advice for the agility

[sheriff2004]

Guys, I was wondering If you could help me on thisI, I'm taking the agility test for a local dept. but I have slight asthma. I started running a little each day. I am up to a mile without stopping in 12 minutes. Is there any advice for working my way up to the 1.5 in 12:51??? I actually was running about 1.9 miles in 19 minutes, but then fractured my ankle playing b-ball. It's finally healed, so I'm starting all over again. I'm afraid that when I get called for the agility, I won't be able to do it. Do any of you out there have asthma, if so, what do you use? I know just running isn't going to do it, I know I have to do cardio. I work out 5 days a week, but I don't do legs that much, and never do cardio. I need advice as to what excercises to do that will get me up to the 1.5 in the alotted time. Thanks for your feedback.

[Blue Leader]

I'd say these questions are better asked of your physician.... I couldn't and wouldn't began to give you advice on how to deal better with your asthma while running...

Sorry........

[Ranter64]

I have mild asthma as well, 1st question is do you have a rescue inhaler and a daily one such as advair or singuliar? Then the most important thing I found was to just concentrate on my breathing. 2 strides in through the nose 2 strides out through the mouth. Also this help prevent side stitches. Also I know its not winter now but wearing a face mask in the winter to keep the air coming in warm helps alot also. Hope this helps.

[Blatant]

I can't comment on the asthma portion, but the only way you're going to improve your run time is to run. I lift a lot of weights, too, but they don't do much for run prep. It's a completely different set of muscle involvement. Good luck.
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[sheriff2004]

blatant

Yea I have a rescue inhaler. I usually use it before and after I run. I also use advair in the morning and night. I guess It will just take time and consistancy. I run 3 times a week, and will start incorporating cardio at the gym. thanks for any advice you can give me.

[BigDaddy]

Sheriff- I am just rebounding back from a leg injury, and I didn't do a lot of leg work in my routine, but what I've found to work wonders is the Lifecycle. I do 30- 45 miinutes a day on the hill cycle. When I started, Level 1 hurt, I just got level 9 beat yesterday. I have mild asthma as well, and the bike doesn't affect it. I would say on the days you don't run to push yourself as hard as you can on the bike- very low impact, great for cardio....Good Luck!

[Blatant]

I don't know how much time you have to prepare and am not a doctor so I don't know how much impact the asthma may have on your overall cardiovascular performance. Keep that in mind.

If you're in otherwise reasonable physical shape (not obese, not sick other than the asthma), you should be able to significantly improve your run times within a month.

I would concentrate on your cv performance and let other portions of your fitness routine slide by the wayside in the interim. It's important to push yourself physically and also important to rest. I'd say no more than 4-5 workouts a week (I'd push for four) working on both your distance with some shorter, higher effort runs (intervals, maybe sprints, etc.). The biking is good for cv and overall fitness, but is still substantially different from the mechanics of running.
d

[sheriff2004]

blatant

I'm 6'2 about 220lbs, with roughly 8% body fat. I'm in pretty good shape. I'm benching around 325, and curling 115. I have one downside, I don't do my legs as often as I should, and I don't do cardio as often as i should. I'm going to start, I did legs yesterday and will do cardio today. I'm going to do the bike and then will run 1 mile or more if I can. I am going to dedicate myself to this mission for the next few weeks. I don't know when my agility test will be, but I can't imagine it being sooner than 2 months. I'm not even sure it's the asthma that bothers me as much as my heart rate and tiredness of my legs and calves. I think I need to do some distance and sprints, along with some CV to get my heart rate up. Thanks for the feedback, this really helps.