Legs or lungs which tire first?

warrior4life
warrior4life Posts: 925
edited April 2010 in Training, fitness and health
Just curious, with me if i'm fresh its always my lungs, it's always the lungs on climbs. legs are usually good.

Comments

  • Ollieda
    Ollieda Posts: 1,010
    Always the legs for me, lungs never really seem to be a problem.

    I imagine that it's different for everyone (well I hope it is otherwise I'm just weird!) not sure of the pros/cons of different ones
  • ScottieP
    ScottieP Posts: 599
    Pretty much always the legs for me .... and I'm an asthmatic too - but it's virtually never the lungs.
    My cycling blog: http://girodilento.com/
  • hopper1
    hopper1 Posts: 4,389
    legs here, too.
    Start with a budget, finish with a mortgage!
  • shmo
    shmo Posts: 321
    Lungs usually. When I start breathinng like a steam train I know that I'm about to blow up. Although tends to get better in summer as my nose isn't permanently snotted up.
  • Homer J
    Homer J Posts: 920
    Legs, especially when i start my sprint way too early!
  • inseine
    inseine Posts: 5,788
    They used to say that if your legs were going change to o lower gear, if it's your lungs change to a bigger one! If they're both going your kn**kered!
    http://cyclinganddesign.blogspot.fr/
  • dennisn
    dennisn Posts: 10,601
    To be honest, it's usually my brain that's the first to say "Hey, I don't want to do this anymore". I know my legs will get me there and my that my lungs are in good working order, yet once the brain starts getting a mind of it's own and quits listening to me, it's pretty much over.
  • lochindaal
    lochindaal Posts: 475
    while struggling at the end of a run with a 40'ish year old Royal Marine I got told "If your lungs are still working your legs are still working". Never forgotten it as a piece of advise to keep trying and push a bit harder!
    Tri Coaching
    https://www.h3otriathlon.com
  • phreak
    phreak Posts: 2,953
    Lets generally get tired faster than my lungs do. I guess on most long'ish rides you're generally riding at a steady pace, so aren't working your lungs so much as your legs. Your lungs will only go if you're going into the red.
  • holmeboy
    holmeboy Posts: 674
    Legs, never had problems getting my breath, parhaps i ain't pushing myself enough.
  • CyclingBantam
    CyclingBantam Posts: 1,299
    My lungs always go 1st. What sort of training should you be doing to try and improve lung capacity?
  • warrior4life
    warrior4life Posts: 925
    inseine wrote:
    They used to say that if your legs were going change to o lower gear, if it's your lungs change to a bigger one! If they're both going your kn**kered!

    Think i may try that one!
  • stonehouse
    stonehouse Posts: 222
    Legs only go first if I've overdone it the day before, always the lungs scream first.

    Found that when hill climbing, when I sense the lungs are getting close to going, get out of the saddle, click down a gear or two, stand on the pedals increase speed a bit, then sit down and change up the couple of gears, gives me a break especially on windy climbs, do that technique on every corner.

    The more you train, the easier it gets on the lungs...
    www.ciclobyron.com
  • bobtbuilder
    bobtbuilder Posts: 1,537
    Legs always go first for me.
  • freehub
    freehub Posts: 4,257
    Dunno what does me first.

    Most of the time when I eventually get tired I just feel like I've done allot of miles and I can't push as hard, my heart rate starts to struggle getting above 165.
  • rake
    rake Posts: 3,204
    its my neck that goes first constantly looking behind for traffic
  • Brommers76
    Brommers76 Posts: 234
    Legs every time. Sometimes if I am really going for it I will realise that I am hardly breathing yet my legs are screaming.

    Coming from a running background I would have normally had my breathing go first and find that I can't hurt myself anywhere near as much on the bike as I can on foot. If I am going for it my cadence will be 90-100 so I don't think it is a gearing problem.

    Can't wait for my legs to catch up with my CV system because I will be awesome :wink:
  • Ho hum
    Ho hum Posts: 236
    When I was a smoker it was my lungs that would give up first.

    6 weeks after having gave up, and feeling much better for it, it is now my legs that give up first.
  • fuzzynavel
    fuzzynavel Posts: 718
    always the legs for me....i can try to conciously increase my air intake but i still cant avoid the lactate and impending cramp
    17 Stone down to 12.5 now raring to get back on the bike!
  • neeb
    neeb Posts: 4,473
    Presumably you mean in a more or less anaerobic effort, like an extended sprint or a short sharp hill climb? Your lungs aren't going to be the limiter stopping you going further or maintaining a constant pace.

    Interestingly, now I think about it, it's usually the legs for me when I'm sprinting but the lungs when I'm powering up a big hill. I'm an infinitely better climber than I am a sprinter, so maybe that says something.
  • iain_j
    iain_j Posts: 1,941
    Lungs for me. I've got low enough gears on my tourer to never find a hill that's too steep for my legs, but it's only recently dawned on me that if I'm in too low a gear I burn out quickly, I can spin my legs but then run out of stamina.

    What I do now with really steep climbs is concentrate solely on slow, deep breathing, and the rest follows naturally.
  • Garz
    Garz Posts: 1,155
    For me its lungs, i dont feel the leg burn (i.e. quads on climbs) as such like others complain about.
  • Bhima
    Bhima Posts: 2,145
    None. I do not fatigue. 8)

    You can control which tires first by cadence selection.

    If i'm out of breath but my legs feel fine, I feel I can get one last boost by going to a massive gear to shift the suffering to my legs, but if my legs are in pain and my lungs are fine, I find going to an easier gear will not allow me to dig deeper for a final boost.

    So I tend to pace an effort/climb by using high cadence so I can save a low-cadence effort for an emergency.
  • disgruntledgoat
    disgruntledgoat Posts: 8,957
    Bhima wrote:
    None. I do not fatigue. 8)

    You can control which tires first by cadence selection.

    If i'm out of breath but my legs feel fine, I feel I can get one last boost by going to a massive gear to shift the suffering to my legs, but if my legs are in pain and my lungs are fine, I find going to an easier gear will not allow me to dig deeper for a final boost.

    So I tend to pace an effort/climb by using high cadence so I can save a low-cadence effort for an emergency.

    What if both are in pain? I don't think physiology works like that...
    "In many ways, my story was that of a raging, Christ-like figure who hauled himself off the cross, looked up at the Romans with blood in his eyes and said 'My turn, sock cookers'"

    @gietvangent
  • Bhima
    Bhima Posts: 2,145
    disgruntledgoat wrote:
    What if both are in pain? I don't think physiology works like that...

    They both usually are when i'm riding steady.

    I'm talking about when I do intervals and use extreme cadences (that's what this thread is about, isn't it?). I will sometimes go from an130-150 RPM sprint straight in to a 70 RPM grind when my lungs can take no more. When i'm spinning that fast, my legs can feel numb due to the very low forces.
  • warrior4life
    warrior4life Posts: 925
    I know a few runners who have taken to cycling and they never get out of breath, they seem to be able to climb steep hills in small gears well but on long steady drags they just dont have the power...

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