Breathing Technique

sirdjango

i did an 18km hill climbing yesterday and it took me about one hour to reach the finish. the hill have some steep points along the way and it really made me look like a chronic asthmatic patients. so how do we control our breathing when we do long and steep climbs?

danowat

In and out usually works for me

Seriously though, if you body demands more oxygen, then your breathing will increase, try breathing deeper, failing that you'll just need to knock the intesity of the activity down to a level where you can breath without gasping.

softlad

sirdjango wrote:

so how do we control our breathing when we do long and steep climbs?

I usually delegate that particular function to my autonomic nervous system - so far so good.....

liversedge

I really don't think this is such a daft question. On threshold efforts I always end up getting into a breathing rhythym that matches my cadence. I tend to concentrate more on expelling air than breathing it in.

The Kraftwerk song Elektro Kardiogramm on the TdF album is spot on.. in fact it could be me!

bahzob

This is an excellent question. My opinion is that, used intelligently, attention to breathing can be an integral part of improving performance both in training and actual events. And that i can be very helpful to those who train both with and without the latest gadgets/gizmos (I am in the former camp as a 5 year user of power meters and HR before that).

(OP I'll answer your question in point 4 and 5btw..)

Broadly breathing can be used to help in 6 different ways.

1. If you dont do it you die. So thanks for the folks above for pointing this out and onto the useful stuff.

2. Establishing training zones:

A good way to set training zones is to carry out a ramp test to exhaustion paying attention to how your breathing as load increases. This can be done with or without gizmos. You should notice 3 key transition points:
A. At very low load breathing is an autonomic activity so happens pretty much without you noticing. A point will come when you notice yourself breathing. This is "point A".
B. As load increases you will breathe progressively harder and harder. However it will still be under your control and you can establish some sort of rhythm, say to background music or cadence. At a certain load however you will lose this control and start sucking in as much air as possible. The last few moments before this are "point B".
C. At highest load, notwithstanding point 1 above , you will stop breathing. The last few seconds will be done with clenched teeth and agony but no breaths. Just before this point (so when u are sucking hardest) is point C.

You can use these points as reference for training.
A - Anything before this point is recovery. It will serve no useful training purpose. Long rides and the like should be done over this point.
B - This point corresponds very closely to the point where you are at threshold effort. Threshold efforts (2x20 and the like) should be done at this level, just on the tipping point from where you are in control of your breathing to losing control.
C - Is the point you should be aiming at for short 2-5 minute max effort VO2 intervals. Very short intervals will be done pretty much without breathing during effort.

Just the above is enough to set zones for a training plan. If you have a gizmo like a powermeter it will also give zones based on what it measures and these should correspond to the points above.

3. Training to best effect.

A key benefit to paying attention to how you breathe is that it allows you to train at the maximum. I've already mentioned one. Just riding a bike will not make you fitter. Up to point A riding is for fun and recovery, you will only start getting fitter by spending time past point A.

To take another example. Point B is one of the most important in training and most training plans will plan considerable time at this effort.

Indeed if your training consisted of nothing more than getting your effort up to point B, holding it for as long as you could (which will be 10 minutes or more), resting and doing again then you would make very considerable progress.

If on the other hand you have a full training plan, based, say on power, then attention to breathing will help maximise the efficacy of this.

Such a plan will prescribe a workout with target duration/wattage. Say 3x12 minutes at threshold watts. This latter will be a zone, say 260-270W.

For the first interval then you will start pacing at the target wattage. However you should also be aware of point B. Midway through the first interval you should start to have the sensation of approaching point B (so breathing under control but just at limit). This will help you fine tune your workout, on an off day then maybe this point will be at around 260W. But on a good day you may be able to comfortably do 270W and still feel under point B. On such a day I would say push on, increase power til you hit point B. If this happens to be 280W then great. You should be able to repeat for intervals 2 and 3, This means the training is working (and btw your new zone for the workout should go up to 280W).

4. Event pacing.

Awareness of where points A B and C are will help in event pacing. Different events will have different demands and this can map onto these points. The OP is an excellent example. A long sustained climb, with the objective of getting to the top as fast as possible but not racing others should be paced at around point B.

So breathing is under control, if things get steeper change gears so you can keep breathing at this point. If the steep section is very short (e.g. round a hairpin) then grit teeth and kick hard for a few seconds without breathing then settle back into breathing at point B. Recognise if you are losing control of breathing and avoid at all costs point C. (you go here if racing, on a given climb everyone will have a limit to how many times they can hit point C and how long they can stay there. Attacks are done at this level as riders try to break other riders by pushing them past their point C limit.)

5. Mental

This is partly an adjunct to point 4 but important enough to me to merit a separate tag.

On a personal level I find that even riding with both power and HR, breathing is the best pacing marker for an actual event. Watts are useful but if you have trained right for an event and are up for it then you should, by definition be able to reach new territory in terms of sustained power. Regardless of what my powermeter if my breathing feels right for the effort needed I will trust it.

I build on this trust by using breathing as a key focus during events. So on a long sustained climb my primary thought is keeping breathing as close as possible to the tipping point it being under my control. I refine this by concentrating on breathing out rather than sucking air in which I find helps keep relaxed. And I'll do things like match breathing to pedal stroke, again to stay focused.

Bottom line is awareness of how I'm breathing, gained through experience and training, makes me confident for actual events.


6. Cross sport

Points A, B, C are basic measures and will apply across sports even while measures such as power will be unavailable and HR may well differ. For those looking to do something other than cycling this time of year, then any long efforts in any sport above point A will help maintain cycle fitness and most efforts up to point B should help you get fitter.

I'd speculate though that many sports that take you to point C will have more marginal direct cycling benefits.

bompington

I think "in then out" made more sense to me :?