Is it impossible to have a good workout if you’re asthmatic? (bike, drink)

[Hapa1]

I just want to stay in shape and be healthy. I was wondering if any of you here have asthma or another lung disease that limits what you can do? Any ideas?

[Malloric]

Pretty much anything. As a kid I had asthma and COPD. Allergy shots, Claritin, and Benadryl to control seasonal allergies, steroid inhaler during allergy season, kept a rescue inhaler with me, on and off amoxicillin and Albuterol for the recurrent bronchitis. Occasionally I was benched but for the most part it was manageable and I was active in sports, swimming, hiking, and doing the normal stuff that kids do. Nowadays I just take Claritin and Benadryl. Once in a while I'll get an asthma attack, but they're mild now so I just stop for a few minutes and drink some water don't do intense exercise afterwords. I can still run, ride a bike or whatever just no sprinting.

[RamenAddict]

There are situations where I know I will have exertional asthma- particularly when I exercise earlier in the morning when my body’s defenses haven’t kicked in. We tend to be the best in terms of allergies from around midday to evening, so my performance is normally markedly better during that time of day. When I work out in the mornings, I typically take my rescue inhaler prior to starting- 30 minutes is ideal. This is an absolutely a fine thing to do and my allergist knows about it. When I have tried to work out before 8am, it is nearly impossible. One time I was literally dripping with sweat and thought I would keel over. Even with 8am workouts, I tend to struggle. However, I have decided I won’t bother trying before 8am- it is just too much for me.

During the evening when my allergies are acting up, I still tend to have trouble doing intense abdominal exercises, but usually don’t have trouble with anything else. I just do what I can with the abdominals and it isn’t as challenging. I am not a runner due to foot/joint issues, but I am able to go on the elliptical and do other cardiovascular exercise without difficulty.

[Valhallian]

I have mild exercise-induced asthma. I just use an inhaler before doing workouts that will challenge my cardio/conditioning (rare these days lol, but plan to get back into it).