I rate myself as pretty quick up the hills amongst my riding group and overall we are a reasonably fast group with a few racer boys who keep the pace up. Invariably we end up competing on the up hills and I will push myself hard to be at the front and often get so out of breath that I feel panicky, like I am drowning. I can keep going but it is a serious effort. I guess I am at the ceiling of my ability but just wanted to check if this sounds unhealthy i.e. if I am putting my heart into high stress. Any comments from the medically-minded?

I am 41 years old, 6’4″ and 98kg in riding gear and ride 3 times a week for approx 7 hours in total.

Cheers
Rich

IANAD but could there be an undiagnosed medical reason e.g. asthma? Speaking as a sufferer myself.

Personally getting enough air in is never a limiting factor no matter how hard I push it – my legs always give up first! I used to get “out of breath” when I was unfit and I guess my lungs were the bottleneck but not any more. Sounds like you are not unfit though if you’re riding 3x per week.

Possibly not breathing correctly, maybe causing CO2 build up. Have a google at shallow breathing and see if it applies

Whenever I get the panic breathing feeling I know it is time to grab my blue asthma inhaler. Now 47 and only been diagnosed about 6 years ago so could be worth asking the GP to run some tests

I’m interested in the responses to this. I had a few moments like this in the summer. When pushing hard, usually racing someone up a long hill, I would suddenly feel like I couldn’t breath enough/I was asphyxiating. I say suddenly, but this occurred after continuing to push hard after I’d felt my power start to drop. I’d have to stop, get off the bike and take my helmet off etc. Took a few very concerning minutes each time for this asphyxiating feeling to go away, it was very uncomfortable. I suspected at the time I had just pushed myself too hard so I’ve just eased off a bit. Hasn’t happened recently.

Also very interested.
I have had episodes just like “smatkins1” – very uncomfortable…

I’m interested in this also, as in the last 2 or 3 years I get a noticable wheezing going up difficult hills, no actual feeling of restricted breath or panic, but it never used to happen and my fitness is always increasing so I don’t understand what’s going on

another one here who’ll be watching with interest, doesn’t happen so much on the bike thankfully, but had similar thing when running

i agree with nickjb

shallow breathing will lead to anxiety – if you’re fit already, its probably just a bad breathing technique

I seem to remember doing a first aid course and learing about getting people with panic attacks to breathe out properly.
I’d previously been to the Drs some years ago with shortness of breath, he said it was sports asthma, signed a form, gave me an inhaler, which kind of worked. Then did the first aid course at work and now when Im plodding up a hill wheezing like a train I just make sure I exhale properly. The basic principal is its no good trying to breath in if you’ve got lung fulls of air allready

I’ve had this feeling too on occasion, usually when pushing too hard on a climb at the start of a ride and then stopping suddenly for a rest at the top. I’ve never felt any serious anxiety but certainly felt like I wasn’t getting enough oxygen and out of breath for a good couple of mins. There have been a few times when climbing in a full face helmet where I’ve had to stop and get the lid off sharpish to get some air in.

I think I first started getting this sometime after I turned 40 and always put it down to lack of general fitness, getting a bit older and pushing myself too hard to keep up with faster guys. I’m 46 now and it’s never got worse, probably better if anything but I generally take it easier on climbs now.

I’ve never thought it could be something other than being not quite as fit as I’d like to be, so will be interesting to see how this thread pans out.

Sounds like it’s worth getting an appointment with the doc to chat through things like exercise-induced asthma, hyperventilation and anxiety.

Can you get hold of a peak flow meter to check baseline, moderate exercise and extreme exercise readings?

i also get this when trying to go fast uphills. i just thought it was my 30 a day smoking habit,

Another one registering interest.
Mine particularly happens if I stop suddenly at the top, if I carry on I’m usually fine. I assumed it was a breathing issue as when I stopped I get out of the breathing rhythm of climbing but still need to get loads of air in to recover.

I assumed this was part of being fat & old. I ride slower now & it doesn’t happen anymore!

Sounds like asthma.. I used to get episodes like that..my lips would tingle too…but also consider if you are eating enough on rides..low blood sugar and an adrenaline rush can make some people feel shaky and panicky.

I have a friend who is diabetic and often keeled over after an exciting bit of single track..

Mine particularly happens if I stop suddenly at the top, if I carry on I’m usually fine.

That’s exactly what happens to me. It’s the sudden stop that triggers off my erratic breathing. If I continue to ride over the top at a slow pace I usually recover much better. I’m pretty sure I’ve read that it’s not a good idea to stop suddenly when exercising hard. Maybe this is why!

I assumed this was part of being fat & old. I ride slower now & it doesn’t happen anymore!

this too!

As far as I understand it, the thing with suddenly stopping after exercising hard is that the body immediately tries to get rid of all the lactic acid which has built up, and this obviously needs a lot of oxygen which the respiratory system has trouble supplying. If you warm down gradually, the time over which the lactic acid is processed is increased, which thus puts less strain on your respiratory system.

Another thing is that breathing problems while exercising such as those as described in this thread, which will often be classed as exercised induced asthma, can (I say “can” because it’s a rather varied condition) have very little to do with what is typically known as “asthma”. Asthma sufferers typically have a wheeze and have a feeling of constriction of the lungs, and inhalers etc. will (hopefully) help. But with exercised enduced asthma there may be no wheezing or feeling of constriction, but rather just a feeling of a need for more oxygen. The reasons behind this can be numerous, with conditions such as anaemia or problems with the actual cell process of respiration being the cause, and inhalers can be of little to no help.

Sorry ran out of time editing, anyway, my final point: the moral of the story is that if you’re experiencing these symptoms and there isn’t an obvious explanation such as lack of fitness or a viral infection etc. then go have a chat with your GP, have some tests for asthma etc. and also bear in mind that there are other conditions which can have similar effects.

Thanks for that explanation Nixon… Is there a name for this condition or of courante ?

Happened to me at the weekend riding with mates, straight out the car park, no warm up at all then uphill and matching someone else’s pace. Almost like going over the aerobic threshold from the off ..

Don’t ignore things like this, go to the doctor and get them checked out.
My dad rode a bit, but a lot more with me on holidays, and had always assumed that being out of breath was just part of him being unfit (he was a bit overweight).
This got steadily worse, but he was still riding, and just put it down to getting older. But recently he was diagnosed with lung cancer, which has most likely been developing for the best part of 3 years.

Don’t ignore the signs, go to a doctor and get it checked out!

I’ve already seen the doctor a few times about this and he keeps telling me there’s nothing wrong or its anxiety
I’m watching this thread to see what others experiences are

I get this on my way to work if i go a certain route – i’ve always put it down to not really warming up & going straight up a longish steep hill . Does make you panic a bit though , but then it’s downhill through a farmers field & then fairly flat fortunately so i just keep on going .
I’m 47 by the way , so maybe it’s an age thing ?

I’ve already seen the doctor a few times about this and he keeps telling me there’s nothing wrong or its anxiety
I’m watching this thread to see what others experiences are

Did he offer you any lung function tests?

Thanks for the replies. Not age because a couple of the racers are 49 and 50 and they are still going like whippets. I rode last night on the single-speed and tried exhaling fully on every breathe and this really helped. Just to be clear, I don’t a panic attack, just feel I can’t breathe enough and feel a little panicky. I suspect just pushing to the limit and it goes within a 60 seconds. Interesting point from Nixon about cells because my dad has myelodysplasia which is a condition of the cells. He used to do 250 mile endurance rides and it was through drops in cycling performance that he found he had it. Hopefully not the case here. I foresee a quiet sigh from the GP when I bring this one up.

I’m going to try the breathing ( exhaling )tomorrow then – i’m the same …just feel a little panicky .

This may or may not help, but I found that having done some running, specifically sprinting, I never get out of breath at all on the bike, no matter how I hard I push.

So perhaps some exercise specifically aimed at increasing cardio-vascular capacity might help?

One other thing to consider may be anxiety attacks – the symptoms sound pretty similar. Worth looking up.

As far as I understand it, the thing with suddenly stopping after exercising hard is that the body immediately tries to get rid of all the lactic acid which has built up, and this obviously needs a lot of oxygen which the respiratory system has trouble supplying. If you warm down gradually, the time over which the lactic acid is processed is increased, which thus puts less strain on your respiratory system.

That’s the one I was thinking of thanks. When I reach the top of a steep climb I continue riding slowly rather than just stopping and find it helps a lot.

Oxygen debt (bit of further info on removal of lactic acid)? http://www.brianmac.co.uk/oxdebit.htm

Might be worth seeing if it improves with training. You can train your body to cope better under these conditions. Also bear in mind the effects of pressure and excitement on your breathing. Could be nothing if these are the culprits, could be something medical as above.

martinhutch – Member

Did he offer you any lung function tests?

Nope

I think he’s under the impression I’m nuts, or a liar, or both

Agree with others on the breathing thing, forcing yourself to keep breathing constant and deep will certainly help.

If it’s asthma, you don’t necessarily get a wheeze. Asthma attacks start with a build up of mucus in the small branches of the lungs, the more the mucus builds up the more the respiratory system responds to it. That response can be a wheeze, coughing fit, a feeling that you can’t breathe as deeply as you need to, eyesight can seem to get white around the edges, etc. it can be one or all these things.

Concentrate on the breathing and not stopping suddenly. It that doesn’t sort it, get it checked out. If it’s asthma, it’s probably. I’ll and can therefore be treated. Don’t let the doc push you away. I recently had to push for a different medication after trying almost everything. I actually read about that medication on here and it’s the one thing that has really made a difference when nothing else was working.

Gave this some thought on tonights ride while puffing up hill. When diving I was trained to improve breathing and avoiding CO2 build up by breathing in for a count of five and out for 7. I noticed when riding uohill I was breathing in normally then rapidly exhaling. Tried a similar technique to the diving one at it was a bit slow. In for 3 and out for 4 felt pretty good. Might but worth a try as it isn’t easy to give it a go.

Might be worth switching the pattern round, like count 3 in and 2 hard out. You want to keep a steady supply of oxygen when pushing hard. There’s plenty of info about breathing on running websites and forums. General advice is to concentrate on breathing in more than out, with the out breath being more forceful, particularly on hills. YEMV

suddenly stopping is not a great idea as your slowing the flow of blood around the body as your muscles contracting contribute to pumping blood through the limbs, that means your unable to deal effectively with the accumulated waste products.

I would also look at your breathing, I tried Obree’s way of concentrating on breathing out completely rather than in and it really helped me as it gave me something simple to focus on as I was just panting before.