lung capacity / stamina

[JCRD]

hey everyone
just got a quick question
i used to be a smoker for about 2 years, i have now quit for about a year and just started training about a month ago
i find myself getting tired and puffed out really easily when i train so how long would it take to get my stamina and lung capacity back and how would i go about it
apart from regular cardio and training is there anything else i can do
i was thinking steroid based inhalers that help asthma patients strengthen their lungs

[SamuraiGuy]

First of all congrats on quitting.

Secondly I really cant tell you anything besides Cardio... I have no idea about the ashthma inhalers.

Dont get too discouraged though, I ran a triathalon a year ago so I would think I have some decent cardio, at least a base, and 2 minutes into grappling/fighting im huffing and puffing away...

[lopezma]

SamuraiGuy is correct! CARDIO! CARDIO! CARDIO! Why start or mess with anything you really don't need? On a side note: Congrats on the triatholon! I have family and friends that do many, and one day I'll do one too!

[cakegirl]

Hi,

Let me start by saying that I'm an asthmatic, with notoriously weak lungs. When people around me start getting a little cold, I catch it and it turns into bronchitis, and I'm laid up for a week...

Firstly, steriod inhalers don't make asthmatic's lungs "stronger". They treat asthma. If you don't have asthma, they're not going to help you.

First and foremost, the thing that is going to help you is cardio. I'd recommend picking whatever cardio it is you like to do, and alternating one medium-paced long session, with one session of interval training (where you go at your maximum for a short period, then slow for a short period, then maximum again, etc). The total time of the interval session will be shorter than your medium-paced one, because you'll wear yourself out faster.

My cardio at the moment (I am trying to get fit, but also lose weight quickly to fit into a different weight division) looks something like this:

Bike - 14km, medium paced
Run - 2km, interval training, 100 pushups, 100 situps, 100 squats afterward
Swim - 10 laps (5 sprints, 5 medium paced)
Bike - 14km, interval training
Run - 4.5km, medium paced
Swim - 30 laps, medium paced

Basically, I'm alternating these, one activity per day. Except this week when I have bronchitis again!

Now, what might be able to help you is a product called Power Breathe PB3000. The people who've had the best success with it are competitive cyclists. Here's the product info:

A team of scientists at Britain's leading Human Performance Research Universities have shown there is an alternative to breathlessness. Breathing is one aspect of fitness that people over look. Power breathe uses a technique known as resistance training which makes the breathing muscles work harder to improve their strength and endurance. this is much the same way as you might use weights to increase the strength of your arm muscles. Anyone who whishes to make their exercise easier, more comfortable and more effective can benefit from Power breathe and it has also been used very successfully to help those with respiratory problems.. In fact, anyone who breathes will find Powerbeathe of benefit.

* It is easy to use. Simply breathe through the comfortable mouthpiece using a little extra effort and the device does the rest.
* Have simple activities such as climbing stairs, walking the dog or running for a bus make you breathless? The wellness model is available for anyone to use and enjoy the benefits of better breathing.
* Power breathe training helps restore respiratory muscle performance and reduces breathlessness.
* Effects can be witnessed by using the Power breathe system 30 breaths twice a day.

[eXcessiveForce]

primateen and those type of inhalers have been known to kill people. And they will not build lung capacity.


Cardio is the way to go. I believe that Long slow distance will be the best for improving endurance and lung capactiy.

[SamuraiGuy]

Yeah the thing is though, long distance wont really help his cardio for fighting that much, Cardio is more of interval training as cakegirl said... I would go for a mix of both.

[eXcessiveForce]

for fighting intervals are the way to go, but that is for energy utilization. To build lung capacity it's LSD. Depends on what he's really trying to accomplish.

[NaTurE-of-WaTeR]

When i was younger i would have to sit for about 15-20 min on thursdays and inhale some stuff from a machine to treat my case of asthma. Never used and inhaler though. Then over the next couple of years after talking with my sensei he showed me a breathing technique while in meditation, where you breathe in through your nose to the max then go for that extra push as much as you can and slowly breathe out to the max, then to go for that extra push as much as you can. I did this repeatedly as well as doing a routine of jogging for 30 seconds then sprinting as fast as i can then back to jogging for 30 seconds and back to sprinting.. doing this repeatedly i was feeling much better in just one month...Even the doctor i was seeing was completely impressed and took me off the machine quickly and said that i was much healthier than before. Just my input and i still to this day do those techniques even though i have other bad habits now in my older age(check the nutrition post for bad habit pole)

[Patrick G.]

A lot of what these guys are saying is true, but an important thing to remember is that endurance largely depends on muscle memory also. In other words, one of the best ways to build endurance (in addition to running) is to practice at the sport at hand, in our cases grappling/ striking, etc... with as much effort as possible.