[ircommando]

As I got ready to do the 16 week mountaineering course I ran the AeT test twice.  The first time I started with a heart rate of ~115bpm, this seemed VERY low to me, but that was the point at which I couldn’t nasal breathe anymore.  My heart rate drift was ~1.4%.  I waited a few days and reran the AeT test, this time going at a pace that I felt was doable.  Both tests were on my treadmill at 15% incline.  I checked that my heart rate didn’t fluctuate too much after 15 mins, and then commenced the real test.  My TP results for the second test are 135bm for first 30 minutes and 140bpm for the second 30 minutes, or ~3.7% heart elevation.  The thing is that I am way out from nasal breathing.  Recently I was playing some games on a VR headset: beat saber/ragnarok/supernatural.  All of which get my heart rate into the 150+ bpm range. I maintain nasal breathing during almost the entire game play (20-40 minutes).  What is the difference between these scenarios that do/don’t allow me to nasal breathe?  All of my training is done outdoors, either on trails, or in the garage where my gym/treadmill is. The temperature this winter has almost never gotten above 50F, and is usually below 40F, but the temp in my house, where I played with the VR headset was 65F.  One final note is that I have done a few phone calls while out snowshoeing and get to ~140bpm.  I have been able to carry out the conversations without a hitch, but was well past nasal breathing.

A couple of questions that pop up for me with all this:

1. Will cold affect a persons ability to nasal breathe
2. If so what are the standard temp ranges for this affect?
3. Should I try to redo my AeT test at a temperature above 60F?  Or just get the correct heart rate drift and go with that? Trying to nasal breathe as much as possible, but really just paying attention to heart rate until I get a feel for what is right for my body.
4. Is it possible that nasal breathing for my VR work out isn’t related to temperature, but just a totally different set of muscles being used, with no loading whatsoever, just fast movement (All the VR games work on the same principle: use your hands to swing swords/hammers/batons at objects that come flying at you)

[Scott Johnston]

Great questions. Thanks for asking.  Nose breathing is not a surefire method for everyone to establish their aerobic threshold.  Some people struggle to breathe through their nose, even at rest, due to congestion and swollen nasal tissue in the nose.  It sounds like when you redid the test starting at 135; you got a more reasonable drift.  I’d stick with that as the top of Z2 till you see some improvement in pace at that HR.  Your HR is the result of the tug-of-war between your sympathetic (fight or flight) and parasympathetic (rest and digest) nervous systems.  In your game, your excitement causes your sympathetic nervous system to overpower the parasympathetic.  Your brain can’t tell the difference between VR and reality, so is preparing you for a fight or flight.  When exercising, your sympathetic system jacks up HR in response to increased oxygen demand in the working muscles.

1. Cold will affect your ability to nose breathe 40F is probably not cold enough to have much, if any, effect.
2. Temps would need to be to the point of making your mucus membranes sting or burn to have much effect.  Forget nose breathing.
3. Go with 135 for now.
4. See the above explanation.

I hope this helps.

Scott

 

[ircommando]

Thanks Scott.  The explanation about sympathetic vs parasympathetic nervous system makes a lot of sense!  Thanks for taking the time to answer and share you knowledge!

Steve

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