i suffer from athsma and never won any races. but i treated my athsma with cortisone steroids anabolic steroids, androstenedione, human growth hormone, erythropoietin, diuretics, creatine and EPO blood transfusions, and it seemed to do the trick. i started winning lots of races. good old lungs!

I'm a doctor, triathlete and I suffer from asthma since I can remember. Swimming was so important for my improvement since always, as well biking and running. Congratulations GCN for the excellent topic and explanation.

I’ve had asthma my entire life, and I have to say, I learnt more in the last 15mins than I have from any visit to the doctor. Awesome content, keep it up!

I actually almost completely lost my asthma due to cycling and generally working out a lot. Only time it pops up again, but in a rather mild manner, is during days with really high pollen count.

I’m 36 and have had pretty severe asthma sense my family got cats when I was 7. Rather than get rid of the cats I suffered for almost 30 years and was hospitalized several times as a child. It continued to be bad for 25 years. I was hoping I’d grow out of it as I’ve heard people do...and in the last year or two I’ve gone from using my rescue inhaler 2-3x a day down to 2-3x a week and now I honestly can’t remember when I took it last. A few months at least! I don’t even take it before long rides. It’s amazing being able to breathe without medication. Something most take for granted. And now I might be in that group😂. 👍

Thought I had asthma as well, turns out I'm just unfit

Thank you to everyone for sharing stories of your own experiences, I''m really pleased to see such a positive response to this video and also see so many of you have learnt something from it. The sole goal was to bring more information about a condition many people have or know someone with out into the open for all to access. We hope to bring more videos like this going forwards. If there are any subjects you would like covered, do let us know!

That is very, very interesting and made me wonder if I should undergo the test: a couple of times, after a particluarly "breathy" ride, I did experience some interesting haves of an hour. Also, guys: the quality of information on your channel is skyrocketing and is on par with the best news paper around --while far, far outclassing the very many not best ones that pollute the information landscape lately. Keep up the excellent work!

Been watching for several years, and this was CLEARLY one of your all time best videos. Thanks for getting to the truth about something that so many of us deal with (or think we deal with at least). Top notch information!

Had it since childhood and unfortunately it was untreated for the first 15 years of my life. I have permanently reduced lung capacity and peak flow as a result. Believe me my salbutamol and seretide don’t give me any advantage, nor do they level the playing field. They allow me to barely hang on to group rides where others can freely chat.

Thank you so much for this very inspirational video! Been biking for a long time, in my 60's, and recently diagnosed with asthma and thought I'd have to slow down my workouts. Just reading this helped me so much. I have eliminated triggers to asthma, dairy, nuts, eggs, and because of your video , I am back on track and able to push harder up hills, etc. Thank you both for this very educational video!

Thank you so much! Like many of the fans below I to suffer from asthma. I have found it particularly frustrating, even being disqualified from a martial arts tournament because they didn’t think I could continue.... after beating the girl going to nationals(even though I had been refusing to use my inhaler for months). And quite honestly that experience had weighed on me ever since. Since then I have outright refused treatment. And though that many not have been right to do. You video today helped me come to terms with my choice and that everything can be overcome through diligent training and mindset.

Hugely interesting. Thanks Chris & GCN 🌬️

Love these kinds of videos! Very informative! Thanks guys!

Simply Love this channel. You folks are awesome. Love the work you folks are doing.

This video is about Exercise Induced Bronchospasm (EIB) ... the term Exercise Induced Asthma went out of favour 20yrs ago, EIB patients don’t get symptoms when not exercising whereas asthma patients are often symptomatic with multiple triggers, although 1/3 of EIB cases turn out to have asthma. It’s similar to ‘viral induced wheeze’ in children, all these used to be labelled as asthma years ago (comment by an nhs consultant who did respiratory research and has EIB)

i have had an ENT surgeon diagnosed me with asthma for years. Finally I sorted a second opinion and had more tests done at the hospital. They found that I had no asthma. Go figure!! Great video once again. Keep up the great work.

Great video Chris. I suffer from allergy and exercise induced asthma and the tests and air function info were really interesting. Wouldn’t mind doing the tests myself 👍

Great vid, well done Opie! But the biggest surprise was the horse at the end. Came out of nowhere!!

Thank you Chris for being such a willing guinea pig and and GCN for an interesting video.

That was really helpful for me. I thought I had asthma as a teenager, so signed up for an academic study concerning asthma when I went to uni. They tested me and I was surprised to learn I didn't have exercise-induced asthma. But to this day, when exercising hard in cold environments, I do end up coughing and wheezing more than most people. I find it really difficult to breathe through my nose at the best of times so I do think there's something in that explanation of the lower airways having to work harder to warm and humidity air than what nasal passages do.

Excellent Video, this is really informative stuff well done. GCN at it's best

As a physician (albeit not a respirologist), I didn't really understand the fuss over Froome using salbutamol (an asthma medication). It's not a performance enhancer per se, and this video does a really nice job of explaining why - good job GCN!

Great info Chris and brave to put yourself through the dry-air 6 min session

Thanks for doing this video Chris. As an asthmatic it explains a lot of stuff

I’ve had asthma for 25 years which stopped end 2019 thanks to been diagnosed with gluten intolerance. Been off wheat. No asthma, no choking at night, no reflux, no severe acid levels, no more severe headaches. Performance and body has improved significantly.

Very good informative video, thank you very much GCN👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽🎥

This Doctor has given good advice and done the right tests etc. I wish all Doctors were that helpful.

I am an Asthmatic since childhood; dust mite, and pollen induced. My experience is that cycling (sport generally) keeps me drug free. Keeps me motivated to ride.

I think this is one of the best videos GCN has ever done!

Thanks for such an informative story! I love cycling and have been suffering from asthma a lot recently. This was a lot of useful information

i'm a cycling enthusiast & i have asthma. exercise really can improve one's well being. just ride your bike & enjoy life.

Finally content that brings valuable and interesting information! This channel was lacking that for a while.

Excellent informative video, great work GCN

I’ve had asthma my entire life and have always been told it’s exercised induced although most of the time it’s never triggered it off. I’ve always questioned this with my GP telling him that I struggle more in the winter because of cold the air but was always cast aside. After watching this video and what was said about breathing through your nose and it humidifying / warming the air before it enters your lungs was for me brilliant to hear! Pollutants do also set it off but not as bad as in winter. Please do more videos on this subject! I have so many questions!

I am a known asthmatic as well,i have learnt a lot on this video.Thank you so much Chris.

Very good job. Last summer I started having breathing issues I had never experienced, pain in chest just below neck, no air if I went too hard during the first few miles. This clears up a lot of the concerns and confusion my doctor could not totally help with. Thanks,

Great stuff, guys! Very educational.

Good video on a topic that speaks to more and more people nowadays. Once again, well done GCN!👍 As other people have said in the comments, cycling helps a lot against the asthma problems but I would personnally recommend triathlon. The swimming part is excellent to learn how to control your breath, especially hypoxie training. Another thing if you have asthma, is to understand how serious is your condition and what triggers it. If you had asthma as a kid, you probably know already from all the doctors you have seen. But for people who were not diagnosed in their early years because of an unnoticed mild condition, it is crucial to talk to a specialist. You never know how it is going to evolve.

I so enjoy these medical videos. Nicely done, Chris & GCN. Maybe discuss skin health and sun exposure next?

I am a life long sufferer of asthma and have always felt like it is a prohibitory to the sport I love but, watching this video makes me want to understand the problem better and get the mental barrier out of the equation. I would love to do this in-depth review and testing of my lung function but the 6 min dry air test scares the shit out of me! Great work GCN.

Very informative. Thanks guys!

Really interesting video guys, great work as ever, learned a lot and I’ve lived with Asthma for 30 years! Keep up the great channel 👍🏻

Big thumbs up! I love the indirect way of support to those whose reputations have unfairly been dragged through the mud by ignorant and unscrupulous thrill seekers of modern, low quality media channels 'The Guardian' and 'Le Monde'.

GCN really raises bar always!

Thanks very much for going through this. Really informative.

Asthma has haunted me forever, but I can confirm that exercise, esp getting fit, was easily the best therapy in my case. Thanks to @GCN for the video and for Chris digging deep in this one!

Thanks for this vers interesting video, I hope you will do more videos linking cycling and medecine.

I absolutely enjoyed this episode. well done!

Great video! I'm currently having tests done to see if I do have exercise induced asthma and this video was super informative.

Thanks for the informative video. I just went through the same test and was diagnosed with asthma. I live in Minnesota USA and breathing -15 F air in the winter tends to wreak havoc on the lungs. My doctor proscribed Singulair and an inhaler. Things are much better now. You're the best GCN!

Really interesting! Also Chris, you're becoming quite the presenter!!!

Really interesting well put together item. Thanks

Very informative demonstration.

Love the health and psychology contents of the channel, even the urban planning. Keep it up guys. :)

This was a great video! I had asthma when I was a kid and it started to go away around 15-16. But in the last month or so I started getting chest tightness when doing long hill climbs and then I got a chest cold and started having issues at rest occasionally. Went to the doctor and I have a rescue inhaler again for the first time in probably 15 years.

Amazing video. I've struggled with this for years. Lot's of test and misleading advice and assumptions from Doctors. Thanks!

I've got exercise enduced asthma. I'm growing out of it now though.👍

i always have problems breathing when i ride above 450w... plz help :)

Very helpful. I've had asthma for years and use albuterol inhalers (nope, it doesn't give me Froomey superpowers). But this video prompted me to re-examine my recent shortness of breath that didn't appear to be related to asthma. It would occur even when my airway and lungs were clear. I realized my core was still stiff from injuries suffered last year when I was hit by a car. Pain and spasms in my back, neck, shoulders and intercostal muscles were hindering deep breathing and after 20-30 miles I'd gradually stop using my diaphragm and would take short, panting breaths to minimize the muscle pain. So, back to physical therapy to work on the stiff chest muscles! At least I know it's not asthma when I know the inhaler and allergy meds are working properly.

This is so interesting. I suffered with asthma as a child. I was schooled in south India at altitude at about 8,000 ft and was horrible at sports. Back in the uk I fell in love with cycling and was prepared to suffer for a few hours after I would finish a ride with the inevitable asthma attack...but it was worth it for the love of the freedom of cycling.... over a few years my asthma completely disappeared and from adulthood onwards never had much problem. I really think the cycling, although difficult, was key to my freedom from asthma.

14:52 Horse: "Go on Chris, I am not looking at the camera."

Great video. Learnt a lot

Are you on an inhaled corticosteroid regimen? I thought my asthma was mostly under control by just taking montelukast sodium nightly with an albuterol rescue inhaler when I experienced tightness and constriction. I was using my inhaler 2-3 times a day. Usually after climbing stairs. I stopped exercising because the sensation of breathing through a stir straw sucks. My nurse practitioner persuaded me to try a combination corticosteroid/dilator medication and my lung function greatly improved. My 48 year old lungs feel like I did when I was in my 20’s. I can’t remember when the last time I needed my rescue inhaler. I have started cycling for exercise and am able to do so without triggering an episode. If your asthma has been properly managed by your GP for these past years then I am not surprised by your performance on this series of tests. My asthma wasn’t managed and I felt improvement just days after starting treatment. A point of note in this video that the hecklers might have missed is that post test dilator treatment did not make his lung function better than his normal resting lung function it only brought it almost back to normal. If you don’t actually have asthma then the medications won’t give you super lungs but only make your wallet lighter, so I guess that could be considered a marginal gain.

that bloody black dot on the cabinet is triggering my asthma

Have had exercise induced asthma my whole life but it got better in my mid twenties. I would also get asthma when I would get sick. Kept me from participating in most sports until I started playing rugby in my early twenties. Never really used inhalers until a few years ago and now I am in my mid 60s. Just had a pulmonary function test as I was experiencing severe constriction when i was attempting to run around a track. The therapist told me that the constriction was not asthma. Revelation! Now waiting to hear from the pulmonologist to see what the actual diagnosis is. Getting old sucks! Hope you find out the true cause of your breathing issues. Biking later in life helped me get over some of my psychological issues with endurance training. But I've noticed that biking for me does not translate to better endurance for running.

Absolutely love these science based videos

Interesting, thanks! I recently had weeks where I couldn't get to sleep due to coughing for an hour or so first. Thought I had persistent flu, so stayed off the bike. Turns out my asthma had got worse during the winter, and with my medication increased I'm sleeping well again and am back on the bike :) this has improved my holistic quality of life.

I was a rubbish racing cyclist due to asthma . I applied for a TUE for an Iron Lung. It follows me now on board a lorry on all the races I do. I slip stream at the rear of the lorry and haven't lost a race since. My average speed is 76.2mph. So there is life after asthma

This is a very timely video for me. I suffered with Asthma all through out my childhood but grew out of of it (or so I thought) and haven't really had any symptoms for perhaps the past 10 years. Just recently I've started to suffer with Asthma again although I'm not sure exactly why. This was a very informative video, thanks

Really interesting, stay healthy (ride more) and this will help you manage other issues as they arise.

This great info for someone like me, i have chronic asthma

Brilliant vid

Watching this video induced my asthma

I overdid hill climbing last year and ended up with asthma. Now every time I ride I keep conscious of the way I breathe, trying to inhale only through the nose to warm and humidify air before it gets to my bronchi. Useful information, thanks for the video 👍

After 45 years of having asthma, I notice I can go years with no symptoms without changes in routine or environment. That could be followed by seasons of asthma sensitivity. It would be interesting to hear the expert’s insight in longitudinal asthma cases.

Excellent really really interesting !!

Don't have asthma, so thought this might be boring. Not so. Another excellent informative video. Well done Chris. Thanks!

Great video and very informative. I have been asthmatic all my life but well controlled. I am very fortunate that it is not EIA.

I am happy for you!

born asthmatic, using inhaler and Montelukast.. works well for me. unfortunately it never left me despite thorough triathlon training and racing for 3yrs now

I live in Sydney and always have my asthma triggered by an increase in exposure to pollution, cigarettes, traffic etc. I also find that the drier the air the worse the reaction. Warm humid air seems to help alleviate the problem, along with medication of course. Cycling and swimming (heated indoor pool during winter) seems to help me a great deal. Also at 13:45 did anyone catch the comment that taking salbutamol won't give you super lungs? Why is this myth still perpetuated?

Information from this video regarding environmental difficulties of endurance athletes brings up a difficulty. Tour de France allows ICE vehicles among the riders and probably smoking, camp fires and RV diesel and gas heaters among the spectators. All these things mean the air is not clean and suitable for endurance cyclists. This is so poor of the organizers of the Tour and any other cycle race.

The other question is, is there an advantage to using an inhaler if you don't have asthma? (I've had exercise induced asthma probably my whole life, but it wasn't diagnosed until about 25 years ago. My Masters swim coach Clay, seeing how I was breathing after some sprints told me I probably had it. When I visited my doctor, he put me on the lung volume tester and I blew it to a very high level. He said no asthma, I told him about being the only cross country runner to be gasping at the end of runs.. and he gave me an inhaler. What happened as a high school cross country runner is I wasn't very fast, always out of breath, and never got much better. Other guys would join the team, I'd be faster then them for a few weeks and then they'd zoom right past me. Thanks for doing this.

Very interesting.

I has incredible allergy and sneezing terribly in Chicago. Then went on vacation to Grand Junction Colorado. Literally woke up next day and stopped sneezing, better breathing...

That last test should get a "game" like the little cloud one. Make it a cloud that tries to race something with a score in the corner. This could make people push harder, because right now it just looks like he's looking at nothing. Also, as someone with asthma, I don't think I can breathe in cold dry air as hard as I can for 6 minutes in a row.

My asthmatic attacks and symptoms were always triggered by allergies, to Bermuda grass. Luckily, I outgrew my other allergies at the age of 26. Mowing Bermuda grass today will still set off my allergies and sometimes asthma (wearing a respirator reduces it). I never had an attack while competing or training as a swimmer or basketball player through high school and into college. I do know swimming put me in the highest echelon of lung capacity and fitness for an entrance physical when I started working.

Hi, I have never written any comment on a video, but I will make an exception because it may help some folks. I suffered from asthma symptoms and medication didn't help a lot. Then I found that what was causing asthma symptoms was Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GRD), a very silent disease that causes a range of symptoms like heartburn, chronic coughing, sore throat etc. and also asthma. Only by curing GRD I also solved asthma issues. I am also a cyclist, and cycling, running and exercise generally can make GRD, thus also asthma, worse because exercising when not having digested fully makes reflux more intense. So if you are having difficulty treating asthma, it makes it worthwhile to have a check for GRD. Hope this comment may help some folks.

I have respiratory alergic (mini form of asthma?), then I do cycling. Whether it is true or not, cycling (and running) helps me 'controlling' my respiratory problem.

Interesting cheers 👍👍👍

Hands up asthmatics and people with other breathing issues, who has ever had trouble exhaling? What is the most common test done by doctors? Exhalation test. Ingenious! I read protests against exhalation tests in asthma diagnosing based on study of other mammals. The gist was that exhaling well does not test all inhalation blockages or obstructions that pass air partially into the lungs. It is one thing to test the lungs and another to test the upper airways. The latter seeming to go undetected sometimes due to marginally revealing standard testing methods. In my case I got very different results in different exhaling tests. Standard spirometry and bronchodilation tests gave way more positive picture of my condition than nitrous oxide testing. I have never been subjected to cold air in tests like Chris was and I know cold air to be a trigger for me. I have also never been tested while I am exercising.

When I was I kid I had asthma and all kinds of allergies so bad I used to get adrenalin shots. I continued to excersise all my life and the asthma and allergies have completely gone except allergies to cats. I am now 70 and an avid cyclist doing 100 miles a day and going on cycling tours around the world. I finely believe cycling all my life eliminated my asthma and allergies

I would like to give a detailed opinion on this matter. As a recently diagnosed asthmatic I can say I have a noticeable effect of using my inhaler pre-effort. I am a mid 30, full time working father. Bike riding for about 15 years now. I ride whenever I can, not competitive, for about 5.000 km a year. I was part of the category of people that thought it was normal to be wheezy and squeaky after some serious aerobe efforts. And it is, only the intensity of it, turned out wasn't. Only when implementing a cat in our household, I started noticing similar complaints on a more daily base. I also struggled to shake of common colds and had a lot of issues in my sinuses. So one battery of allergy tests, one oxygen-effort test and some hit-and-miss medication later. A correct diagnose was set. Asthma, cat allergy triggered. But also effort induced. Some daily nasal steroids/cortisones and pre-effort inhaler, the effect is, to my opinion huge. I am, not shamed to admit, below average when it comes to cycling. I ride mainly commute. Sometimes Sundays with mainly 50 year olds. I could simply not coop the surges "younger" people make. On longer rides, I always was the first to experience lactic issues. I had no issues with 5 hours of gentle riding. Nor with medium effort climbs. But when it came down to aerobe efforts, I simply was not good enough. Winter training did not help at all. After a serious effort, it feels like breething trough a tube. And the tube stays there! Catching your breath after a surge took me way longer. Medium efforts felt like training at altitude. As long as it didn't get triggered, I could ride medium efforts just fine. Once triggered, it would not go away for the rest of ride. What would trigger it? For me, sudden starts, to little warm up, surges, super dry air and heat. O, and cats. Let me be clear. I do not want to make this a black and white situation. There are different degrees of asthma, triggers and effects on the body can be vastly differentiating. Sadly, I also know that for some the spasms are life threatening. As in my childhood I lost a friend from down the street to an Asthma attack. Since using my medication I have yet to have an attack. Nor have I experienced the "tube breathing" sensation. On short rides my average speed went up with 0,0%. On long rides it takes me way longer to experience the first signs of cramps and lactic build-up. Making longer rides way more fun. My average has increased by about 1km/h. Mostly because I retain my average trough out the entire ride. Oxygen uptake/management is simply better. Added benefit, my nose does not feel like a leaky faucet anymore. Snot management was one of the few things I mastered on my bike. Guess I will have to find another specialty. I am still slightly under average what concerns my achievements. I will still not win little sprints, nor any TDF-titles. But I am no longer always at the rear and always suffering. Whether the medication can give a unnatural gain, higher then that of a 'normal' human being, I will not approach that matter. Simply because I am not educated enough about the subject. I do doubt that a "lung growth" hormone exists. And am more inclined to believe that inhalers, nasal sprays, ... can merely bring your lung potential back to 100%. But are lungs always supposed to work at 100%, is medicating a valid excuse for when racing on high altitude? It is a question that is as tricky to answer as the "ketones-issue". For people never experiencing any of the symptoms and vastly convinced that all inhalers are drugs. Just compare it to altitude training. Afters years and years of training on altitude I suddenly came racing by the seaside.

For myself, I find it interesting that I had asthma as a child and had to take some disgusting tasting medicine until my highschool years. Then, in my late twenties, I fell in love with cycle racing and road cycling in general. Amazingly, I never felt like I had to struggle for a breath (beyond what is normal when exercising). Wound up as a decent Cat 4 borderline Cat 3 before age, marriage and having a child stopped my racing. I still ride when time permits but not nearly the amount that I used to. I have not suffered from asthma symptoms since.

I had asthma before I started cycling but cycling as improved my peak flow from 480 to 540

When I was younger I was very active and suffered from asthma. Went to college ran track and it hasn’t bothered me since. Dust used to be a trigger now all it does is make me sneeze 🤧. I am wondering if I am cured. Looking forward to getting back on my bike. Bloody track messed up my knees need a low impact sport to get back my fitness.

I’m not fully satisfied with the answer as to why so many endurance athletes have Asthma. It seems to me that when 1st diagnosed with Asthma (or any other lung condition, such as I have), most children are recommended to try endurance sports to help their condition. Therefore a higher percentage of Asthmatics begin sport in the 1st place.

I used to have asthma during exercise during cool days ( below say 60F). Until I started supplementing with magnesium. Basically disappeared overnite.

My wife has the sort of asthma that will likely shorten her life. She gets set off by smoke and pollution mostly, although cold air can do it too. Interestingly, certain brands of cigarettes seem to have vastly different particulate output. She can breathe shallow and survive around certain cigarette smoke and leave the area without an attack, whereas one tiny whiff of others cigarettes produces an immediate asthma attack. Luckily we live in a dry warm climate too.