Sports and Asthma

Staying in shape is an absolute must and the best way to stay in shape is to be active. Any kind of sport would do but from my personal experience, I would highly recommend swimming. This is especially the case if you have asthma. If you've got asthma, my number 1 recommendation would be a ton of sport and if possible, endurance training. Swimming is a great all round sport that if done correctly, will train your whole body. While I was in America, I swam competitively for about 5 years till I moved to Germany. I was on a swim team where we had 2 hours of practice every single day and competitions on weekends. It was a great experience and I had alot of fun with all my friends. If you have a choice always pick outdoor swimming and try sign up with a few friends. It'll help to make the experience more memorable.

I also played a lot of soccer, over 6 years to be exact, but I had to quit that to make time to learn German. I had a very strong kick from bicycling everyday to school so I had a decent advantage. I also played a bit of casual table tennis and also tennis for a few years just for fun.

In Germany there's a sport called handball that is very fast paced and a lot of fun. I played on a team for 3 years till the training location moved far away.

I also did quite a bit of long distance running, but I can't really recommend it at all. All I can describe it as is 100% endurance and random pain. It becomes really hard to estimate time and distances and it's just not fun compared to other sports. My record a few years back on 10 km was 41 minutes which I still I find quite astonishing. I've since gone back to bicycling.

In the past, I had really severe asthma. I was actually brought to the emergency room by ambulance on multiple occasions and had to stay multiple days. Let's just say that asthma poses a bit of a challenge, but with enough effort you can overcome it or at least suppress it somewhat.