You can enjoy a cycling session, but it won’t be long before you start to get tired. When you become out of breath, it means you have reached your oxygen limit. Your muscles need more oxygen than your body can create for you to pedal and keep going.
When you pedal faster, you breathe heavily, but that’s not the aim. The aim is to pedal faster and breathe fuller. When you breathe efficiently, your cycling performance improves. If you’re a competitive cyclist, it’ll help you force the race pace at the start and for longer.
Whether you’re a fan of outdoor or indoor cycling, you need to pedal harder and faster for longer. Here are a few solutions to help you breathe better while cycling:
1. Nasal Breathing
Nasal breathing involves breathing through the nose while cycling. You can practice breathing through your nose. In doing so, it helps you conquer medium-to-high intensity workouts. Nasal breathing allows your lungs to extract oxygen upon exhaling. This results in a 10% to 20% increased oxygen intake.
2. Heart Zone Rates
Heart zone rates allow you to analyze how hard your cardiovascular system works. The high point is the maximum heart rate, and the heart rate zones calculate the intensity of the physical effort you’re putting in. You can download an app on your mobile device that monitors the heart zone rates.
3. Synchronize Your Pedaling with Your Breathing
You can synchronize your pedaling with your breathing. You need to inhale three times and exhale five times while pedaling. By doing it intentionally, your body will work harmoniously with your breathing. It’ll distract you from the effort involved with doing each one on its own. You need to discover your flow while pedaling. Once you achieve it, you can increase the cycling speed without huffing or puffing.
4. Perform Yoga
Cyclists need to take yoga classes to improve their breathing techniques and improve flexibility. Yoga helps you practice mindful breathing, which, in turn, boosts your performance. Although breathing isn’t something you consciously do, you should try to breathe consciously from time to time, as it’ll help you become stronger and breathe better.
5. Breathing Techniques
Here are three breathing techniques all cyclists need to perform:
- Three In and Three Out Breathing – Exhale for 3 seconds and then inhale for 3 seconds. Place your hands at the top of your abdomen to feel your stomach as you inhale and exhale.
- Pedal Stroke Count Breathing – Inhale for 3 downstrokes, exhale for 5 downstrokes. When you exhale, make a loud “sss” sound. On every exhale, press your stomach muscles towards the spine. You can decrease or increase the number of pedal strokes based on your lung capacity and the trail. However, you should perform more pedal strokes when you exhale.
- Attitude Breathing – Walk as you normally do. As you’re walking, you need to exhale and hold your breath and walk ten steps. You need to breathe normally for two to three steps. Next, you need to hold your breath and walk fifteen steps. You need to repeat until you reach 50.
6. Breathe from the Gut
As you age, your lung capacity decreases. When you’re 30, your lung capacity starts to decrease. You lose 10% of your lung capacity each year. If you’re a cyclist in your 20s, your lung capacity is two times more than a person in their 80s. You need to learn how to increase the amount of oxygen in the lungs for each breath.
This will help you slow down the process and increase your oxygen intake. You need to exhale and empty your lungs. In doing so, you allow an increased intake of oxygen when you inhale.
7. Respiratory Training Device
Since we previously discussed that you need to increase your oxygen intake to breathe better, you can use a respiratory training device to do just that. You can train your respiratory system to increase your oxygen intake and cycle longer without losing your breath.
A respiratory training device trains your inspiratory and expiratory muscles at the same time. You can adjust the levels as well. You can choose from different breathing settings and adjustment levels. If you’re struggling to breathe and it’s coming in between you and your love for cycling, you need to train your respiratory system.
With Several Respiratory Training Devices Available, Which One Is Right for You?
You need to invest in the Orygen Dual Valve. It’s an affordable and effective way to make your respiratory system stronger and work out your inspiratory and expiratory muscles. Within a few shorts weeks, you’ll see your respiratory performance and cycling performance skyrocket.
A respiratory training device is a safe and effective way for people of all ages to improve their breathing for cycling. You can combine the different methods to improve your breathing for cycling with a respiratory training device. You’ll find yourself breathing better and cycling longer in no time.