Fitness with Asthma

Talk to your doctor about how to control your asthma.
To be "lean and ripped" you need to lose weight (calorie deficit) and lift progressively (to retain muscle mass while you lose)

Agree about going to the doc. I have struggled with asthma. Tried to tough it out and ended up sounding like a flock of migrating geese when I ran. The doc and the asthma doc found some meds that work for me. Now I run like a champ with only a hint if wheezing if I'm literally running through a field of ragweed. I'm pretty sure there's an effective asthma med out there for you (or a combination of 2 of em like I got)

Agreed you need to find your triggers. I have everything (allergy, exercise, just because it can) induced asthma if I'm not taking my asthma meds. Meaning I would be puffing my rescue inhaler daily without them. Get to the doc and discuss treatment.

My personal experience? After consulting with my doctor, we got the allergy portion under control by taking singulair, and OTC allergy meds when allergy season hits. For exercise I take a puff or two of my rescue inhaler 5-10 mins. before any cardio type exercise.

Some additional things that have helped me so far:

Yoga: Yoga can be a great thing to do with asthma. Not only does it help strengthen your body, it can help control your breathing. It's very important to practice the deep breathing that goes along with the poses. It helps to strengthen and expand the lungs. I have found it even helps me control my breath during cardio.

Warm up: For me, this is an essential part of being able to do cardio. For example if I am going to run on a treadmill, I will walk briskly for 5-10 minutes before I try jogging. The idea is to get my heart rate up slowly to avoid a spike and then asthma attack.

Learn to control breathing: I know it can be scary to feel that out of breath- not getting enough oxygen feeling. But by breathing in a controlled steady manner, it helps me to know if I'm breathing heavy because I'm out of shape, or if I'm breathing heavy because I'm about to have an asthma attack. Plus breathing deeply and in a slower rhythm I am ensuring I am getting enough oxygen to my body while working out. As opposed to those short frequent & almost frantic breaths that can typically happen when someone has asthma. Occasionally, by paying attention to my body and breathing, I can slow myself down, get my heart rate down, and avoid an asthma attack. It may be beneficial to look up deep breathing exercises to practice at your desk. This can help strengthen your lungs in itself.

Weight/ strength training: I have seen this mentioned for asthmatics as well. It's a good way to exercise without getting the heart rate up like cardio does. This is something that was suggested to me when I reached out for help myself.

Bottom line: Get on the right asthma control program for you with your doctor. After that, there's no reason asthma should stop you from doing what you want to do. It's something I'm beginning to learn myself. You will just have to take it slow, especially at first. And listen to your body. Don't push further then you feel safe doing. And have your rescue inhaler in close proximity at all times!

Asthma sufferer here! I do about 25-45 mins of cardio per day in the gym. I just make sure to take my inhaler 10 to 15 mins before any exercise and I am doing just fine! I also keep my inhaler on me in the gym as well, just in case. Talk to your doctor about your desire to lose weight and your fear of a reaction while working out, they might have some good advice for you. You got this!