Originally Posted by
Iride01
Rdmonster69 Just to be clear, I might have misrepresented the article. It might be that it was only talking about certain short periods when on the bike. Or maybe something else entirely. However they were comparing that the average joe cyclist didn't have near the respiration rate of elite pro-cyclists. The main jist of the article was differences between pro's and us never-will-be-anything-like cyclists. Respiration was just a short mention in it that I recall.
Probably something I read on CyclingNews, CyclingWeekly or VeloNews. Early this year or sometime last year.
No worries ..... I would be utterly shocked if a pro cyclist couldn't breathe deeper, harder and faster for a longer duration than normal humans. There real overwhelming advantage is the strength and efficiency of their circulatory system.. You have to breathe far less when your heart is able to deliver mass quantities of oxygenated blood. That's why I said it was really interesting and would be very curious as to the actual physiological make up of a pro cyclist.
Specifically I would love to see a full pulmonary study including
A. Lung volumes via Plethysmography.
B. Airway Resistance
C. Diffusing Capacity using the single breath carbon monoxide test
D. Slow Vital Capacity and Forced Vital Capacity
E. Maximum Inspiratory and Expiratory Pressure
F. Maximum Voluntary Ventilation
This set of tests would basically be a full battery of respiratory muscle strength as well as standard lung functions .I would think the RMS tests would be above normal and the standard functions would not be hugely different. This info may even be out there somewhere. As a clinician I would be most interested to seeing the RMS of an elite athlete is that much different than a regular human.