Training & Living with Poor Air Quality

Jun 30

Currently many of our athletes and clients are dealing with poor air quality in the northeast. This is the 2nd time this year that they are experiencing negative effects from the Canada wildfires. Over the next few days, the AQI index is showing levels between 100-200 which puts them in the RED at unhealthy levels. This is not the day to go outside for hard training sessions such as threshold or Vo2 max intervals. If you can, keep your training indoors. Here are some indoor options and strategies to deal with poor air quality.

Workout at home. Hopefully you have some training equipment, if not, there is plenty of bodyweight movement and exercises you can do without equipment. If you're looking for some simple home equipment ideas that does not take up much space, click here. For all of our equipment recommendations, click here.
Dust off your treadmill or Peloton bike and keep your planned workout indoors. Zwift is another great option.
Make your way to your local gym for a strength & conditioning workout. Take a yoga or spin class. If they have a pool, jump in! This is a good time to try something a little different or catch up on some essential strength, mobility and corrective workouts.
Head to the rock gym. If you're an experienced climber, this is a great time for a solid climbing session. If this is something new to you, take your time with familiarizing yourself with some of the equipment and training tools the gym offers and stick to some light bouldering. You will need to get use to the physical stress that comes with climbing and you want to avoid injuring yourself, especially if you have your goal event just around the corner.
Take a rest day! Get in some light self massage and mobility work. Focus on organizing and decluttering your home. Work on your nutrition by preparing meals for the rest of the week, try a new recipe, head to the local market to learn more about the foods you have been choosing and other options.
Keep your windows closed. Make sure to use HEPA filters throughout your living area or in at least your bedroom and workout space. HEPA filters can “theoretically remove at least 99.97% of dust, pollen, mold, bacteria, and any airborne particles”.
Don’t forget your pets! They need exercise just as we do and they can feel the negative effects of poor air quality as well. When air quality was pretty bad in Colorado a couple of years ago do to wildfires, we would stay indoors with Sam and play hide & seek, catch and practice new tricks.

If you need to get outside and the AQ is pretty bad, wear an n95 mask. We have had athletes complete some zone 1-2 workouts wearing a mask without much discomfort. If you have any respiratory or health issues, it is extremely important to wear a mask if you will be spending anytime outdoors.

Be sure to keep your HR to zone 1-2 & RPE 1-4, and focus (practice) nasal breathing. It is very important to learn and strengthen your ability to breathe through your nose. This is your natural air filter. If you haven’t really thought about nasal breathing or find it difficult to do so, it is even more imperative that you practice this. Just like anything, the more you practice, the better you will become at it. A good way to start, is to just sit quietly, keep your mouth closed and take slow purposeful breaths through your nose. Stay relaxed, feel your diaphragm slowly expend and the final 20% of your breath carries into your chest. Many of us have dysfunctional breathing patterns without even knowing so. This can lead to a host of issues and inefficiencies, such as increased anxiety, high blood pressure, a poor aerobic system, etc. I will write more on this topic later but for now, breathe through your nose!

After spending some time outdoors with poor air quality, it is important to clear your sinuses by lightly blowing your nose. You can use a saline spray to help flush your sinuses or even better would be using a Neti Pot or similar. Also wash your face with cold water and clean your beard or mustache if you have one.

The interactive map below shows the current air quality conditions in the United States as of June 30th at 7am. Just click on the map below for current conditions in your area. Be sure download the IQ AirVisual phone application (apple) (google play) so you have continued access to conditions in your area.