Drops and breathing
 

So post operatively for my triple bypass, one thing I am struggling with is Atelectasis. This is a common thing where one is unable to fill the lungs, relative to different breathing patterns established during the long surgery under anaesthesia, and due to accumulated fluid of phlegm. Just as I was checking out, the clean-up crew came by and accidentally threw out a lot of my possessions including my incentive spirometer. I didn't notice this latter loss till I got home.

In looking for alternative exercises online, I found instruction on breathing exercises and probably many know this already, but the seated hand position, or standing, in which the palms face the ceiling and shoulders are rotated back significantly increases lung capacity, which is why it is associated with meditation.

So the handshake position on hoods and drops (and bullhorns) opens up more lung capacity moreso than the flat bar position, unless your hands were gripping the flat bars palm facing the sky (which is also a possible position on rando sized drop bars). I was aware of the muscular skeletal advantage, but this seems like another interesting detail to play with. For me working on lung capacity has had a big effect on my climbing. Of course just tooling along I am not stretched at all, though there may still be advantages to lung filling diaphram breathing.

I knew there was a muscular skeletal

Close but not quite.

When working with elderly clients we avoid almost all exercises that include forward flexion of the trunk (as you have riding in the drops or even on the hoods) because this decreases respiratory volume capacity. You are crunching the rib cage and compromising the diaphragm from extending downward (your guts are in the way). We work a lot on trunk extension exercises for this. Any advantage of drops hand position would be negated by that flexion and the close grip width most drops have. Better to have a wider grip as in flats or even better flats with bar ends. Of course, from a lung volume angle, the best position would be more upright with cruiser bars.

Only tangentially related - I suffered from anerobic sensations in my torso as well as back pain climbing my fix gear for about 5 years. I'd run into this before though never on my racing bike. I started thinking the cause might be the high handlebar location caused by a laid back touring frame geometry and a very long head tube. So, not wanting to go to a track style dropping stem (this was before threadless was very far along), I had a horizontal quill stem made that would locate the handlebars so my shoulders could be in the position of that old racing bike. Since the bars had to be much higher, I compensated by designing a stem that was much longer. Had a local framebuilder make it. 180 mm long. Second ride was a very hilly 75 miles. No back pain. Felt great the whole ride, just very tired.

That thinking has made its way to all my bikes now. For me, a bike fits when I can stretch like a cat and make my back really long. Helps my spine, my lung capacity, the ability to diaphragm breath big time and feels like I am oxygenating my whole body when I do it.

Don't copy me on the stem length, I have arms that go horizon to horizon. But consider a trying stem that gives you far more reach and stretch than you currently have.

Ben

Maybe someone here can explain how wide flat bars are supposed to help your breathing if you ride elbows out either way. It does not seem like elbow angle or hand position would have any effect on breathing.

Not much. I understood MassiveD's post because I deal with increasing lung capacity in my work.
With thumbs inward, ala flats, you are ever so slightly restricting expansion of the rib cage. Thumbs forward, ala drops, not so much, thumbs outward better (but impractical). Flats with bar ends accomplish what drops do. It has a little to do with flexion/extension of the pectorals but more to do with shoulder position. Shoulders rolled forward restricting ventilation, shoulders back and up, like a cruiser, opening the rib cage. One exercise we do is to start with hands inward (in the lap) and then extended outward with thumbs moving into a double hitchhiker position (like a picture of the anatomical man) breathing deeply as you go.

Hand position and a wider stance with the hands may allow the rib cage to open more but that has to be balanced with compression of the diaphragm (79pmooney makes a good point about stretching out) and how practical those results are for a normal healthy cyclist. Most of us can ventilate well enough for touring (working at less than capacity) at any angle though I bet there is some research for high end road racing.