[RemingtonShowdown]

Ok, so it's inevitable that at some point while riding we all have to take a couple of breaths in and let one or two out... I am curious as to the employment of breathing techniques and patterns while riding. I've met folks who start breathing during warm-up and continue on a fixed pattern all the way to the refrigerator after the ride, and others who use patterns at various points during a ride such as sprints. So you stellar athelets you, tell me what do you do, why and where did ya learn this.

 

[treebound]

swimming

I learned to breath on the high school swim team. After three years one learns to not inhale underwater.

I've also done a little weight lifting training in past years and take a little breathing guidance from there.

Otherwise it's a sort of learn what works for you sort of thing.

The bottom line is - keep breathing. And in a large pack if someone stands up and inhales hard and holds it compressed and grimmaced and looks like he's about to explode a huge fart, he may instead be about to explode a huge blast on the crank arms instead. Breathing is an art all in itself.

YMMV

 

[bigrider]

I have always focused on getting the air out of my lungs. Your body seems to suck it back fine on its own without thinking about it.
Everyone I ride with jokes about my heavy breathing on hills. They say on the steep stuff I can suck pebbles off the road. I know I sound like a freight train with my breathing but it is the only way I can maximize my performance on the hills.

 

[Spinfinity]

Push the air out with my diaphragm.

I have a hard time focusing on stuff like breathing, pedaling and bike position. Much of my riding time is spent reacting to the world around me and thinking of stuff far away from the bike.

When I do focus on breathing I find that pushing the air out from my diaphragm, like my clarinet teacher taught me, and letting it come back in by itself makes me feel better oxygenated when climbing or trying to ride fast. The downside is that it sticks my stomach out like a cycling Buddha for about 3/4 of the breathing cycle.

 

[Mike T.]

Try Out followed by In - repeat.

Sorry, I couldn't resist. Let atmospheric pressure fill the lungs not muscle energy. Just exhale forcefully and let nature do the rest.

When climbing I try to breath in rhythm to the pedal strokes -

"Out 1-2-3. In 1-2. Out 1-2-3. In 1-2".

I gives you something to concentrate on.

 

[Shockee]

Sorry, I couldn't resist. Let atmospheric pressure fill the lungs not muscle energy. Just exhale forcefully and let nature do the rest.

When climbing I try to breath in rhythm to the pedal strokes -

"Out 1-2-3. In 1-2. Out 1-2-3. In 1-2".

I gives you something to concentrate on.

Hmm - did you miss Physiology 101 Mikey? Inspiration (lay term is inhalation) normally involves muscle action, Expiration is normally a passive=muscle relaxation phase. High output physiology is different, though, involving more voluntary muscle contraction in intercostals, etc. Perhaps you mean to say to limit your energy output on inspiration more than expiration - something I don't know much about, but Eddy B's book would probably support this proposition, along with the previously mentioned 'belly breathing'. Still, there is no air movement into the lungs by atmospheric pressure alone: the pressure differential is always a result of either muscle contraction, or muscle elasticity of the diaphragm during expiration only.

 

[innergel]

belly breathing = yogic breathing

When I do focus on breathing I find that pushing the air out from my diaphragm, like my clarinet teacher taught me, and letting it come back in by itself makes me feel better oxygenated when climbing or trying to ride fast. The downside is that it sticks my stomach out like a cycling Buddha for about 3/4 of the breathing cycle.

They teach essentially the same thing in yoga class. My instructor calls in infant breathing. I try and do this during very hard efforts and it seems to calm me down and get me into a rhythm. Inhale slowly through your nose and expand into a Buddha belly, exhale forcefully while contracting the aforementioned Buddha and diaphragm. Repeat as necessary.

I read in one of my training books about a racer who was fanatical about his breathing techniques. They called him the "Freight Train" or "Steam Engine" or something similar because you could hear him coming from a long way back just from his breathing.

 

[Mike T.]

Was.................................

..........the 'Y' placed at the end of my name meant as some form of put-down? It sure felt like it, coming from someone so young.

I'll resist reciprocation.

 

[Shockee]

..........the 'Y' placed at the end of my name meant as some form of put-down? It sure felt like it, coming from someone so young.

I'll resist reciprocation.

I think your best quality is that you're young at heart, Mr. T. Sorry you took my sardony the wrong way - lost in translation and all. So, when are ya coming West? There's a nice 5,000 ft climb nearby waitin for you to put me to my deserved shame!