Why do I feel out of breath when climbing a mountain?

Mountain climbing is a very popular form of exercise among many fitness enthusiasts. The air pollution index in cities is getting higher and higher, while the air in the mountains is relatively fresher. Mountain climbing can not only appreciate the beauty of nature and feel the joy of conquering nature, but also help to strengthen the body and breathe fresh air. However, many novices have experienced shortness of breath when climbing mountains. What is going on?

Slow down: Experienced climbers know that going uphill too fast will easily increase the heart rate and require the body to breathe more often, making it easy to pant and gasp for breath. If you don't move forward slowly, you will become exhausted. As the saying goes, "more haste, less speed", so we often hear veterans remind novices to slow down.

Take smaller steps: Big steps put more strain on your legs, especially if you are going uphill, it will be more tiring to move forward with big steps. Veterans will move forward in small steps like a cat walking. Small steps will naturally lead to a faster frequency, which can avoid getting tired early.

Talk less: Talking can easily cause your breathing to become irregular. Observe that many experienced climbers always have a calm and focused look on their faces when climbing, because they know that talking can easily make their breathing irregular, and they focus on regulating their breathing.

Breathe more through your nose: According to human physiology, you will only breathe through your nose and mouth when breathing becomes extremely difficult. Normally, breathing through the nose will absorb oxygen more efficiently than breathing through the mouth, but most people forget and breathe through their mouths. It is not impossible to breathe through the mouth, but it is not as efficient as breathing through the nose (you can observe the rise and fall and contraction of the chest when breathing through the nose and mouth). Therefore, it is necessary to learn to use consciousness to control breathing when climbing a slope. When climbing a slope, you usually take one step and then breathe in and out.

Exercise more to improve your physical strength: Exercising your physical strength on a regular basis is the only way to reduce the burden of climbing. Many experienced mountaineers also do regular road running to maintain their physical fitness.

Take in more energy: At the beginning of this article, it was mentioned that climbing a hill requires energy. Sometimes even experienced climbers forget to replenish their energy. When you find that you can't lift your feet or feel weak, you might as well eat some sugary food to replenish enough energy before continuing to climb.

Lose some weight: Look at the experienced climbers, they all have slim bodies. Weight is also an important factor affecting the burden when going uphill. Think about it, if you are overweight and need to carry a backpack to climb a mountain, whether going uphill or downhill, it will cause a considerable loss of physical strength. It is recommended that overweight people make a weight loss plan before going up the mountain to reduce the occurrence of accidents.