Best Breathing Techniques For Cyclists
The idea of being able to improve your fitness by sleeping in an oxygen tent or doing a few breathing exercises in front of EastEnders always seemed a little too good to be true.
However, evidence indicates that improving your breathing ability is more important than previously thought and that endurance athletes can improve simply by paying attention to their breathing off the bike.
The first is inhalation, the act of sucking in oxygen-rich air. The second is exhalation, which is when you get rid of the carbon dioxide that your body produces. Breathing involves taking in oxygen and expelling carbon dioxide.
- Firstly there’s the role played by the lungs, which expand to take in oxygen and contract to expel carbon dioxide.
- Secondly, there’s the role played by the blood, which transports the oxygen from the lungs to the muscles and then carries carbon dioxide back to be expired.
Training breathing muscles
A group of scientists recently took another look at the breathing process and they came to a radical conclusion. They agreed that while lung ventilation had no beneficial effect on endurance performance, it did require muscles to expand and contract the lungs.
The researchers reasoned that if the muscles could be trained to be more efficient, then performance might improve.
Alison McConnell, a Brunel University professor, has devoted the past decade to understanding how exercise affects breathing muscles and whether that, in turn, impacts performance. She now believes she has answers to these questions.
When we exercise, the muscles we use to breathe become stronger, which then causes a reflex that makes the blood vessels in our limbs constrict. We showed this by using the muscle in the calf. However, after doing some breathing training, the same exercise no longer caused the reflex, which means more blood was able to flow to the calf and performance improved.
Many small studies still show no benefits of training the breathing muscles, but most of the larger studies show that there is a small but significant improvement possible.
The study found that the breathing exercises did not have a significant impact on the athletes’ endurance.
This study found that breathing exercises improved performance by an average of 4% compared to controls. This is supported by two earlier studies that found that breathing exercises improved 25km and 40km time-trial performance by 2.5% and 2% respectively.
According to McConnell, everyone now agrees that training the muscles involved in breathing results in a one-time performance increase of 2-4%.
The training and equipment
There are two types of breathing devices on the market, and each has its own group of devotees. Professor McConnell, who has a vested interest in the product because she helped develop it, prefers PowerBreathe. Professor John Leddy, the author of the New York study, prefers a device called a Spirotiger.
Leddy says that the PowerBreathe trains both your inspiratory and expiratory muscles by having you re-breathe expired air. Other devices only train your inspiratory muscles, according to Leddy, and are less effective for endurance athletes.
Although the SpiroTiger is effective, it is also expensive at around 790 euros. McConnell suggests that PowerBreathe, which costs £29.99, is just as effective and more widely available.
According to her, no study has found any benefits to training the expiratory muscles. The reason for this is unknown, but it’s speculated that it’s because they don’t trigger the reflex that constricts blood vessels. Therefore, using hyperpnea (forced respiration) is excessive and unnecessary.
He advises doing 30 breaths in a relaxed position, and then in the aero bar position so that the lung muscles get used to working in the squashed state that we place them in while riding.
Altitude training
At high altitudes, the air is thinner, so the same volume of air contains fewer oxygen molecules than at sea level. This means that less oxygen is available to bind to red blood cells, which transport oxygen to the muscles. As a result, exercise feels harder at high altitudes.
The body adapts to increased physical activity by releasing the hormone erythropoietin (EPO), which stimulates the production of red blood cells. This makes the oxygen transport system more effective and improves endurance.
According to Richard Pullan, a breathing expert and founder of the Altitude Centre, an altitude training company, one of the ways that oxygen affects the body is by causing it to produce more EPO. Additionally, oxygen also encourages the formation of more capillaries, which work to deliver oxygen to the muscles. Lastly, oxygen makes cell membranes more receptive.
This has been related to training in different ways. One approach is to train at altitude so the system becomes more efficient. Another is known as “live high, train low,” which involves training at sea level but spending the rest of the time breathing thinner air.
Some people also think that intermittent hypoxic training, where you alternate between breathing normal air and air with less oxygen, is a good idea. People also use altitude training to help them get used to high altitudes, and some people say it can be helpful when you’re recovering from an injury.
There is evidence that altitude training increases red blood cell mass, but it is mixed. Some studies have shown that the benefits were masked because the athletes had a reduced ability to train hard. There is greater support for the benefits of altitude training now.
According to two studies conducted at the Swiss Federal Institute of Sports, the LHTL (Live High Train Low) strategy can lead to an increase in red blood cell mass. In addition, several other studies have shown that there are numerous benefits to intermittent hypoxia.
While some studies have found positive effects of sleeping in an oxygen tent, enough negative studies exist to cast doubt on these claims. A team from the Australian Institute of Sport found no positive effects at all after having 13 cyclists, triathletes and cross-country skiers sleep in an oxygen tent for 23 nights. McConnell is one of those who remain unconvinced by the claims of positive effects.
She says that it is still not clear if EPO actually improves red blood cell mass, but some new studies suggest that it might help make cycling easier, even though we don’t yet understand how it does this.
Breathing exercises for cyclists
Benefits of nose breathing
Breathing through your nose instead of your mouth is better for you because it balances the temperature and humidity of the air you’re taking in. Additionally, your nostrils and sinuses act as a filter for pollution before it gets to your lungs.
When your mouth breathes, you throw off this balance, which can cause problems. The Royal Liverpool Hospital, University Department of Otorhinolaryngology published a journal article that nose breathing, as opposed to mouth breathing, increases circulation and balances the levels of oxygen and carbon dioxide in your blood. Mouth breathing can throw off this balance and cause problems.
Not having a dry mouth also helps you sleep, which in turn aids in your recovery from riding.
Chronic mouth breathing can have negative effects on energy levels, blood oxygenation, lymph drainage, sleep patterns, and the immune system.
Breathing while on the bike
Further research has shown that it is normal to breathe through your nose and mouth while exercising, as the body increases air intake to supply more oxygen to the muscles.
Nasal breathing is more efficient in supplying oxygen to the body but is difficult to sustain during strenuous exercise.
When you are cycling, you will get more oxygen if you breathe through your nose. However, you may start to feel out of breath because you cannot breathe as quickly through your nose as you can through your mouth.
This text is discussing the differences between nose and mouth breathing. Nose breathing is said to be better because oxygen is distributed better, but mouth breathing is more common because it is faster.
When you are riding your bike on easy rides or segments, try to breathe through your nose. If that is not possible, don’t worry about it. When you have to breathe through your mouth, try taking slower, deeper breaths. This will give your lungs more time to work and ensure your muscles get all the oxygen they need to keep on pedalling. Shallow, fast breaths won’t get the oxygen to where it needs to go.
If you are riding your bike in colder weather, it may help nose breathing instead of mouth breathing. This prevents cold, dry air from going into your lungs. If the weather is very cold, you can wear a scarf, facemask, or balaclava over your face to help warm the air before you breathe it in.
If you’re looking for ways to help you breathe better while riding, you might want to try using a nasal strip or a dilator. These devices can help to widen your nasal passages, which will allow you to take in more air through your nose.
Many pros and amateurs, including Alberto Contador and Chris Froome, use assistive devices, even though there is conflicting research on whether or not these devices actually improve performance. However, if you’re looking for a performance boost, it can’t hurt to try using these devices, even if the benefits may only be psychological. In addition, research does support the use of nasal strips or dilators for better sleep.
Whether breathing through your nose, mouth, or some combination, it is important to be aware of your breathing rate and to breathe from your diaphragm and abdomen – this is known as “belly breathing.” This allows more oxygen to be drawn into the lungs, providing physical and mental energy.
Breathing while sleeping
Correct breathing at night time may help with being more rested, recovering faster, and feeling more energized in training regimes.
If you struggle with mouth breathing, there are things you can do to help improve your airflow and make it easier to breathe through your nose. Mouth breathing at night time can have negative effects. It can be a result of habit, nasal passage obstruction, or genetics. If you have trouble mouth breathing, there are ways to improve your airflow and make it easier to breathe through your nose.
Mouth breathing at night can cause dehydration and trigger the need to wake up frequently to drink water, which can lead to restless nights and morning grumpiness.
How to start nose breathing
- Continuously remind yourself to breathe through your nose. Set up a phone reminder or post-it notes around the house.
- Practising breathing exercises like the Buteyko Method, where you learn to breathe through your nose with the aid of an instructor.
- Slowing down and relaxing. Practice deep breathing to reduce stress, as stress can tense up the muscles, causing you to breathe shallower. This in turn causes physiologic changes that can aggravate nasal congestion.
New York-based sleep and breathing expert Dr Steven Park says that you should clean your nasal passages regularly. He recommends using nasal saline sprays or a Neti-pot, which uses gravity to pour salt water into your nose and sinuses. You can either use prepared saline packages or mix your own recipe (one cup of lukewarm water and 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt or Kosher salt with a pinch of baking soda).
The training
Although it might be beneficial to attend a class, this breathing exercise can be done without spending any money. According to Pullan, the first step is to become aware of how you breathe. The best way to breathe is to breathe deeply through your nose so that your belly goes up and down instead of your chest.
He explains that nitric oxide is also vital for blood circulation, helping to reduce heart attacks and strokes. The reason we breathe through our mouths is that we are the only land mammal to do so, Pullan says. He explains that it’s much better to breathe through your nose because it filters out unhelpful particles and warms the air to body temperature. Additionally, producing nitric oxide helps to open air sacs in our lungs. Nitric oxide is also vital for blood circulation, helping to reduce heart attacks and strokes.
After you have learned how to control your breathing, try to slow it down further by counting how many breaths you take in one minute. This can help you prepare for a race, according to Pullan. When you slow your breathing down, it opens up your capillaries, which means you will be able to start the race as soon as it begins.
