Learning to fly

Originally posted by jpheather If you're out of breath learning fly, that's OK. If you're wheezing learning fly, then talk to your doctor. There's so much they can do and it will make learning fly (and swimming in general) much easier! I also find that using my inhaler right before I swim makes a big difference. If I don't, I start wheezing about 15 min into the workout, which is the exercised induced asthma acting up. I never wheeze or get a runny nose while swimming. Once in a rare while I might sneeze. When cycling, all kinds of stuff happens (because of the allergens being slammed into you) that does not happen when I swim. However, when cycling, and I do cycle very hard, my asthma is far less restrictive than it is for swimming. In fact, I don't even consider it much of a handicap for cycling. I do not get exercise induced asthma unless that is what is happening during and after swimming. What happens when I swim is that my "carburetor choke valve" (nasal region respiration) isn't properly open. But what happens after I'm done swimming is actually worse - it's like having a sinus only cold. Twenty years ago a doctor gave me an "inhaler" but it didn't seem to do anything for me although I am worse off now than I was then (I would be willing to try again especially for swimming). Over ten years plus I tried every asthma medication on the market and almost none was good for me except that the steroid nose sprays help a lot. A couple years ago I stopped the nose spray because my insurance costs have gone up so much I thought I would see what it is like without it. I'm more than ready to get back on because it probably helps about 20% and I feel it is safe. The only other medication I've used is one with pseudoephedrine in it. It often helps and I still have a few capsules stored in the fridge but I never tried it for swimming, until now. I took one (low dose time release cap) before I went swimming yesterday and it helped quite a bit, especially at first. My "choke valve" eventually became closed enough to be a pretty restrictive but after I was done swimming the nasal problems did not happen like they always do. So I think I need these "banned?" items: steroids and pseudoephedrine (a stimulant I believe). The (now "legal") caffeine and ibuprofen are optional. Perhaps I need to top it off with an inhaler. Then I should be good to go! I've gone swimming now two times (in cold water dammit) since I adopted "breathing every stroke" for fly. First I discovered what a great drill it is to breathe every stroke. I found out that my form was quite rough when I breathe every stroke. I really went to work on my breathing stroke. Previously I had been a "late" breather and that was no longer working for me. I have to rise and breathe sooner to smooth out the stroke; I would have thought the opposite. Breathing every stroke still seems a little less elegant and I am slower now too. I should be able to improve both these. Perhaps I can skip the last breath or two when getting coming up to a stop because at that point I don't think the final breaths matter. You would think that for all the demand that fly places on oxygen usage, that breathing twice as often would help more. I'm guessing that it only makes it 5 or 10 % easier. I wonder why. Lately I'm doing freestyle right after fly and I want to breath almost every stroke for freestyle. Breathing every stroke for free seems to make a lot more difference than it does for fly.

Originally posted by jpheather If you're out of breath learning fly, that's OK. If you're wheezing learning fly, then talk to your doctor. There's so much they can do and it will make learning fly (and swimming in general) much easier! I also find that using my inhaler right before I swim makes a big difference. If I don't, I start wheezing about 15 min into the workout, which is the exercised induced asthma acting up. I never wheeze or get a runny nose while swimming. Once in a rare while I might sneeze. When cycling, all kinds of stuff happens (because of the allergens being slammed into you) that does not happen when I swim. However, when cycling, and I do cycle very hard, my asthma is far less restrictive than it is for swimming. In fact, I don't even consider it much of a handicap for cycling. I do not get exercise induced asthma unless that is what is happening during and after swimming. What happens when I swim is that my "carburetor choke valve" (nasal region respiration) isn't properly open. But what happens after I'm done swimming is actually worse - it's like having a sinus only cold. Twenty years ago a doctor gave me an "inhaler" but it didn't seem to do anything for me although I am worse off now than I was then (I would be willing to try again especially for swimming). Over ten years plus I tried every asthma medication on the market and almost none was good for me except that the steroid nose sprays help a lot. A couple years ago I stopped the nose spray because my insurance costs have gone up so much I thought I would see what it is like without it. I'm more than ready to get back on because it probably helps about 20% and I feel it is safe. The only other medication I've used is one with pseudoephedrine in it. It often helps and I still have a few capsules stored in the fridge but I never tried it for swimming, until now. I took one (low dose time release cap) before I went swimming yesterday and it helped quite a bit, especially at first. My "choke valve" eventually became closed enough to be a pretty restrictive but after I was done swimming the nasal problems did not happen like they always do. So I think I need these "banned?" items: steroids and pseudoephedrine (a stimulant I believe). The (now "legal") caffeine and ibuprofen are optional. Perhaps I need to top it off with an inhaler. Then I should be good to go! I've gone swimming now two times (in cold water dammit) since I adopted "breathing every stroke" for fly. First I discovered what a great drill it is to breathe every stroke. I found out that my form was quite rough when I breathe every stroke. I really went to work on my breathing stroke. Previously I had been a "late" breather and that was no longer working for me. I have to rise and breathe sooner to smooth out the stroke; I would have thought the opposite. Breathing every stroke still seems a little less elegant and I am slower now too. I should be able to improve both these. Perhaps I can skip the last breath or two when getting coming up to a stop because at that point I don't think the final breaths matter. You would think that for all the demand that fly places on oxygen usage, that breathing twice as often would help more. I'm guessing that it only makes it 5 or 10 % easier. I wonder why. Lately I'm doing freestyle right after fly and I want to breath almost every stroke for freestyle. Breathing every stroke for free seems to make a lot more difference than it does for fly.