Indoor Air Pollution May Be Limiting Your Exercise Performance

As more people train and compete virtually indoors , all the nasty stuff is the air around you could interfere with getting a good workout.

Now we know that open flame cooking, small congested interiors, lack of ventilation and high ambient air pollution outdoors can all cause carbon dioxide buildup. What most of us don’t realize is the extent of the problem.

In discussing this with someone who uses a highly accurate and expensive fixed monitoring station at home that samples the air every minute, I have come to understand that CO2 levels near the spot where he has set up his indoor cycling trainer station typically exceeds 500ppm (parts per million) while he’s riding the bike.

If there is no good airflow in the house, he reports CO2 can go as high as 4000ppm.

To put this into perspective, building interior air standards call for CO2 to be maintained under 700ppm. The levels of CO2 we’re talking about is more than quadruple that guideline.

Cycling performance impacts are probably unchanged at moderate levels but can become “significant” at levels exceeding 1800ppm, according to him.

A feeling of drowsiness, headache and lesser vigor while exercising are probably all symptoms of this unseen indoor air pollution. Performance degradation in cycling is “largely fewer watts produced”, as per his report.

Proper ventilation and air flow throughput in a room is also important for body cooling and more in tune with the current affairs, limiting exposure to viruses through aerosol propagation, as recent MIT research indicates.

What all this means is that athletes who are tinkering with their equipment to find elusive lost pedal watts should probably try cranking up the watts on an exhaust fan instead first. Air pollution is the hidden enemy.

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