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Lead Stories: Friday, December 5, 2008

Q&A: Should I exercise outside on days when air pollution is heavy?

Posted September 7th, 2007 at 7:50 AM by Hariz Siddiqui

Section: Health & Fitness, Exercise

It’s healthful to exercise and harmful to breathe polluted air, so how can you decide whether you are doing more harm than good?

The worst time for pollution is when clouds cover the sky and automobiles fill the roads. Automobile exhaust fumes are the principal source of air pollution in most cities, and overlying clouds increase pollution. Usually the sun’s rays heat the ground to warm air closest to the ground. Hot air rises, taking large amounts of pollutants skyward. On air inversion days, the clouds prevent the sun’s rays from getting through to the ground, so the air near the ground is not heated, remains colder and doesn’t rise, causing the air with its pollutants to remain close to the ground.

Air pollutants such as carbon monoxide, ozone, carbon dioxide, and sulfur dioxide can damage your lungs. When you exercise . . .
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Don’t breath only through your nose during exercise

Posted January 8th, 2007 at 11:00 AM by Jamal Walker

Section: Running & Training, Training Tips, Health & Fitness, Exercise

People who exercise with their mouths closed aren’t working very hard. You can’t get enough air through your nose to meet your needs for oxygen when you exercise vigorously.

The cross sectional area of the openings in your nose is less than one-tenth the opening in the back of your mouth. That space is so narrow that when you pick up the pace, you could turn blue if you failed to open your mouth …
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