I'm getting out of breath far too easily and it's stopping me from working out properly.

- I do about >2 miles cycling a day
- 20mins on the rowing machine x2 a week
- 6mins quick cardio before each workout

So not much aerobic but not sedentary either.

This is such a bummer because sometimes it stops be from even getting muscle ache. I want to be able to keep pumping till failure.

Any suggestions?

Fortunately it's not too bad at the moment but it's still a pain.

Out of breath during resistance training? Or during your aerobic training?

During resistance training. Wierd huh?

Are you training with reps >10? The burning sensation with higher repetitions may lead to excessive breathing to help get the burn out of the muscle.

What type of exercises & sets/reps are you doing?

try exhaleing and inhaleing more

I'll take note on my next workout
and post back.

I mostly start off with aiming for the most I can lift 8 times and then something a lot lighter, say 3x more reps at a lighter weight.

Are you new to lifting?

BTW, eight reps is not exactly considered heavy. Heavy reps are considered to be in the 2-6 rep range. Medium is 6-10, and light is anything over 10. Depending on your time under tension, anything over 10 causes excess lactic buildup and recruits the wrong kind of fibers that are useless for gaining mass. Try going down to a rep range of around 5-6 with a resting period of 2-3 minutes between sets. This is another issue, what's your intensity level and how long are your resting periods?

Blimey. I've gone for 8 reps max because I read somewhere that that's optimum for testoserone release so I figure that should help. I'm not really used to this lifting thing, no.

I haven't really `lifted` seriously as such until recently. Up until now I've been doing things like:

- 18x 12x,10x,10x 50kg pull-downs (triceps)
- 2 sets of 15 full pull-ups
(I'm having trouble finding the terminology to describe what I do)
- 3x100 situps
- 19mins x3000m rowing
- 12x30kg curls and then bounce until fail on 25kg using machine

So I'm not lifting heavy but moderate. I find it hard to push them out when heavy so I usually pyamid down. These counts aren't accurate; I usually try to trace-out and get through that way. I find it hard to count these days since doing this - I prefer to just try and push it by feel, probably a bad idea.

I've been doing this sort of what I originally viewed as a light-moderate workout for ~4 years, 1-3x week.

It has paid off now but now I'm trying to really step up to less reps and heavier loads but I got to be careful as I have a bad back (not due to workout). I'm now trying things like:
(I'm 65kg)

- 10x60kg bench press
- 40kg curls

After reading about overtraining I've cut down to 1-2 workouts a week.

I usually train 6-9 in the evening. Maybe this has something to do with it? Maybe better to train 11am say? I'll try that when I can.

I'll try some really heavy reps in a minute though I really don't feel like it (it's 7pm, I've got a cold and I'd like to go to sleep!).

the time of the day shouldn't make too much of a difference, if it's a regular schedule. You may be a bit more exhausted by the end of the day, but you will also have excess storage of energy from food.

Doing your weights by feel isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it's hard to progress if you don't know how much you are doing on a daily basis. It's good to push yourself past those limits every once in awhile, as you may be surprised at what you can actually lift.

When you say 6-9 in the evening ... is that how long you are training for? or is that just a time range when you hit the gym?

yeah, 6-9pm usual time but usually 1+1/2 hour workout.

However - Unfortunately my gym is always packed so you can be queing for 5-10mins each time

I suppose you get what you pay for - £30 per year student price.

yea, my university gym was the same ... i just forked out the extra bucks to join a gym ... i hated the wait ... and most people didn't know what the hell they were doing, and that drove me nuts.
.. if you have the ability to go earlier, then i would go. My school gym was usually dead before 12.

cheers for the info all.

I most admit my breathing's not too good - if I breath in there's no satifaction - it doesn't go all the way in, like being asthmatic.

I also don't give much rest time - usually 30secs as some git is bound to come up and want to use the equipment.

Anyway, an example:

Squats, 40kg (88lb) x 8 x 4, 30secs then 30kg x 8 x 4 and another 30secs.

Now, that's compound. However, it even happens on say tricep push downs (double fly):

55kg x 12 x 3, ~30secs then 45kg x 12 x 3 and so forth

I'm always out of breath before I get a chance to really get the muscles hurting. It's frustrating. I reckon it might take 5mins to get breath back fully; no good. In fact, if you do 3mins between sets don't you end up being there all day?

Could the answer be inproving the strength of my diaphragm ?

It sounds like you may want to ask a doctor.
I have some advise I can think of but I would definitely go and see a doctor about your breathing issue.

I noticed you said that you usually only have a 30 sec break because some git comes up and wants to use the machine. I know what it is like to be in a hurry but come on, I use that kind of situation as a blessing in disguise. Tell the git that you are willing to share, he can do his reps while you rest and that way you get more rest. more rest is good. rest at least a minute in any case (2-3 mins if you are doing heavier weight)

That I think may even be the problem, not enough rest between sets but if it is not:
Do you get out of breath if you do a lighter weight for 15-20 reps or when you do a heavier weight for 6-10 reps, or on both?

I would suggest more cardio. Run for 20-30 minutes at the end of your workout and also combine some sprinting into your running.
Make sure your warmup before the workout is no longer than 7 minutes and not to hard (no more than a fast walk)
Do situps at the end of your session of lifting weights. this should be the last thing you do before going for cardio and not before or during your weight lifting workout. I say this not as a rule but as a thought that this may make your workout easier on the breathing, I find that after doing abdominals I am much more tired and even though I do run for 30-40 minutes after this I prefer to not have to lift weights after this.
I suggest doing high reps of sit ups and once a week doing sit ups with weights (lower reps) or just harder variations of situps for less reps.

As usual I like to say that this just my common sense and I AM NOT AN EXPERT so don't take my advise too seriously, I am just offering you some ideas that may help you solve the problem.

I believe the answer is simple. Your rest intervals are too short. You don't have a high enough work capacity to handle the 30 second rest intervals.

If you try 60-90 seconds that may help. The aerobic sessions may also aid in being able to tolerate the shorter rest intervals.