"If you were really fit you wouldn't have asthma"

[giraffesCantChaChaCha]

AIBU to think this isn't true? I do think exercise helps - if you are fitter then lungs better so can deal with it easier. But surely if that was a miracle cure it would be "prescribed"? After all it must be cheaper than drugs/hosp admissions/home nebs.

[auroraday]

David Beckham - another famous asthmatic.
If only he'd exercised more, the couch potato .
Agree being fit can alleviate some kinds of asthma, but it won't cure it!

[justhavintheone]

i run approx 15 miles per week , i zumba every week, i walk on average 2 hours a day, i have an active job and 3 kids. i have asthma, its no prob. if im in contact with any animals i have an asthma attack and i can do nothing for about a week until i recover then im straight back into it.

[Sirzy]

I wonder what excercise I can get 21 month old DS to do to cure him then ;)


I agree with others about looking for a personal trainer who actually has understanding of the condition!

[HowAboutAHotCupOfShutTheHellUp]

I should add that my lung function is not so good because I am fit, it is due to my condition being so well controlled by drugs; if I miss a few doses, I will have asthma.

[mayorquimby]

That's one of the dumbest things I've heard. You may well be less fit or behind on a training schedule due to asthma, but to say that the existence of an asthma condition is conclusive proof of a lack fitness is moronic. Scholes,35,dominated the PL.

[HowAboutAHotCupOfShutTheHellUp]

Your personal trainer is ill informed. (I would ask to see his credentials after making such an ignorant comment).

I am a triathlete. I have had chronic asthma for 30 years. David Beckham has asthma.

With the assistance of steroid inhalers, my asthma is well controlled, in fact I have the lung function of a 25 yr old, I am 37.

FYI asthma is not considered an autoimmune disease, it is a chronic illness.

[Tattyhead78]

giraffes, I think you were being offered a biscuit because your original post was misunderstood and some people thought your PT's view was your view. I do think you should see if you can find a better PT!

[giraffesCantChaChaCha]

sitting in hair dressers so cant reply properly but why am I getting a biscuit?! I said aibu to think its NOT true! But I will happily eat any biscuits offered.

[schroeder]

Some people seem to believe this though; I've been told if I swam regularly I would not have asthma.

I think they mean well, they mean that if I swam regularly I might suffer less, that's probably true. It's tricky though unless my symptoms are under control, I just cannot exercise vigorously enough for my fitness to improve.

I would not go with a personal trainer who did not understand asthma myself.

[QueenStromba]

I'm glad you're feeling well enough to be thinking of doing some exercise Giraffes. I agree with the others who've said that you should find a different personal trainer. As an asthmatic you know a lot more about it than someone who knows a couple of asthmatics. Getting fitter should help exercise induced asthma because the point at which your lungs begin to struggle will change but it's not going to cure you of an over active immune system.

[Glitterandglue]

a) HA. If it were that simple then my hockey lessons at school would've resulted in me becoming suddenly better as opposed to having an attack five minutes in every single time and then having to sit out the rest of the lesson as my inhaler made me shaky (not complaining mind you, I hated hockey).

b) What about asthma which is not affected by exercise, like asthma triggered by high emotions? Does being fit cure that too?

c) I imagine what this person means to say (but cannot articulate because they don't fully understand the condition) is that becoming fitter can help to alleviate the symptoms of asthma, if you do it carefully. No freaking way though can it cure the damn thing.

[Pootles2010]

I'll have to tell that to my fil who is quite seriously asthmatic (sp?), whilst being a triathlete...

[sausagesandmarmelade]

Some people are simply not very bright!

Having asthma (being one myself) is often genetic and has nothing to do with how fit you are as a person. Being fit helps of course....as does not smoking etc and trying to avoid triggers that can start it off.

[PenguinArmy]

I am fit when not pg but have asthma that is also triggered by exercise. The trick is pace and recognising when symptoms are started, if I slow down I'm then OK and can for ages (applies when mountaineering or running). Badminton I am fine if I take a few seconds before every serve, I just breathe in deeply three times. Those short breaks mean I can last an hour of singles. Then I climb which isn't an aerobic activity so is great in that perspective.

giraffes I hope your asthma is starting to come under control

[SardineQueen]

If it were me I think I'd look for someone who understood any conditions I had as well. If he doesn't understand asthma then he's not the best person to be training someone with asthma. Especially if he thinks it's their own fault

[SardineQueen]

Oh lawks I got confused about who had said what to who.

The OPs personal trainer is an arse and anyone who agrees with him gets a IMO.

[thekidsmom]

Wow, makes me angry. But you've all covered that well enough up thread!

Just shows you need naff all medical or physiological qualifications to be a personal trainer. Personally I wouldnt waste my money on someone who obviously has no clue about how the human body works...

[Pan]

rips - you shouldn't have been rude to pamplemousserose. As you say she didn't know of the OP's history. So it was a chance for you to help and educate. Instead you behaved very badly. Go to your room.

pamplemousserose - you're right of course. Biscuits are allowed in AIBU but that doesn't mean you must use one as a first response when you see something you don't like. Now. here is your very own spreadsheet. Later, go and find rips and share the joys of spreadsheets together.

[NettoSuperstar]

He's a chump.

[pamplemousserose]

But its aibu. Biscuits are allowed. I can't be expected to know every posters' history. I dont have a spreadsheet. As an asthmatic, op posting this pissed me off.

[ripstheirthroatoutliveupstairs]

I was rude to Pamplemousse because she was being dismissive of the OP. Clearly doesn't know her history.

[LaWeasel]

He is being very daft.

I only have one trigger for my asthma, unfortunately it's dust which means any sports/exercise in big echoey sports halls and gyms is my kind of hell. Haven't yet found an outdoor exercise as an adult which suits me so fitness is suffering a bit, but I'll get their eventually I'm sure.

[HellonHeels]

Personally I would rethink having him as a trainer.

Partly because he seems ill informed and therefore not really a suitable person to help you meet your fitness and training goals and partly because you said "I felt a bit when he said that like it was my fault."

I wouldn't want to train with someone who I felt uncomfortable with - why pay good money just to end up feeling bad about yourself?