Asmatics

I use my inhaler before I run or do a longer intense cardio workout. My doctor says keeping up with my workouts should improve the symptoms. There have only been a couple of times that I forgot to use my inhaler first and I felt like I really needed it, so I suppose he's right!

I used my emegency inhaler before my workouts, kept a sweatshirt on until I was warm/started to sweat, made sure my water wasn't too cold, and I still don't excercise outside in cold weather. If I start to have an asthma attack, I walk around the track holding my arms above me head ( I pretend I am stretching my arms). I lost enough weight (15 lbs) and stayed with my workouts and now I am off all medications except for my emergency inhaler. Usually, the date on my inhaler expires before I finish it. My allergies will act up during spring and fall and that will make my asthma flare up and when that happens I will take an OTC med for a couple of days. It does impact my workout but I try to drink extra water and keep going. Our gym has a steam room so I try to make time for using that and it seems to help my symptoms.

Not all asthma is triggered by exercise anyway, the general recommendation is not to exercise in extremes of temperature, carry your inhaler, do a longer than usual easy pace warm up and cool down. Some find the breath control in yoga and pilates is of benefit. Also be sure you are consistently eating an anti-inflammatory nutrient dense diet, the omega-3s in oily fish and antioxidants in numerous plant foods can be beneficial in asthma, eczema and hayfever for example.

losing weight is a calorie game, not a cardio game, lose the weight, and it will be easier.

I have had asthma since i was a kid, at 265lbs i was on advair twice a day, and rescue occasionally...........now at 190ish, I am on rescue only, and only occasionally..............no cardio needed

I'm no expert but my husband is asthmatic and he does much better after losing weight and exercising. When he flares up, he does yoga on the wii and other wii fit exercises. Staying out of cold air helps him a lot. I would say, do the best you can and focus on weight loss until the asthma gets under better control

The more & more you exercise the better it gets, you will also notice your asthma is better when you have colds etc. For me it was always just a case of doing as much as you physically can every time.

I agree. I became a runner because I wanted it so badly. I never could run as a kid without turning purple. I learned to run as adult through a lot of hard work.

Losing weight helps for sure. I can tell the difference in ten pounds.
The other major thing is cardio and working out. If I use my inhaler before and exercise indoors (treadmill or stationary bike) I usually don't have any problems. It's tougher to exercise outside - lots of allergens, extreme temperatures, humidity.