Boxing with asthma

[merlin]

Any good tips for my son who has asthma and has recently started boxing - he is really fit but struggles with long distance running

[Scrap]

Got one or two ideas on this. Ill try and get Major to answer

[majorfka]

Many top sports people have had or have asthma Ian botham, Paula Radcliff and Paul Scholes to mention a few.Some claim it has improved the capacity and efficiency of their lungs.
Before i go on, much of what I may print is controversial.Before undertaking any big changes in your routine check with your docter.
We are designed to breath through our noses with the mouth as an emergency backup.It is my belief that (apart from genetic and envirometally learned allergies) many asthma sufferers have baby/childhood history of infections and breathing difficulties.This trains the body to breath inefficiently,ie via mouth and fast high in the chest.This is mild hyperventilation which can be exacerbated during exercise.The oxeygen-CO2 levels go out of normal parameters and the respiritory system goes into protect mode (producing mucous to restore CO2 balence).This can start a cycle eventually causing an attack.
Nasal breathing even at night (lightly tapeing the mouth), providing you have clear enough air flow.learning to breath using all three basic breathing methods (put you hand on what moves mouth & upper chest,mid-Chest & outer ribs and most important diaphram, as you breath in your belly goes out).
Some Practicioners advocate an increase in steroids while learning this and a decrease in inhaler use {THATS SOME NOT ME see your doc}.
The General consensus from BUTEKO METHOD to AYURVEDIC METHOD(reseach if intrested) is learning to breath well as in Yoga.
There are myriad of other tips available,conventional and non,such as a small amount of sesame oil in the nose before training.
Im worried that im not being controversial enough so I also believe allergies can be trained from the system by reeducating the Brain /body response. Past trauma can partially lock the autonomic breathing into near permanent (fight flight mode) and can also be retrained.
Hope this is of some help in letting you know there are many options and so keep on training.

[yoitsdan]

I suffered with asthma when I was 8-14 and swimming was the best form of excercise I could do to get proper exercise, as I've grown up now my asthma isn't much of an issue when I train, although I am one of the lucky ones who have seemed to somewhat grow out of the asthma, I still occassionally get symptoms, but I only treat my asthma with a low dosage, and a reliever, as long as I have my reliever handy when I train boxing, I seem to keep up like everyone else. I have my peak flow measured in an asthma clinic twice a year and its always well above average for my height and weight, so it seems that swimming with asthma has attributed to me having quite a good breathing capacity.

[merlin]

Thank you all - this is encouraging - as he has just turned 13 and had been doing wing chun for 3 years he wanted a step up in challenge and don't think anything other than boxing will give him that challenge - usual training is boxing twice a week in a club with coaches, running weekends with once a week boxing at home with me and sundays running and swiiming - trying to realy sort is diet out aswell

[Scrap]

By the way Merlin your sons name wouldnt be Arthur by any chance.

[merlin]

Adam

[Scrap]

I was kidding Merlin see the connection

[md]

Merlin, a good tip for asthmatics (I am one) is to do a very very long warm up. Avoid the usual allergens and changes in temperature. Also, interval training is best as the respiratory muscles are really worked and stretched during this. If he still wants to do distance work he should do it after the intervals once he's really warmed up. I hope this helps

[Heavy D]

I'm an asthmatic aspiring boxer. One thing I have found VERY peculiar is that my asthma especially acts up while running. I can swim for days on end with no problem, and use the stationary (and more so the recumbent) bikes with little problem. When I box, however, I barely notice it. I breathe heavily, but never feel the trademark clinching of an attack. It's really weird. Could just be a big psychological thing, who knows (was diagnosed with sports induced asthma and perscribed an albuterol <?> inhaler, but never use it), but it's possible your son may even experience something similar. Not likely, but if it can happen with me, why not him?

[Lords Gym]

I know this fighter that has Asthma and boxes pretty damn good, he said he uses an herb called " Bitter Orange" they are drops, he puts it under his tongue , he says it opens his air passage, and keep the phlegm down.

[merlin]

Hey Heavy D! that is the very same thing - he swims great, trains in the gym no problems - but running kills him...
he has the blue pump and only really uses it with running otherwsie pretty good...
maybe he will adjust
these ornage drops sound good - may have to reasearch these

Merlin

[merlin]

Hey Lord Gym - any chance you can find out who makes "Bitter Orange" woud love to try it out

Merlin

[Scrap]

Its a thing whats always intereted me, weve tried a few things. The one weve had most succes with is blocking the periphral nostril if your righthanded its your left nostril weve had asthmatics working hard without a problem and continue to do so.

[ono]

Merlin, a good tip for asthmatics (I am one) is to do a very very long warm up. Avoid the usual allergens and changes in temperature. Also, interval training is best as the respiratory muscles are really worked and stretched during this. If he still wants to do distance work he should do it after the intervals once he's really warmed up. I hope this helps

Yeh just to touch on the above. Distance work is not as effective for boxing as interval training. Distance running will simply make you good at running marathons/long distances. After a while your body simply adapts to it and his time would be better served doing some interval training which replicates the physical effects of a boxing match much more realistically.