For the life of me, after my Heart Rate gets much above 135 I just can't breath in through my nose. I know the proper way to breath is in through the nose and out through your mouth but I just can't seem to get enough air in my nose. Anyone else ride with there mouth open for the majority of there ride?

I keep my mouth wide open on all rides that boost my heart rate pretty high. Haven't seen any bad effects of breathing in unfiltered air through mouth.

You're kidding, right? Breathe however you must in order to take in the most air.

--Steve

Nope, Not kidding. Most everything I have ever read on proper technique says in through the nose and out through the mouth to help you regulate your HR. There is more to breathing than just breathing so I am told....

There is a "thing" about nose-breathing, but I have never heard that it will help you regulate HR, unless it's something like "keep your effort low enough that you can continue to breathe through your nose". But it's not the breathing, it's the effort, that affects HR.

For some with asthma or other sensitivities, nose-breathing may actually help, because it warms the air more than mouth-breathing; the idea being that warmer air does not irritate the lungs as much. But above a certain effort, it becomes very difficult for most people to maintain nose-breathing and they will switch to mouth; gets it directly in there in a hurry.

As for "filtering": I doubt nose-breathing filters anything but the largest impurities.

yes, my mouth ends up kinda open over 150 HR. I go back and forth for my own entertainment.

My biggest problem is bugs.

You must be good if you can control your heartrate with your breathing .

Seriously, I am usually gasping to get all the air in I can and letting my HR go where it needs to to do the job.

2 things I've seen are those adhesive strips that open your nose more and I've seen professional cyclists hang their tongues out and I find that that works too. It seems to open your mouth more and allow you to move more air.

I can only speak from personal experience. I do not breath in my nose and out through my mouth during my Cross Country races expect when my breathing starts getting out of control. If I am breathing too heavily I will take two or three short breaths through my nose, but that is it. It works for me, but I think it is just a reminder for me to slow down my breathing. I personally believe you should get as much air in as you can (i.e. mouth) but you do need to make sure you are actually getting it in, as opposed to too short of breaths. Just my opinion

i read this out of the corner of my eye and could have sworn that it said "breathing in unfiltered meth."

You'll think again when you catch your first fly or bee...

Just to show you I am not kidding...This was from CBS. Not saying right or wrong just someone who should know more than me's opinion...
QUOTE:...
Breathe
Breathing deeply -- in through your nose and out through your mouth -- engages a "relaxation," or "parasympathetic response," which decreases your blood pressure, lowers perceived exertion levels during cycling, improves circulation, lowers your pulse rate, diminishes oxygen consumption and can create a sense of mental and spiritual well-being while on the bike

Problem with nose breathing is the additional resistance caused by the nasal passage, and then some people have even more restricted passage due to genetics or past nasal fractures etc. Opening your mouth reduces that air resistance and eases the energy required to inhale and exhale. Only natural when you are dying... No one take their last gasp of air through their nose.

I don't think they meant that to apply when your say hauling ass in a TT, or trying to climb a 10% grade.

To the extent it diminsihes oxygen consumption, my bet it is do so at the expense of work output.


The only thing I try to think about breathing when I'm really suffering is to exhale fully. The body will take care of the inhale part.

Obviously referring to the recreational cyclist, not us!

I'd like to know who wrote that. Sounds like a bunch of ....

Try sucking on your water bottle, or start munching on a bananna as you climb that hill, that will force you to breathe through your nose.

I noticed that if you breathe with your tongue hanging out, it opens your epiglotis and allows a larger flow of air in and out. Not that this is the major restricting factor when achieving your max VO2, and be careful in summer when there's lots of bugs around, but it does work!

jw

yea...listen to Andrew Weil MD "Breathing", he discusses this braking effects of the parasympathetic nervous system on HR.

All this Biofeedback is used in freediving to optimize 02 demands/ consumption. I don't know anything about while cycling.
...but it's not bunk.

I started club crew my first semester at college and I noticed that during the most strenuous exercize, I couldn't breathe through my nose for anything more than a few minutes and I'd feel completely out of breath when I used to be able to run 5ish miles and want to do more.
I ended up going to the doctor for an ankle injury and just asked him to do a checkup, I was told I had polyps in my nose (not that uncommon). Upon seeing an ENT back home, I learnt that I had a deviated septum that was partially causing the problem and I have to get surgery to fix it on a later date.

Not saying that you have the same problem that I do, but remember something that you'd otherwise just let go as nothing could infact be something.

Well, this certainly bring up some interesting topics on proper breathing while riding.

Chest breathing vs abdominal breathing. ??

From: https://www.drweil.com/drw/u/QA/QA330184/

" Q :Am I Breathing Wrong?
I purchased your breathing tapes. I get lightheaded every time I start to do the deep breathing exercises, and it lasts for about an hour. Can you tell me what I'm doing wrong?
A
Answer (Published 8/2/2004)

Learning breathing techniques for relaxation and stress reduction takes practice. Unlike tranquilizing drugs, which often are effective when you first take them but lose their power over time, the effects of breathing exercises are subtle at first but gain power the more you repeat them. At first, some people do become light-headed, but you will find that this passes in time. I recommend that you continue with the breathing exercises, but try not to breathe as deeply or as intensely as you may have when you experienced the lightheadedness. Experiment until you find a level at which the lightheadedness doesn't occur and gradually work up from there.
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If you're learning Exercise: 4-7-8, in which you count to four while you inhale through the nose, hold your breath for a count of seven and exhale for a count of eight, I recommend that you practice at least twice a day but that you don't do more than four breaths at one time for the first month. Then, if it feels comfortable, you can increase to eight. In time, you should notice a shift in consciousness after doing the exercise: a feeling of detachment, lightness or dreaminess - this is a sign that you are affecting your involuntary nervous system and neutralizing stress. Once you develop the technique by practicing it daily, it will be a useful tool that you can rely on when something upsetting happens, to dispel tension, or to help you fall asleep.

Keep in mind that when you breathe deeply, you want to let your abdomen expand. This is abdominal or diaphragmatic breathing as opposed to breathing with the chest. Abdominal breathing allows one to breathe fully, using total lung capacity, whereas chest breathing puts more of a strain on the accessory muscles of the neck and ribs, and limits lung capacity. Shallow breaths of high intensity may be the cause of your lightheadedness.

Don't give up on learning the techniques because of the temporary symptoms you've experienced. With some patience and practice, everyone can benefit from breathing exercises.

Andrew Weil, M.D."

Time to dig out those Exercise Physiology texts boys!

jw

yea...I am a big fan of him and I play with biofeedback in a relaxed state. I am not sure of how easy it is when exerting yourself. For example, can you use abdominals to breathe if you are contracting them while exercising?

I don't know.

Here's some more interesting reading:

https://www.cptips.com/respmus.htm


" # Exhale more completely. If you exhale more completely, it is easier to take a deep breath. The usual rhythm is exhale to a count of 3 followed by inhaling to a count of 2.
# Belly breathe. As you concentrate on deep breathing, you will push your diaphragm down and thus the abdominal contents out. If you are doing it correctly, your abs will expand more than your chest.
# Widen your hand postion. A 2 cm wider hand postion will open up your chest and decrease the difficulty of drawing in a deep breath.
# Synchronize your breathing. Try to synchronize your respiratory rhythm to that of your pedal cadence. Remember the 3:2 ratio of exhale to inhale."

Hey, if it keeps you from blowing up on a climb, then it's worth practicing, eh?

jw

It's physiological fact that you must intake what the body demands. If it demands more than the nose take in then you have to breathe through your mouth. You just can't take enough in through the nose to be able to perform at a high heart rate. Maybe your talking about breathing techniques. There are ways to regulate your breathing in events - Time Trials this could be more rhythmic .

I just can't even image going out on a ride (decent pace) and trying to breathe exclusively through your nose. If you race you'll be seeing the group go up the road on the first lap...

Look like a dog in 90 degree weather. Are you kidding about the water bottle or banana. Why would you want make it harder. Isn't the hill hard enough.

A good friend was telling a story about riding with some guy who just wasn't riding hard enough for my friend (for what ever reason), so he told the guy: "C'mon! I can pull harder than that while eating a banana!!"



jw

Why is this?

As I said previously......This what I have always been told and this is why I am asking. And thanks for the input from the previous posters.