ZHVelo

Does anyone else feel like their lung is holding them back? I live around hills so I can cycle up a lot (on flats I haven't noticed this too much). One thing I noticed is that I feel out of breath much before I feel tired in my legs, and when I check my heart rate it seems low. Like mid 160s, that seems low overall/absolutely, but also compared to my max (I have hit 175 cycling before, and from cross country I know it can get to the 180s and not too many years ago from running it would go to mid 180s or higher if I ended a run with a long sprint).


I know the cardiovascular system is a mix of things, also including how well your muscles can take up O2, but still, it feels rather odd. Is it maybe also how I breathe? I recently did a threshold run up my local hill, and tried to focus on breathing out slower and longer and lo and behold I immediately got a new PR.


Thanks for any insight,

ZHVelo

procrit

There are a lot of factors involved but generally speaking your lungs are not limiting your performance. It’s your hearts ability to move blood, your bloods ability to carry it, and your legs ability to use it efficiently.

ZHVelo

Sure, my question is more, why does it feel that way? Especially considering, my heart is very likely not that close to its maximum (based on readings I have seen it can go up to).

canklecat

Lots of factors. Check the allergy report in your area. Pollen count in my area has been ridiculously high most of the past several months, especially the past couple of weeks. I've ridden at night a few times recently, hoping the reduced automobile traffic will stir up less road dust. But I can see a virtual snowstorm of pollen in my headlights.

When allergens hit red zone like that I can barely breathe. That's often more of a factor than my heart rate or overall conditioning. And I can see in my fitness trend over the past year a decline that corresponds with the high allergy level. Everything else is the same but I'm struggling to breathe normally.

In fact it's been so bad I have appointments coming up for ENT, allergist and immunologist.

burnthesheep

Just because you've hit a HR zone in the past doesn't mean you can now. You'd have to do the work to get used to doing that again, overly simplistically speaking.

More specifically, you likely ride a lot of Z2 and probably never much real Z4 and up. Therefore, the density of the types of fibers in your legs (and your heart stroke power) aren't there for the bigger efforts.

Do a good amount of work in the upper zones for a short while, and the gains will come.

berner

I'm asthmatic myself which has to do with allergies. I also used to be a heavy smoker so it is not surprising that same as yourself, lungs usually give out before legs. People who play wind instruments as well as singers, are taught to breath using diaphram muscles. It is astonishing to me that opera singers with no microphone can fill a music hall with their voice. Basically on the inhale, suck air down into the belly like a fat buddah. The diaphram plus intercostal muscles produce an increase in volume of the chest cavity that air then fills. I learned about the mechanics of breathing from a book "Yoga Anatomy" which has detailed explanations and illustrations of how it all works.

ZHVelo

That is a sweet insight, though I hope for you it is nothing too serious. I will see if I can find pollen reports for my area, though I think it is not that for me since I have noticed before in times with a lot of visible pollen that my nose just starts leaking from that. And that isn't happening at the moment.

ZHVelo

More like I am always too lazy in the winter and lose most progress. However, I have read up a lot about training, even got a power meter and have made myself a nice training plan, so we will see by the end of the summer I guess.

I like the logic behind this though, and it might actually make sense, especially when I was jogging (school and university) and included sprints, I was certainly doing a lot more all out or at least anaerobic high effort work than I have been doing since cycling. Not to mention you move your entire body.

burnthesheep

Also, to try to give a similar story.........I run when time is short, can't get the bike out, or it's just too windy or cold or something. All my wannabe racer bike fitness is there in the heart/lungs, but I do not have the muslce/mitochondria and connections made for the run motion.

If I tried to hold my bike 20min HR for a 5k, I would explode my legs and never walk again after a mile.

Even worse if I tried a 1-mile test.

Richard Cranium

One difference between running and cycling is the ability to select the resistance or "cadence/load" . In running, your legs - and your weight - are both static. In cycling the exercise load present is a function of gear - inches (stride) over cadence, (stride frequency)

HerrKaLeun

Your heart gets bigger with training. So at a given performance it can beat slower.

Your lungs only degrade from the time you were grown up. Like if 10% of the area is destroyed from air pollution or smoking, it will never come back. No training will add lung capacity. Like people who recover from COVID-19 that lose 30% lung capacity due to scaring will forever be limited to 70% lung capacity.

If your capacity is heart or lung limited, well, that is specific to your body.

Iride01 

I've felt that it is my lungs holding me back too. I've imagined that this is why I have to ride a a higher HR to maintain the same speeds that others my age do. But, as I said I only imagine that. I've not talked with a doctor or someone that might have the knowledge to know if that's a real thing.

ThermionicScott 

The old-school advice was to shift up a gear to rest your lungs, or shift down a gear to rest your legs.

HeyItsSara

The pros have greater lung capacity. They're born with it.