Can I exercise with asthma? Asthma is a medical condition that affects the lungs. It makes the airways inflamed and swollen, and leads to symptoms like coughing and sneezing making it difficult to breathe. Check out how to exercise with a nose mask. Staying fit and exercising can be a crisis trigger for people suffering from asthma usually when it isn’t under control.
Persons with asthma need not shy away from staying fit and exercising regularly. Regular exercise can be of great help, it can keep your lungs and body in good shape and even boost your immune system.
And sometimes you may not have asthma but experience similar symptoms triggered by working out or even worsen it. If this happens it’s because of a condition called exercise-induced bronchoconstriction (EIB). EIB can be experienced even if you don’t have Asthma.
Having any or all of these conditions do not exclude you from keeping fit, the key is to do the right kind of exercise. Various exercises that will help your fitness journey in the right amount to stay fit, let’s consider exactly how exercise affects asthma, the various exercises suitable for the condition and what to do in the case of a crisis.
Can exercise reduce Asthma symptoms?
As stated earlier regular activity can not only help you stay fit, it can help reduce symptoms of asthma, How do they work? These exercises help to reduce asthma symptoms by;
- Improve Lung Health: When you stay fit and workout regularly, the lungs take in a lot more oxygen reducing the amount of work the lungs have to do to breathe easily.
- Better Heart condition: Exercising regularly helps to improve the overall condition of the heart, improving the blood flow and the delivery of oxygen.
- Reduce Inflammation: Asthma inflames the airways, and exercise can help decrease the inflammation by reducing the number of inflammatory proteins which direct how the lungs react to exercise.
Steps to exercise with Asthma
- Keep your Inhaler on your at all times.
- If you experience symptoms while working out, Stop and use your inhaler.
- Make sure that your asthma is properly managed, if not see a doctor before undergoing any fitness program.
- Warm-up and power down appropriately: Warm up by doing low impact exercises by walking or stretching. When powering down, do not do it instantly, do it slowly for some minutes.
- Avoid other asthma triggers: Pay attention to the quality of air around your workout area or gym. On a hot day, workout indoors and on a cold day, you can use a mask to warm the air before it reaches your lungs.
What are the best exercises for people with Asthma?
These exercises don’t stress your lungs, so they’re less likely to cause asthma symptoms. Be sure to consult your doctor and pay attention to your body, everyone is different.
The exercises include;
- Walking: This form of exercise is gentle on the body, making it easier to breathe. For the best experience, walk outside only when it’s warm. Dry, cool air can trigger or worsen your symptoms. You can also walk on a treadmill.
- Swimming: Swimming is one of the most recommended exercises for people with asthma, because exposure to moist, warm air, low pollen exposure and pressure of the fluid on the chest
- Sports: Sporting activities like soccer, volleyball and golf are ok for people with asthma to play, as long as they take intermittent breaks making it easy for the lungs.
- Breathing exercises: Some breathing exercises can help reduce the symptoms of asthma, by clearing the airways and reducing the effort needed for breathing.
Examples of breathing exercises include;
- Diaphragmatic breathing
- Nasal breathing
What to do when in an asthma attack
- Stop any/every activity.
- Use your inhaler.
- Sit up straight.
- If your drugs don’t work, call the doctor.
- Do not stay in a crowded area.
In conclusion, the answer to the question “I have asthma. Can I work out?” is Yes. Working out as explicitly explained in the content above is very beneficial to your health as an asthma patient. Still take your drugs as prescribed, work hand in hand with your doctor and fitness coach to find what works best for you.
Ciao! See you at the gym.
