with it! Chris Carmichael's book "The Ultimate Ride" covers some of his philosophy about training. He does a good job of explaining how RPM relates to aerobic fatigue vs. muscular fatigue.

My brother has emphysema, so I'm always glad to hear when someone gives up the smokes.

Trekaholic

I smoked 3 packs per day for eight years, then quit and started cycling about two years after I quit. Funny thing was that my lungs didn't really start feeling good until a few months after starting on the bike. I don't know if it's a fact or not, but it seemed to me that cycling really cleaned out my lungs. Case in point- about a year after quitting smoking I tried one cigarette and I smoked it with no problem. A year later, (this time after having started riding) I tried one again. One drag was all I could handle. I coughed and hacked and though I was going to die.
You can do it! Just keep pushing yourself to new levels as you feel you are ready. You'll be amazed at how quickly you can make progress with your riding. And by all means, USE THIS FORUM! These people are amazingly knowledgable on every topic concerning your bike and your body. They can teach you more than you can believe.
GOOD LUCK!!!!!

-Bryan

An ex-smoker 5 years ago, felt the same way when started cycling.It's gonna get better, don't worry

God that felt great to read those, I've only been quit a month, and SDS When the scale reads 153???????

how did you come up with that?? Thats a good goal to shoot for but could I possibly get down to 153????

As I just typed that last question, I realized that I just got off the phone with a good friend whom just 2 years ago, we were at the lake Wakeboarding and skiing. He looked at me and said " Im fatter than you lol"

I was like "Im still Fat!" I talked to him on the phone just after I made that first post, he is one of the "lead" riders in there group and rides in front most of the time. He weighs a hefty 139 pounds.

Its different to me this time, I cant explain it, the Cheeseburgers and "Extra Value meals" supersized are easier to say no to and the smokes are too. Yes, It would be nice to have one right now, but theres way to many other things on my mind that I would Like to do rather than That!!!

YOU GUYS ROCK!!!! THANK YOU ALL FOR THE INSPIRATION!!!!!!!!

Chris

Oh and also SDS,

Yes Sir, 2 years ago, I had a Tracer stress test done on the treadmill. Thats the one where the shoot the tracer in your body and slap you on the treadmill till your HR gets to 195 bpm and then syop you like a rock. It was $1900 and I think I paid $25 copay lol. My wifes a Nurse, she has pretty good insurance. Anyhow, They said my cardiolite was Fine, Whatever that meant.

Thanks agian!

I only started riding about 7 months ago, I felt the same at the start just hang in there the aerobic benefits will occur to an extent that will surprise you, you will be able to climb hills that you think at this stage are impossible and you will feel better in every aspect of your life.
If I can get fit and ride longer distances anyone can, I have asthma, had the bones in 1 knee reshaped due to work damage and have had a quad bypass after a heart attack.

p.s the garbage you cough up on hard rides backs of as you get fitter.

This is a great time to get started for next year also as you will spend the winter getting your body into shape and when the road miles start next spring you will be well on your way for those longer and faster rides. A big congrats on your new life style and a longer life worth living.

My guess is that after years of smoking (like me), your blood vessels have gotten a bit constricted, and the tar build up in your lungs affect the ability of your lungs to transfer oxygen to your blood via the capillary veins in the lung tissue. You will find however as you slowly progress, and you maintain an everyday cardio excercise regimen, that as your heart forces blood through the veins at a higher pressure, the veins will slowly regain their shape and size to allow for better blood flow in your lungs, and thus better transfer of oxygen. Sort of like slowly blowing up a balloon. The tar build up will also slowly diminish.

It is kind of like looking at a body builder. As they use their muscles to lift weights, and the higher blood pressure feeds the muscles, the veins will expand and actually get larger to provide more blood flow to those areas. The same goes for any other excercise.

The key to gaining good cardio strength in bike riding is maintining a good long term cadence, not short term bursts. If you can't go a long way now, then slow down a bit to allow for you to maintain a cadence for a longer distance. It is ok to start off slow, but just as long as you go for a longer distance. Eventually as you progress you can increase your cadence for longer distances. This may take months before you really notice a differance. A good computer with a heart rate monitor will help in maintaining a good cadence and you can also keep an eye on your heart rate to ensure you are not overstressing yourself.

Patriot

thx guys and gals!!!!!!!!!!

thx guys and gals!!!!!!!!!!

One last time...road riding takes off weight in a hurry if you don't eat all that garbage that 'mericans seem to like so much...and as your weight comes down, your system will start to process O2 better...

In two months you will be posting about how to get better, not just breathe.

So if you quit...Many of us will hunt you down and make you ride through one of our nasty mountain passes on a 36 lb huffy with a water bottle full of lead...

Enjoy yourself...it gets better daily

LOL....NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, My legs hurt just thinking about that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

:)

Will energy come up as well? Im a little lack on that too. I can muster enough to do a ride though.

You are in the process of losing weight, so generally you may feel like you have less energy because as you are excercising to lower your weight, that means you need to get energy from your fat, since you aren't taking in enough calories to directly feed your muscles from food.
It takes alot of work for your body to break down the fat cells and then convert them into energy for your muscles. But, as you reach your target weight, you will be able to slowly increase your caloric intake to maintain your weight, otherwise you just keep losing weight right?
Anyway, once you reach your target weight, and begin taking in the right amount of calories to maintain your weight, while also provide enough energy for biking without adding wieght, then you will really begin to notice the differance in energy, as you will then have plenty of calories from food to burn while riding, and not calories being converted from fat.

Does all this make sense? I hope so, because my fingers are getting tired from typing. :)

To put it simply, you will feel alot better once you have lost the weight, and balance your system for the weight you want to maintain.

Patriot

If you get to be a top-level all-round club cyclist with no fat, for 5'10" and no unusual size issues (broad skeleton) you will weigh about 153 lbs. This supposes that you will do sufficient mileage and watch what you eat very carefully indeed.

Weight is roughly proportional to the cube of height, excepting narrow/wide frame sizes, and keeping in mind that on average tall people are not merely larger versions of normal-sized people, but tend to be thinner with longer limbs. You are about exactly average height for an American male, so variation according to height should not matter.

I have friends who essentially do not work, and they rack up the miles to an extent that I never will. They are skinny and fast uphill, and I am not. I carry too much weight to compete.

At 6'2" my goal has always been 172 lbs. The closest I have gotten in recent years has been 182 lbs. Last year in December I started training to go to Colorado in July of this year. Work got in the way and I was injured for a month in Jan-Feb, and then it rained for all of June in Texas, and I finished out at 184lbs. I had thought I would be lighter, and I had lost a lot of fat, but I also gained a lot of muscle. And I have broad shoulders. Certainly I think I could lose 12 more lbs off my belly and my butt, but some thin women have told me I am already skinny enough and they don't want me to lose any more weight.

Nobody really understands what cyclists can do. We look awfully slow from a car, but get out and try it and suddenly you realize all we do is earned against implacable wind resistance. What was it Greg LeMond said, "It doesn't get any easier, but you do go faster."? Well, keep at it and keep chasing whatever is in front of you and clean out the fridge, and sooner than you think, all those cycling abilities will be yours (cruise, intervals, climbing, sprinting, etc.) at a higher level. Cyclists are like stovepipes. Food and air go in, and carbon dioxide and power come out in extraordinary quantities. Just don't put too much food in. You can get by on a lot less than you think. No more fat, though, and nothing that burns fast (high glycemic index?). Those fast-burning foods put you on a hunger roller coaster. You eat them, your blood sugar goes up, your insulin goes up to stamp out the blood sugar, your blood sugar drops, and then you are hungry again. Over and over again. Eat something that burns slow and you will do better. Your wife will know about this better than I do.

Stay hydrated. If it is not coming out the bottom, put more in the top. Beginners have to be especially careful about this.

Set a goal to do an event in the middle of next Spring. And it had better not be an easy event. If you can't do 80-100 miles of pass riding where you are, plan on doing a really fast 100 mile century, or a 200K brevet. It's a whole lot easier to get out the door and kick your own butt if you know you have a long-term goal. Start thinking about a tandem or a triple now. Quality time on the tandem with your kids is not time taken away from your family to train. And you get better kids, away from the television, learning about discipline and teamwork and long-term goals. They will study better and work better with others.

One other thing: don't be surprised when swimming gets harder. Fat is lighter than water, and muscle isn't. Flotation is harder for athletes. Yes, you certainly can swim faster, but floating around in the pool will be harder. If you don't keep your lungs full, you will sink like a rock. No I am not making this up.....

Good for YOU! Way to Go stick with it! Now you can take that money you wasted on smokes and spend it on cycling stuff; much better purchase. In time you will be just fine.

I quit cold turkey about a year and a half ago. Cycling still hurts, but I am going farther and faster. I sure do love to ride my bike!

Congrats on starting the process. As you determined, the alternative lifestyle you're trying to abandon isn't the greatest for longevity.

All the folks have mentioned some great topics but, in my opinion, one of the most important is to avoid overdoing it, especially early on. It is so easy to harm a tendon or bang yourself up some other way. Recovery could put you down for longer than you think and can be so frustrating.

Remember, it takes all of us awhile to became couch potatos, it takes even longer to carefully revers the trend.

Im am Very Grateful to all of you for your posts! It gives me Drive to do better and be better.

What Kind of foods burn off slow so I wont eat them and be starving all the time?

Like Breakfast Luch and Dinner!

Thanks again!
Chris

Im am Very Grateful to all of you for your posts! It gives me Drive to do better and be better.

What Kind of foods burn off slow so I wont eat them and be starving all the time?

Like Breakfast Luch and Dinner!

Thanks again!
Chris

Eat a lot of fruits and vegetables and eat a little when you are hungry, not on any particular schedule. Eat what you like, just eat less of it than you used to eat and don't deny yourself things that make you happy, like ice cream...just don't eat both ben and jerry...and stay away from fast food...if you just never eat another Maccraperr, you will see big changes...

Z

LOL so no more Maccraper Extra Value meals? Supersized with a Coke and 10 packs of Ketchup?

I can do that ! ;)

Thanks

You say your out of energy, is that like 10 minutes into a ride or an hour? Are you able to recoup after a little slowdown or is it just downhill from there. Besides your off the bike diet (which I agree with everyone elses posts..) you need to eat while your on the saddle also. Bring some powerbars with you maybe even some fruit like bananas, and eat them BEFORE you feel like your going to bum out. I can feel a dramatic effect about 5 minutes after I start consuming a powerbar, probably regain about 30% of my energy from that alone. After a while, you will be able to go longer stretchs between refuels, as your muscles and aero system become more fit. Still then its important to keep eating though.

And I am sure you know but I'll just say it anyways, keep pedaling and DONT STOP, even if you got to go 10 MPH..keep your cadence as high as you can while your recouping. If you stop and take a break, its goodnigt :D

I quit last November and started cycling in May and I still have a little problem with my breath...but now only in the beginning...after I get really warmed up my breath slows down to 'regular' (when I say regular I mean not dying) intervals...So, I can see it's getting better....just taking time...

Keep at it...you (and hopefully I :) ) will get there...