| Over training and trouble breathing?
Posted: 11/24/2007 6:26:20 PM | Without making it sound more dramatic than it really is: I've just come off a rather intense training regimen during the Combat Challenge season. This involved long, excruciating workouts involving both strength and endurance- pretty much non-stop for about 6 months. I've found that lately I've been having some trouble getting that nice, deep breath in that we sometimes find we need after long periods of slowed breathing... and I find I'm having to try and take these deep breaths more and more often, even though the training regimen I was on has been reduced somewhat with the completion of the season.
I've looked a few things up online but most seem to revolve around asthma and heart failure... and I'm not athsmatic and I can say with reasonable certainty that it's not pending heart failure. I should be on top of these things... I'm an EMT-A after all, and do have access to 12 lead and O2 pulse ox equipment.
Any athletes ever experience this with your training regimen?
Additionally, I'm taking a product called H+ Blocker and it's supposed to help stabilize the blood's PH levels during training- neutralizing lactic acid buildup through means WAY beyond my kin. (And I will say unequivically that it works really well) Could it be that it is tricking my body into thinking that I need more air by interfering with normal PH balance? Anyone know a bit more science about this? I'm thinking if it's neutralizing the acidity in my blood, however, that it would be thinking I'd need less oxygen (from reduced acidity and related CO2) instead of more... so I'm not sure that theory holds water.
I'm interested in hearing any and all thoughts. I'll fill in blanks where requested- I know the theory on the PH is loose... but over the past few days it's got me thinking. I've been using H+Blocker, however, for 5 months and only recently (last 3 weeks or so) been experiencing this shortness of breath. No loss of strength, though my cardio has taken a bit of a hit.
Eno. | |
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| Over training and trouble breathing?
Posted: 11/24/2007 6:46:52 PM |
and I'm not athsmatic
Are you sure? What about exercise induced asthma? Your vigorous workouts would seem to make you a prime candidate, although exercise induced asthma is more prevalent amongst younger people.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exercise-induced_asthma
Also, I'm sure you know already, but Alberta is known to be the province with the highest incidents of asthma, far more than any other province in Canada - another strike against you. When were you last actually tested for asthma? | |
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| Over training and trouble breathing?
Posted: 11/24/2007 8:02:50 PM | Eno,
Your training regimen seems very intense - too intense at that.
I've had chest pains when I over train like this.. Back off! Your body is telling you that you have over trained. Yet, you can still keep training your body in another way. Let me explain.
The six months of training - was it done with a heart rate monitor? If yes, was your training done close to, or above your anaerobic threshold? If we can all assume "yes" to a high heart rate during your training - then this training made your body's anaerobic systems far more dominant than your natural aerobic systems. Thus your previous training has been mostly anaerobic, and for too long. Find any book by Philip Maffetone or his peers, and you may understand.
I suspect (with good certaintly) that you have an anaerobic imbalance. Your body's anaerobic systems are stronger (WAY STRONGER) than your aerobic systems. This is very bad and can be fatal. This is the point of training where many athlete's get fatal heart attacks. You need to ensure that the next cycle of training is done at a much lower heart rate. A training cycle should be done with either aerobic and anaerobic goals in mind - not both. Both types of training adapt the body in different ways. Now, it is the time for you to walk or jog. Walking everyday is a good way to re-build your aerobic systems.
My suggestion: Walk. Avoid all anaerobic exercise AT ALL COST for three months. No weight lifting, no sprinting, and no stair climbing! Only exercise at least 30 beats BELOW your anaerobic threshold. Huh? Yes this way below your anaerobic threshold!! Many of us, including doctors (If not all of us) assume that the body goes anaerobic when our heart rate reaches our anaerobic threshold. No, this is untrue. The shift is not black and white, not simply off and on. The body slowly shifts from one fuel system to the another as our heart rate goes up. Thus all of us shift from our aerobic fuels, to our anaerobic fuels above 100 beats per minute. Read books like "Training, Lactate, Pulse rate" for more understanding.
Buy a heart rate monitor if you don't already have one. Encourage your body to use and burn fat again by eating oils and by keeping your heart rate low during exercise. Walking is good for you. Best of luck! | |
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| Over training and trouble breathing?
Posted: 11/24/2007 9:12:29 PM | It's just a hunch, but here's what I think:
In areas where there is low pH, high temperature and high CO2 concentration, blood hemoglobin will tend to unload oxygen. (i.e. muscles under strenuous exercise).
In areas where there is higher pH, low temperature and low CO2 concentration, blood hemoglobin will tend to take up oxygen. (i.e. lungs).
If you are taking H+ blockers to increase the pH of your blood (high pH = less acidity), it is possible that it's interfering with your blood hemoglobin unloading at your muscles. So even though your blood is well-oxygenated, it can't do its unloading job effectively where it's needed, and may lead to your breathing symptoms.
When you start messing with the pH of your blood, you are tampering with your homeostasis mechanisms. I wouldn't do that unless there is a reason to (such as if you are a diabetic with ketoacidosis).
I'm no physician, though in dental school we had to take the same physio class as the med students, and that's what I remember from physio anyways.
I recommend you stop taking that H+ blocker for now and talk to a sports physician and get a professional opinion.
Hope this helps. | |
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| Over training and trouble breathing?
Posted: 11/25/2007 9:32:46 PM | Best of luck Eno,
I hope you find the change that works for you.
I am in total agreement with WisdomTooth on his advice. Especially in that a professional should help you find a correct answer. There are too many variables involved. For myself, I would not count on an over the counter solution for a complex situation.
Take care! | |
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| Over training and trouble breathing?
Posted: 11/30/2007 8:52:44 PM | I agree with BC runner, only because I experienced a "breathing episode" during a workout that led to immediate medical treatment. The cause was linked to overtraining. I was running at 89% - 92% of my max HR for *every single run* - even the long, 2.5 hour runs. Sound impossible? Yeah, that's the power of mental toughness for you. In the longer runs I would start out slower and my HR would get high fairly quickly, then creep up even further.
I did something similar to what BC runner suggested. Now 90% of my runs are in my aerobic zone. It seems painfully slow. And the long runs seem almost mind-numbingly boring (running for 4 hours at an average HR of 140 bpm is **slow**). The payoff? ALL symptoms of over training have subsided. I've been completely injury free since I changed to a HR model of training and my endurance has skyrocketed.
It's anecdotal and from what I've seen, there's been little scientific research done on this topic. If you find any, I'd love to hear about it. | |
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| Over training and trouble breathing?
Posted: 12/1/2007 4:03:27 AM | Just a thought;
could it be that you're overtraining has lowered your immune system, causing you to pick up some sort of respiratory infection? | |
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| Over training and trouble breathing?
Posted: 12/3/2007 4:37:52 PM | Eh there- thanks for the input. I have been keeping my ear to the ground on the whole infection thing... looking for increases in temperature... coughing up gooey stuff... I haven't ruled it out but the onset is way too long in my opinion. It's been weeks now.
I'm going to the doc when I get home on Wednesday / Thursday so if he has any input I'll post it so that we can all learn a thing or two about it.
Eno | |
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