How many of you breath hard, in and out, consistently for the whole ride? I never get into a good breathing rhythm. Sometimes I'm choking trying to get enough air into me.
Sounds kinda like asthma bro
>>929725
Nah. Been tested extensively and I apparently have a good heart and lungs. I mean I get into the rhythm, but it never lasts.
I have a nice rhythmic breathing throughout my ride until I start climbing, then everything goes to shit
The only time I really force myself into hyperventilation breathing like that is when I'm in a hard sprint. It feels good--doesn't take as long to recover afterwards. But I honestly have no idea if it's particularly effective, since I'm not really paying attention to keeping a consistent effort level.
>>929715
Umm.. if you're gasping for air the entire time you're riding, then you're riding too hard all the time. If you're riding at a sustainable, long-distance intensity, your breathing should be such that you could maintain a conversation with someone riding next to you without having significant pauses to catch your breath.
>>929731
>this is what happens when you 'just ride' all the time
I don't think about breathing when I'm riding. Unless I start breathing too hard then I lower the intensity or just keep breathing hard till I get to the top of the climb.
Breathing is natural you don't need to think about it.
>>929769
>riding too hard
I wasn't aware there was such a thing.
bum
>>930012
Okay, you knew what the fuck I meant though. Ride hard -> produce extra co2 -> breathe hard to vent that co2
I breathe hard at the start of my rides and on steep hills desu
It's weird, I never have to pay attention to my breathing when I'm cycling cause I naturally go into a good rhythm. But once I'm running, it all goes down the toilet.
>>931637
I find the same thing; it's why I like cycling so much. When you're tired you can just go a little slower, but when you're running it's either stop or go.
>>929769
>you don't need to think about it.
think again
http://www.oxycise.com/
I don't do this road bike autism so I shouldn't even post.
That said, I run. When running, I do this counting threes on every step thing. Every draw in and draw out takes 3 steps. Do you do something similar when biking?
>>931684
Try to. Doesn't always work out. It's a much less consistent thing when riding because you can change gears and are greatly affected by topography.
>tfw go to school at 7000ft
>come back home to sea level
I HAVE THE POWER OF GOD
>>929715
i take measured breaths at a constant rate while i'm riding. i make note of when, where and what i'm doing if i get the urge to hyperventilate and continue to focus on steady, measured breathing.
To get back on the "don't ride too hard" thing, I literally ALWAYS ride as hard as I can. If I feel like my legs could push just a little harder, I push a little harder. Could this be why my breathing is so f-ed up?
>>929731
Are you trying the maintain a high cadence and low gearing throughout the climb?
Did that. Didn't work for me. I do it old style now. Moderate gearing, low cadence, seated position. For some reason this allows me to breath much better.
Works wonders. I excel at climbing.
Though you need to have really strong legs to do this. I can afford to do it as I grew up climbing really steep hills.
The purpose of the breath is to steadily supply oxygen to the body and also slowly massage your organs throughout the day to help with bodily functions.
Your breathing should match your intensity, and you shouldn't become so intense that you wheeze. Efficiency is much more effective than intensity while riding, hence the root word EFFECT. Understand how to control your torso and diaphragm, dont brute force it like a cromagnon.
Learn about rhythm. The easiest way to be efficient is to match your breath to your leg rpm, and count your steps and breath. Think of wind musicians, broadway singers, dancers, and especially runners. They allot each breath to a body movement. In a cyclists case, I would suggest 3-6 rpm per inhale, depending on intensity.
a workout for breathing is to do handstands while trying to breath regularly. Unskilled people will tense their breathing usually making their face turn really red. People have breath problems not because of shitty lungs, but because of sensory overload; becoming so preoccupied that your brain sloppily handles autonomous breathing.
breathing is important in every aspect of life, I've learned about it through biology, then musical and performance studies, then medical studies again, and athletic perfomance all my life. cant stress how important it is to master it, and every physical activity becomes easy.
>>933345
>Efficiency is much more effective than intensity while riding, hence the root word EFFECT.
that isn't as deep as you think f.a.m.
in fact it's extremely inane.
this might be a good time for you to notice that "efficient" doesn't necessarily imply "fast"
>>931980
>Could this be why my breathing is so f-ed up?
Nah, I do the same thing. It gets easier the more you do it.
>>933345
The only way to increase oxygen uptake capability is to go so hard you are wheezing.
VO2Max interval
intervals that are so hard you can only maintain the pace for 3-6 minutes.
>>933409
I'm not sure that wheezing is something to strive for. Wheezing is characterized by a blockage in the airpath creating ripples in the air. Thats what you hear when you wheeze. If your airpath is clean and your own muscular tension isnt in your way, your breath can be nearly silent.
Classically trained singers are trained to fill and dump their lungs silently within an instant. It is easy to achieve, since you simply learn to relax your throat, align your body, and flex only the diaphragm muscle group. You're simply removing unnecessary tension and applying energy to a more appropriate part of the system, thus allowing you to work less and accomplish more, simultaneously!
A healthy tiredness is a symbol of pushing yourself into new grounds, but there is no reason to wheeze. Even the term "breathing hard" is miseducating, if someone is breathing "hard", and making a lot of sound, it means the rapid usage of valuable energy to block ones own airpath, making oxygen intake smaller and his muscular output larger, thus causing even heavier breathing...
relax the muscles that don't need to be used, and only apply energy where it will be most used for your objective. The hardest part is realizing just how tense we are every waking moment, which is why stretching and massage is also a key factor to your body's strength. If you find tightness, you become aware of the muscles you unnecessarily tensing up. Get your body out of its own way and you will achieve your goals much quicker.
>The hardest part is realizing just how tense we are every waking moment
I keep fucking up my foot from bad cycling posture.
>>934158
Have you tried fiddling with the fit of your bike?
>>934198
My bike's a mess. I'm just going to get a new bike and put clips on it.
I recommend everyone in this thread who is interested in developing their performance either for hobby or racing reasons experiment with different breathing techniques. Not many people do.
PRO TIP: Full, hard-inhale with half, quick-relaxed-exhale is what everyone faster than you is probably doing at some point. Knowing when to start JUICING IT UP with ancient breathing techniques developed for sustained hand-to-hand combat is also key. You can't maintain that style of breathing for an entire race unless you are a genetic anomaly. Ideally you want to JUICE IT UP right before an attack or if you want to hit a climb going full skeleton mode and survive it to mentally fuck with your opponents. Good luck with scrub tactics like that in higher level racing though.
If you feel light headed, you are doing it wrong. Your muscles should feel like that feeling you get when you are coming up on strong LSD. If you don't know what that feels like, don't worry about it.
>>932001
Nah, tried it, didn't quite get used to it. I don't mash either, just don't go Onoda mode.
>>934304
That little tingling feeling? I think I getcha
