Let us look at aerobic exercise specifically.  This is the exercise that gets our heart rate and our respiration rate into that fat-burning mode that we hear so much about.  This can be brisk walking, jogging, running, vigorous calisthenics, or riding a real or stationary bicycle.  Swimming and other activities like playing tennis or badminton fall into this category as well.  So how are these things beneficial to the lungs?

First off as we breathe harder and faster, we are forcefully inhaling and exhaling.  For those of us with COPD the latter is the most important.  As we forcefully exhale, we are removing more carbon dioxide that we would under normal breathing conditions.  If we can just keep that mouth shut during the inhalation, then we are doing better.  Many of us who are used to pursed lip breathing actually inhale through our nose even though our mouths are open and exhale through our mouths.

The second thing is that we are using the breathing muscles at a much greater rate than when we are breathing normally.  These muscles include the diaphragm and the intercostal muscles.  The diaphragm rises and falls during aerobic activity and the intercostal muscles are causing the distance between the ribs to expand.  We are doing diaphragmatic breathing when we do aerobic activity that get our heart and respiratory rate up.

So overall we are cleaning out the old stove pipe when we get the heart and lungs going at a good speed.  You know how much safer your chimney is when the chimney sweeper gets it cleaned of all the old soot and creosote.  Many of us experience a good windpipe cleaning and begin to cough about halfway through the 40-minute routine.  Well, the cough is the chimney sweep cleaning out the debris from our lungs.

It has been great fun chatting with you and I hope everyone enjoyed it and that you are breathing well. “Keep on keepin on” to healthy lungs.