Training & Nutrition - Cold=good engine, cold=good lungs??

ok, when it's cold out, cars are said to run better because the air is more dense
and has more O2, correct? does this mean that we also perform better for the
same reasons? it doesn't really seem like it, and maybe the first part is an incorrect
assumption also?? and yes, this really isn't important:) but i was wondering....:)

I like the theory, but when it's real cold it seems like it "burns" my throat and lungs because they hurt after a real hard workout

I have better endurance in the cold because I don't overheat as easily.

i dont like freezing, it dose hurt when you breath in, and then come the sniffles. I love a cool day to ride, say 17degrees celcius maybe with minimum sun.

I have better endurance in the cold because I don't overheat as easily.

So do I, although it rarely gets cold in this part of the world, and even when it does, it still feels like it's about 10 degrees C warmer due to the humidity. As far as I'm concerned, anything from 2-3 degrees C to 17-18 degrees C is ideal cycling weather. Anything more than that, and it starts to diminish a little bit. And don't you dare give me those 33 degrees C nights that lead to 41 C days!

My legs like the cooler weather, but my sinuses don't.

When I get out in the cool weather (below 45F), my sinuses tend to react by clogging up. They may open up later in the ride, but the end result of riding like this every day is chronic congestion. Especially when it gets well below freezing.

This year I may need to experiment with some type of head gear that covers my nose but allows for good air exchange.

I do terribly in the cold, as I've said in numerous other threads...I just never seem to warm up, I just get colder as I stay out longer.

FWIW though, I've found that my car runs the best and gets its best fuel economy in the 40-50 degree range. Much colder then that and the car starts to hate me. it squeals on startup (my dad said its the belts reacting to the cold) and is really balky, I have to baby it alot when the weather gets below freezing or colder. Its got over 150000 miles on it (probably more now, my mom's been drivng it while I'm at college)

cold dry air is bad for lungs.


Exercise is generally touted as being good for the lungs. But intensive training - especially in cold dry atmospheres - can have the opposite effect, according to worldwide lung experts meeting in Florence last month (September). The following alarming recent findings were presented to the World Congress on Lung Diseases:
* A survey of 1600 top athletes in Norway showed that no fewer than one in every 10 suffers from asthma or wheeze;
* In a questionnaire survey carried out after the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, 16% of 700 athletes reported suffering from asthma. Worst affected were the cyclists, where the proportion rose to 50%;
* A Finnish survey of 58 marathon runners showed that 26% showed signs of bronchial contraction, either in the spring (because of hay fever) or in winter because of the cold. A study by the same research group of 71 long- distance runners found their risk of asthma was three times higher than average;
* US Researchers found that more than a quarter of the athletes on the American team at the 1998 winter Olympics suffered from bronchospasms. Most at risk of this problem were cross-country skiers, of whom 50% were affected.

Intensive training and cold dry atmospheres seem to be the main culprits - although swimmers suffer from asthma-related symptoms for quite specific reasons connected with chlorine inhalation. Professor Kai-Hakon Carlsen of Sweden reported to the meeting that the proportion of asthmatics among 20-year-old cross-country skiers is only 7%, compared with 20% for those over 30.

But Swedish skiers, who train in cold, dry atmospheres, are more at risk of asthma than their Norwegian counterparts, who train near the coast in more humid conditions.

Physical activity is more likely to cause asthma in winter because of the effects on the lungs of processing ice-cold air. The risk of lung damage can be averted or minimised by use of a mask covering the nose and mouth, enabling exhaled air to help raise the temperature of air breathed in. Anti-inflammatory drugs and those which prevent bronchial constriction may also be helpful, according to the lung experts.

But above all athletes should refrain from endurance training and competition while suffering from respiratory infections.

The extra O2 is there, but I feel the cold air shocks my lungs more, making me wheeze, cough, etc. I like the temp to be around 50. My body cools nicely without having the air too cold for my lungs. In theory the extra oxygen would be better, but our lungs are not as efficient as the combustion reaction in an engine. I don't think temperature affects the density of air as much as altitude (well it may, but on Earth temperatures don't vary that widely). Anyway my 2 cents.

i dont like freezing, it dose hurt when you breath in, and then come the sniffles. I love a cool day to ride, say 17degrees celcius maybe with minimum sun.


You guys seem to ride in way warmer areas than me! Its nice when you have to put on your full ski gear (minus the boots, skiis and poles) to get around the city in the winter. You can pretend you are skiing around the city and theres hardly any other bikes on the road to avoid, except for the other hard as nails commuters. Just for God's sake never forget your gloves... I've forgotten my gloves a few times and been seriously worried about frost bite.