I am on a new fitness kick and as such, my daughter has convinced me to start taking spinning classes. I prefer to exercise outdoors, but I am finding that I love cycling class. During a recent class, my lungs had an unexpected encounter. On this typical evening, I entered my cycling class, prepped and mounted my bike. The instructor is a good leader, with a solid workout plan. She chooses great music, and she even weaves in music videos on the overhead screen for the perfect combination of motivation and distraction. I am happy. The perfect workout begins…
But five minutes into the warm-up, a woman (who I shall henceforth refer to as Smelly Woman) comes in. And of all the empty bikes at her disposal, she chooses the one right next to me. I am already in a zone of concentration. So I don’t even notice Smelly Woman at first. She does not register in my consciousness…that is, until her perfume makes its way over to me. And now I am surrounded by it. In the context of another setting—like the cosmetic counter of a department store, this scent might have been pleasant. But here, it is not. And normally I am oblivious to another person’s perfume. I usually have no such sensitivities.
Aside from the annoyance (who douses themselves with perfume before an exercise class?), I am surprised to find that I am starting to get congested. I have to keep clearing my throat and swallowing. Pretty soon, I am having unusual difficulty catching my breath…unusual even for an exercise class. I realize that I am having a mild allergic reaction to the scent of Smelly Woman.
I happen to be taking this class with my daughter, who has asthma. She is on the bike on the other side of me. I am increasingly afraid that the scent is going to reach her. If it does, it will be all over for her. She is very sensitive to perfume. If this perfume reaches her, as it has reached me, she will start to wheeze, cough and have difficulty breathing. In no time, she’ll be in search of her inhaler, which is all the way upstairs in her locker. But I don’t want to bring Smelly Woman to my daughter’s attention and plant a seed of worry. She is churning away on her bike and totally consumed in the workout. So I suffer in silence and watch her for signs of distress. Thankfully, they never come. Somehow, she escapes the perfume invasion and has an enjoyable workout, unlike her mother.
Pollution can have an enormous effect on exercise performance, and not just for those with asthma and allergies. Since athletes and active people take in much more air than the average (more sedentary) person, they are more adversely impacted by high levels of pollution. This is at the root of considerable concern surrounding the summer Olympics.
At a time when American’s push to be more active and less sedentary—to get out and get into shape—many of us who live in polluted cities find ourselves at greater risk of respiratory distress when we exercise. It’s a sad and unfortunate irony. We are forced to weigh the benefits and costs of outdoor exercise to our overall health.
On my way to the gym today, the freeway marquee shows an ozone warning – today is a Yellow day in Houston—moderately unhealthy. The logical conclusion is to exercise indoors—my spinning class. But then, there’s Smelly Woman polluting my indoor air (see a full discussion of indoor air pollution HERE and HERE). I call my daughter, who is meeting me, and remind her to bring her inhaler to class.
HERE are tips on exercising outdoors.