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Help! I can't breathe!
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A little background about myself. I am 47 years old. Worked in a factory for 19 years that manufactured non-dairy creamer. Might be good in your coffee, but not in your lungs. I've since been diagnosed with mild asthma. Had a pulmonary function test done and technician asked me when I quit smoking. I've NEVER smoked but according to the test results, I have the lung capacity of a 78 year old. Signed up for Ironman 70.3 next June 2018. I've no problem on the bike or the run with regards to breathing, however the swim is probably going to kill me! My wife is a swim instructor at our local YMCA. She is also signed up for the Ironman 70.3. She tells me that my freestyle form is great.

My problem is, I can't seem to get enough air while swimming. I can maybe do 50yds before I have to stop to get a good breath. She tells me I just have to keep going until I get my breathing down, similar to a warm-up run. I've thought about doing some freestyle until I feel like I need a break and then doing sidestroke until I feel like I can go back to freestyle, but I think this is going to be too slow. Can anyone else with asthma who has done an Ironman, give me some assistance? I'm confident I can do the swim once I figure out my breathing. Would greatly appreciate ANY and ALL advice.
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Re: Help! I can't breathe! [Matt70.3] [ In reply to ]
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Are you kicking too much? What’s your wife’s background to say your freestyle is “ flawless”? Post a video, the fish here will help, just have thick skin.
Last edited by: mike s: Dec 3, 17 19:47
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Re: Help! I can't breathe! [Matt70.3] [ In reply to ]
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the cure for what ails you is 2:3 breathing. i'll be writing about this a lot during the guppy challenge starting on the 11th of this month.

when you say your doctor says you have the lungs of a 78 year old, some of us aren't that far away. monty and i are in our 60s now, and if you want to continue to swim with any sense of competitive zip you find workarounds and taking consecutive breaths is one big workaround.

i do a riff off of this pattern, where i often take 3 consecutive breaths going into and/or coming out of a turn, and sometimes during the middle of the pool.

it's not easy to do in the beginning, but if it really does become second nature after awhile. if i didn't use this breathing pattern i'd be in a heap of trouble.

Dan Empfield
aka Slowman
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Re: Help! I can't breathe! [Matt70.3] [ In reply to ]
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I was having a similar issue, mine developed out of nowhere just started feeling really short of breath.

Are you breathing out as soon as your face hits the water? this is the issue I was having, I wasn't breathing out as soon as my face hit the water and was still exhaling while I was turning, now I exhale as soon as my face hits the water and I can get a full breath when I turn my head.

Also how many strokes do you take between breathes? I take a breath every 2 strokes, to the left every time. You dont have to breathe every 3 or 4.
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Re: Help! I can't breathe! [Matt70.3] [ In reply to ]
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A few things,

Are you having any problems breathing while running or biking? If yes, then your asthma might be the bigger issue here. But if not, then it surely is your breathing technique while swimming that is at fault.

What is your breathing method during freestyle, how often are you breathing, how are you timing your inhalation and exhalation? Give lots of detail or share a video. Then you will get lots of useful feedback.

In any case, don't give up, but 'knowledge is power' in terms of fixing this. You have come to the right place.

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Re: Help! I can't breathe! [Matt70.3] [ In reply to ]
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Despite your alleged lung function tests, I'll bet strongly that what you are describing is the normal feeling of a beginner swimmer learning to acclimate to the slower breaths with harder efforts that are required in swimming.

It takes a lot of getting used to, and honestly, never feels comfortable or easy even after you develop a better hypoxia resistance, but you'll find you will be able to go harder for longer.

For what it's worth, what you describe is exactly normal for a very beginner swimmer that's never consistently trained for swimming before.

Of course, if you are actually a previous pretty-good swimmer experiencing a sudden decline, I'd then blame the lungs, but if you're a green new swimmer, what you are experiencing is 100% normal and expected, and is one of the huge differences between starting up run/cycling vs starting up swimming in terms of challenges.
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Re: Help! I can't breathe! [Matt70.3] [ In reply to ]
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I would also recommend you check your iron levels and rbc’s. Anemia through low iron sucks. And mild to moderate chronic dehydration can also leave you short of breath.
Good luck

Jim Hallberg
USAC level II
USAT Level I
http://www.d3multisport.com
WATTS UP!!
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Re: Help! I can't breathe! [Matt70.3] [ In reply to ]
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Matt70.3 wrote:
non-dairy creamer. Might be good in your coffee, but..

How can I be the first person to call you out on this blatant lie?

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Re: Help! I can't breathe! [lightheir] [ In reply to ]
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lightheir wrote:
Despite your alleged lung function tests, I'll bet strongly that what you are describing is the normal feeling of a beginner swimmer learning to acclimate to the slower breaths with harder efforts that are required in swimming.

It takes a lot of getting used to, and honestly, never feels comfortable or easy even after you develop a better hypoxia resistance, but you'll find you will be able to go harder for longer.

For what it's worth, what you describe is exactly normal for a very beginner swimmer that's never consistently trained for swimming before.

Of course, if you are actually a previous pretty-good swimmer experiencing a sudden decline, I'd then blame the lungs, but if you're a green new swimmer, what you are experiencing is 100% normal and expected, and is one of the huge differences between starting up run/cycling vs starting up swimming in terms of challenges.
Lord this 100%. When I hopped back in the pool a couple of years ago I went "I know how to swim, did it as a kid!". Bashed out 50m. Did another 50m but starting to gasp. Nearly drowned in my 3rd 50 and finished it with breaststroke. Made it about 400m total that day while my buddies did 1500...

After a few more pool sessions I learned to slow my effort right down to match my lung capacity, now I can cruise along at a sustainable pace. ("Pace" is a euphemism...)
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Re: Help! I can't breathe! [Matt70.3] [ In reply to ]
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What are you doing to treat your asthma. There are a number of very effective medicines to treat exercise induced asthma.
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Re: Help! I can't breathe! [Slowman] [ In reply to ]
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Slowman wrote:
the cure for what ails you is 2:3 breathing.


Could be part of it anyway. Completely exhaling could help. Cultivating a supple form could be part of it too (rigidity sucks oxygen). And general fitness. And being good enough at swimming to have a slow enough pace. Turnover rate plays into it. That's probably enough to not even get into breath timing, but there it is.

Breathing every stroke isn't a magic fix. If you take incomplete breaths it doesn't matter all that much how many you take. Taking more can increase their incompleteness.
Last edited by: FindinFreestyle: Dec 3, 17 21:26
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Re: Help! I can't breathe! [Matt70.3] [ In reply to ]
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Matt70.3 wrote:
A little background about myself. I am 47 years old. Worked in a factory for 19 years that manufactured non-dairy creamer. Might be good in your coffee, but not in your lungs. I've since been diagnosed with mild asthma. Had a pulmonary function test done and technician asked me when I quit smoking. I've NEVER smoked but according to the test results, I have the lung capacity of a 78 year old. Signed up for Ironman 70.3 next June 2018. I've no problem on the bike or the run with regards to breathing, however the swim is probably going to kill me! My wife is a swim instructor at our local YMCA. She is also signed up for the Ironman 70.3. She tells me that my freestyle form is great.

My problem is, I can't seem to get enough air while swimming. I can maybe do 50yds before I have to stop to get a good breath. She tells me I just have to keep going until I get my breathing down, similar to a warm-up run. I've thought about doing some freestyle until I feel like I need a break and then doing sidestroke until I feel like I can go back to freestyle, but I think this is going to be too slow. Can anyone else with asthma who has done an Ironman, give me some assistance? I'm confident I can do the swim once I figure out my breathing. Would greatly appreciate ANY and ALL advice.

The good news is there are plenty of successful athletes, even a ton of Olympians, who have asthma and terrible lung function. For the record my pulmonoligist said I have the lung function of a 94 year old women ;)

If your wife is a swim instructor lean on her to continue to help. We don't have nearly enough to information to diagnose what is going on. If you are new to swimming, which is sounds like you are (because of the background prvided) you should expect the learning curve to be pretty step. Keep swimming and report back.


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Re: Help! I can't breathe! [Matt70.3] [ In reply to ]
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I'm going to disagree with everyone else here. If you're a beginner, you are much more likely to have a 'can't breathe and am going to suffocate' sensation as a result of failure to exhale carbon dioxide. On the surface your breathing regulates itself. Below it you're trying to balance the chemistry.

I would suggest kickboard bubble exercises and making sure you breathe out for longer underwater between breaths.

Eventually you get to a point where your body 'knows' how much to exhale before breathing in again, and can regulate CO2 better (sheer time in the pool helps with this), but it's not something that comes naturally. It has to be trained.

'It never gets easier, you just get crazier.'
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Re: Help! I can't breathe! [georged] [ In reply to ]
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Two posts up.



"Completely exhaling could help. "

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Re: Help! I can't breathe! [Matt70.3] [ In reply to ]
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Matt70.3 wrote:
A little background about myself. I am 47 years old. Worked in a factory for 19 years that manufactured non-dairy creamer. Might be good in your coffee, but not in your lungs. I've since been diagnosed with mild asthma. Had a pulmonary function test done and technician asked me when I quit smoking. I've NEVER smoked but according to the test results, I have the lung capacity of a 78 year old. Signed up for Ironman 70.3 next June 2018. I've no problem on the bike or the run with regards to breathing, however the swim is probably going to kill me! My wife is a swim instructor at our local YMCA. She is also signed up for the Ironman 70.3. She tells me that my freestyle form is great.


My problem is, I can't seem to get enough air while swimming. I can maybe do 50yds before I have to stop to get a good breath. She tells me I just have to keep going until I get my breathing down, similar to a warm-up run. I've thought about doing some freestyle until I feel like I need a break and then doing sidestroke until I feel like I can go back to freestyle, but I think this is going to be too slow. Can anyone else with asthma who has done an Ironman, give me some assistance? I'm confident I can do the swim once I figure out my breathing. Would greatly appreciate ANY and ALL advice.


My thread from a year ago may help you. I am younger than you and I do not have asthma but I suspect this will still help you:

http://forum.slowtwitch.com/...g_problems_P6174732/

"If it costs you 30 minutes at Maryland so what" -dwreal
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Re: Help! I can't breathe! [Matt70.3] [ In reply to ]
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It occurs to me that you might have bronchiolitis obliterans, AKA 'popcorn lung'.

Do a little research on management of the condition and talk to a respiratory specialist if it's within your means. And talk to a responsible law firm that conducts class action lawsuits. You've been wronged and have means to fix it in part.

'It never gets easier, you just get crazier.'
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Re: Help! I can't breathe! [georged] [ In reply to ]
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You can try kickboarding alternate lengths..it helped me catch my breath while honing in kick and developing reach

I started with 25m to 25m then as my breathing and kicking improved then I did 50m 75m to 25m then 125m to 25m

Suddenly my swimming and breathing fell in place
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Re: Help! I can't breathe! [lacticturkey] [ In reply to ]
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Have you been seen by a lung specialist? They might be able to differentiate the diagnosis and treatment possibilities more

I remember swimming burns a lot of oxygen when you start learning....like pushups.....25meters felt far, then suddenly you can do more
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Re: Help! I can't breathe! [lightheir] [ In reply to ]
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lightheir wrote:
what you describe is exactly normal for a very beginner swimmer that's never consistently trained for swimming before. .

This is it, the OP's wife probably hasn't helped many adult onset swimmers.

I see this ALL THE TIME, about ten times per year. Person comes in, attempts to breathe every three to 4 or 6 strokes and is surprised when they are out of breath after 25 or 50 yards. Throw in the fact that they are overkicking due to anxiety.

Once the OP relaxes, look up Gruenberg method on youtube, and starts breathing every two strokes, everything will be fine.
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