How come my legs never hold me back?

How is your breathing holding you back?

The limiting factor in why I can't sustain pace is that fact that I feel like I can't suck in enough air, rather than the limiting factor on the bike (which my buddy says is his limiting factor whilst running workouts) is that his legs aren't able to push hard enough.

Seems like a muscle thing vs. a breathing thing, no? I understand these systems work together but if you tired getting on the bike trainer I think you would definitely feel the difference I am describing here.

No opposable thumbs

Aerobic fitness has both global and peripheral components. When you're reasonably fit, you should be limited primarily by peripheral aerobic adaptations. If you test both blood and muscle oxygen levels during a progressive test, you will generally see that in trained athletes, blood oxygen levels stay consistent at high intensities, but oxygen in the working muscles will eventually start to drop off.

I'm actually surprised that you're as fast as you are if you feel like it's your lungs that hold you back. It probably means you have some legit talent.

Create a breathing pattern with your footsteps. 3 breathes in 3 breathes out and breathe when your foot hits the ground. It'll feel weird at first but you'll get used to it. At faster paced workouts do a 2 breathes in 2 out pattern. Experiment and do what works best

800 dude wrote:

Aerobic fitness has both global and peripheral components. When you're reasonably fit, you should be limited primarily by peripheral aerobic adaptations. If you test both blood and muscle oxygen levels during a progressive test, you will generally see that in trained athletes, blood oxygen levels stay consistent at high intensities, but oxygen in the working muscles will eventually start to drop off.

I'm actually surprised that you're as fast as you are if you feel like it's your lungs that hold you back. It probably means you have some legit talent.

Sorry, I don't quite understand what you're saying here by the first part? Could you speak in more layman's terms?

Do I just need a lot more MPW so I can get faster and my legs can hold me back? How can I "fix" this "problem"?

Thanks!

No aerobic fitness? wrote:

Do I just need a lot more MPW so I can get faster and my legs can hold me back? How can I "fix" this "problem"?

Thanks!

How much hill running do you do? I have experienced feeling like my "limitation" was my lungs sometimes, and at other times my legs (different points in my training). But incorporating hills into my training - both hill repeats and hilly steady runs - seems to balance things out in a way.

runthecountry wrote:

No aerobic fitness? wrote:

Do I just need a lot more MPW so I can get faster and my legs can hold me back? How can I "fix" this "problem"?

Thanks!

How much hill running do you do? I have experienced feeling like my "limitation" was my lungs sometimes, and at other times my legs (different points in my training). But incorporating hills into my training - both hill repeats and hilly steady runs - seems to balance things out in a way.

+1

I have a similar issue to the OP - my legs rarely get tired...what slows me is when my heart rate gets up to a certain level

Have tried breathing at a faster rate? It's possible to get locked into a cadence where you are exhaling at, say, ever other strike of the right foot but that rhythm may not be optimal for faster paces.

Open question: is there a general rule for the best breathing rhythms at different paces: recovery, tempo, 5k, mile, whatever?

test2 wrote:

Have tried breathing at a faster rate? It's possible to get locked into a cadence where you are exhaling at, say, ever other strike of the right foot but that rhythm may not be optimal for faster paces.

Open question: is there a general rule for the best breathing rhythms at different paces: recovery, tempo, 5k, mile, whatever?

I feel like if I did this I would get dizzy?

agip wrote:

runthecountry wrote:

How much hill running do you do? I have experienced feeling like my "limitation" was my lungs sometimes, and at other times my legs (different points in my training). But incorporating hills into my training - both hill repeats and hilly steady runs - seems to balance things out in a way.

+1

I have a similar issue to the OP - my legs rarely get tired...what slows me is when my heart rate gets up to a certain level

@runthecountry - not a lot. I live in an area where there aren't many hills unfortunately. But maybe I should do at least 1 day a week of hill training to try and balance this out?

@agip - what did you do to counteract this? Are there any particular workouts that help? I would love to go hard enough that my legs are the limiting factor but I just always feel too out of breath to even get to that point.

I have the same issue as the OP. Legs never tire, but lungs start struggling in which I am breathing very heavily to the point of painful burning. I'm 60 and have been running for 44 yrs and this is something that has just developed over the last 2 yrs. Dr says its exercise induced asthma.

Ultimately, it's still down to your legs.

How do I overcome, or at least minimize, being out of breath? Do more hills? More speed endurance intervals?

No aerobic fitness? wrote:

agip wrote:

+1

I have a similar issue to the OP - my legs rarely get tired...what slows me is when my heart rate gets up to a certain level

@runthecountry - not a lot. I live in an area where there aren't many hills unfortunately. But maybe I should do at least 1 day a week of hill training to try and balance this out?

@agip - what did you do to counteract this? Are there any particular workouts that help? I would love to go hard enough that my legs are the limiting factor but I just always feel too out of breath to even get to that point.

right, I posted poorly. I was seconding the poster who said hills helped. I've been doing my workouts in hills rather than a track or flattish ground. So if I am doing a tempo, I'll do it on a hilly loop. hard up, hard down. Same for vo2 type reps. in the hills.

It has helped a massive amount - I have taken a leap forward even in my 40s.

ron c wrote:

I have the same issue as the OP. Legs never tire, but lungs start struggling in which I am breathing very heavily to the point of painful burning. I'm 60 and have been running for 44 yrs and this is something that has just developed over the last 2 yrs. Dr says its exercise induced asthma.

Uh oh, so it's possible I just have exercised induced asthma? And that's probably holding me back? Damn son.

agip wrote:

right, I posted poorly. I was seconding the poster who said hills helped. I've been doing my workouts in hills rather than a track or flattish ground. So if I am doing a tempo, I'll do it on a hilly loop. hard up, hard down. Same for vo2 type reps. in the hills.

It has helped a massive amount - I have taken a leap forward even in my 40s.

That's cool. I might try this. I think a more accurate way of describing it is just my HR being too high and holding me back like you mentioned. Which is just lack of fitness I suppose.

No aerobic fitness? wrote:

agip wrote:

right, I posted poorly. I was seconding the poster who said hills helped. I've been doing my workouts in hills rather than a track or flattish ground. So if I am doing a tempo, I'll do it on a hilly loop. hard up, hard down. Same for vo2 type reps. in the hills.

It has helped a massive amount - I have taken a leap forward even in my 40s.

That's cool. I might try this. I think a more accurate way of describing it is just my HR being too high and holding me back like you mentioned. Which is just lack of fitness I suppose.

it's a little disconcerting becasue we are all used to knowing exactly what pace we are going to the tenth because we do our 400s on a track...but after a few workouts you get used to not knowing exactly how fast you are going.

Do you think there is anything to the exercise induced asmtha the guy earlier mentioned? Or do you think it's really just a lack of fitness?