Athletic Pipe Smokers

[tobakenist]

I was a fairly successful amateur racing cyclist for 30 years and never thought that my pipe smoking effected me, it did surprise my club mates and competitors that I smoked a pipe, in one of my towns other club there was a pensioner rider who still road a few time trails, he actually road these with his pipe on the go, he used to say if his pipe wasn't still going at the finish line he new he had done a bad time, he was a well known eccentric among are local clubs, how he kept ash out of his eyes puzzled me. I was also a rock climber and mountaineer and I think it was my love of mountaineering that made me start smoking a pipe, all my hero's in the climbing books that I read smoked pipes and there is nothing better than lighting a pipe on top of a mountain after a hard climb, also a great hand warmer. All my activities came to a end at the age of 40 due to a industrial accident, 3 operations on my back and have a disc that can't be operated on because of the danger of severing my sciatic nerve and paralysing me down my left side, so I have to live with this, thank god for my pipe.

 

[mateusbrown]

I'm 49, have been smoking cigarettes and cigars since about 1992, a pipe for the last year or so, and I lift weights, walk, and/or do HIIT sprints at least 4 days a week, usually 5. I can do unassisted pull-ups at 215 bodyweight, "bench 225" (that's a meme in fitness circles) for reps, squat and deadlift more than I weigh, etc. Not bragging, just saying. I could probably lift heavier, but I have to consider I'd rather not finish off my knees or lower back just to say I can squat or deadlift weight X. I figured it'd be better to stay in shape and lift mid-weight capacity rather than trying to go as heavy as possible all the time at this point. The older you get, the easier the trip to Snap City. I dislocated my collar bone on the right where it joins the sternum at merely 195 lbs. on the bench one afternoon, and that has slowed me down a little the past two months or so, but point is, smoking and athletic pursuits strangely can coexist. However, I don't really inhale when I smoke, not even with a cigarette, but still get the nicotine hit. I'm on no medications, drink no alcohol, no seed oils, try to eat right, lots of protein etc. The smoking may catch up with me at some point, but hasn't really yet. I'd probably have greater stamina if I didn't smoke at all although after just a year of consistent pipe smoking, I'd most likely have the hardest time giving that up due to its sheer enjoyment and relaxation factor.

 

[Thehogfatherpdx]

My smoking really fluctuates in frequency depending on what else is going on in my life. I’m fairly active and have done a variety of different athletic pursuits. Mostly I lift weights with various forms of supplemental cardio. I do feel like smoking has an impact on performance, but it really depends on a variety factors.

To mitigate the negative effects I only smoke outside and try not to inhale the smoke. I also rarely smoke before I exercise usually reserving my pipe for the end of the day. I occasionally break that rule and then just accept that it will probably impact my workout. I also find if I am disciplined about exercising i am less inclined to smoke, so i smoke less overall. Ultimately I exercise to support my health and there’s always trade offs when it comes to vices, so I just try to keep everything in good proportion.

 

[Searock Fan]

Every time I think of doing something athletic, I sit down and have a pipe till it wears off...

 

[AroEnglish]

I was a fairly successful amateur racing cyclist for 30 years and never thought that my pipe smoking effected me, it did surprise my club mates and competitors that I smoked a pipe, in one of my towns other club there was a pensioner rider who still road a few time trails, he actually road these with his pipe on the go, he used to say if his pipe wasn't still going at the finish line he new he had done a bad time, he was a well known eccentric among are local clubs, how he kept ash out of his eyes puzzled me. I was also a rock climber and mountaineer and I think it was my love of mountaineering that made me start smoking a pipe, all my hero's in the climbing books that I read smoked pipes and there is nothing better than lighting a pipe on top of a mountain after a hard climb, also a great hand warmer. All my activities came to a end at the age of 40 due to a industrial accident, 3 operations on my back and have a disc that can't be operated on because of the danger of severing my sciatic nerve and paralysing me down my left side, so I have to live with this, thank god for my pipe.

I've got a 3 mile bike commute to work and have wondered if I could bike and smoke a pipe. Always seemed like the wind would make it smoke really hot. But after hearing about this legend I might give it a shot.

 

[Highlandpiper]

I bike ride 5 days a week and open water swim twice . Historically I gave up cigarettes 22 years ago and had a period of 15 years with no tobacco until I picked up the pipe. I have always exercised and when I picked up the pipe I was worried about the affect on my cardio vascular system. I smoke a bowl about 3 days of the week and immediately told myself it was negatively impacting me however the data did not support this. There is definitely a psychological element as we are bombarded with the negative impacts of tobacco use every day, at least we are in the UK.
I am not saying our hobby is healthy but I have balanced the risks against the advantages to my whole well being and have found the best balance of phsyical activity and pipe smoking for me. Once I established that I found the anxiety around the impact on my health left and I was comfortable exercising again.
Hope you can find the same and happy biking and piping.

 

[jttnk]

Fairly active cyclist here. it’s been said, but yes, everything in moderation. 1 bowl or 1 cigar a day. Maybe two on a weekend. i have not yet, but do want to do a long gravel ride with a picnic lunch and pipe by a stream, under a lovely tree. Getting older, weight, and not giving a shit about how many miles or feet of ascent I can post on Strava is slowing me down more than smoking pipes and cigars.

its cliche, but I have to add it to this conversation.

 

[Brewfan]

I average 2 bowls per day and play ice hockey once or twice per week. It doesn't seem to have much effect on me in the beer league. I'm sure I could be a touch faster, stronger, etc if I adjusted my lifestyle to accomplish that, but it's not worth it to me. The NHL is only calling on me when they want me to buy tickets and merch.

 

[mbmoehl]

Thank you all for the replies, they've all been encouraging. Some seem to mildly confirm my suspicions while others give me hope. I know our bodies all act differently, but i hope those saying more fitness with time may help more than laying off. I think i may try to abstain on days i ride until my fitness increases and see how that goes. I don't plan on racing again, but would like to get back into some group rides or rides with old teammates and not get dropped 10 minutes in. While i'm getting back into it my motto has been 'have fun at any pace', but now that i have a few rides in and getting more comfortable back on the bike and with the trails i start pushing, remembering for brief moments my old pace, which is fun. Unfortunately, i can only maintain the pace downhill as my fitness needs to build to get more pace on the climbs and that's where i feel it the most.

 

[The Amish Tyrant]

Every time I think of doing something athletic, I sit down and have a pipe till it wears off...

I'd try to run, but ice cubes would fall out of my glass.

 

[mbmoehl]

Fairly active cyclist here. it’s been said, but yes, everything in moderation. 1 bowl or 1 cigar a day. Maybe two on a weekend. i have not yet, but do want to do a long gravel ride with a picnic lunch and pipe by a stream, under a lovely tree. Getting older, weight, and not giving a shit about how many miles or feet of ascent I can post on Strava is slowing me down more than smoking pipes and cigars.

its cliche, but I have to add it to this conversation.
View attachment 220530

That sounds like a lovely goal.

I use to post on Strava as well, but i've removed to the cycling computer with speed, cadence and heart rate monitors and don't use Strava any more (for the moment) because i just want to listen to my body for the time being and have fun, KOM's be damned.

 

[mbmoehl]

I bike ride 5 days a week and open water swim twice . Historically I gave up cigarettes 22 years ago and had a period of 15 years with no tobacco until I picked up the pipe. I have always exercised and when I picked up the pipe I was worried about the affect on my cardio vascular system. I smoke a bowl about 3 days of the week and immediately told myself it was negatively impacting me however the data did not support this. There is definitely a psychological element as we are bombarded with the negative impacts of tobacco use every day, at least we are in the UK.
I am not saying our hobby is healthy but I have balanced the risks against the advantages to my whole well being and have found the best balance of phsyical activity and pipe smoking for me. Once I established that I found the anxiety around the impact on my health left and I was comfortable exercising again.
Hope you can find the same and happy biking and piping.

I completely agree with the psychological impact this could be having exacerbating the actual impact, i will try to keep this in mind, thanks.

 

[mbmoehl]

A couple of you discussed smoking outdoors vs. indoors and i'm nearly a strict outdoor smoker. I think i've smoked indoors twice in the last year.

 

[jttnk]

The more I think about it, all my faster friends are right just ride your bike, the miles stack up and the fitness comes back. As we age it just gets a little tougher on the climbs!

Oh, yeah, you’re in Michigan, you don’t have too many 28 mile climbs with 5,600 feet of elevation topping out at 9,000 ft. Mt. Lemmon, Tucson, AZ. Humble or douchey brag, but I haven’t done it to the top in 5 years or more. Slow as molasses at 200 plus lbs, even at my best 190 still heavier than my compadres, but I’ve made it handful of times.

So, in the words of the Velominati, “shut up and ride”. That’s them not me, I could talk about cycling and tobacco all day!

 

[Warlee]

I lift heavy and train for and do an endurance race every year. Far and away proper diet and adequate sleep make the biggest difference for me. That being said pipes and cigars do seem to affect my recovery time (tissue healing/regeneration). And I only generally find my limit that time of the year when I am both lifting and doing serious endurance training. I am also pushing 42 so that may be part of it slowing down too.

But as to my actual performance while doing those activities I haven’t found pipe smoking to make much of a difference at all.

 

[mbmoehl]

The more I think about it, all my faster friends are right just ride your bike, the miles stack up and the fitness comes back. As we age it just gets a little tougher on the climbs!

Oh, yeah, you’re in Michigan, you don’t have too many 28 mile climbs with 5,600 feet of elevation topping out at 9,000 ft. Mt. Lemmon, Tucson, AZ. Humble or douchey brag, but I haven’t done it to the top in 5 years or more. Slow as molasses at 200 plus lbs, even at my best 190 still heavier than my compadres, but I’ve made it handful of times.

So, in the words of the Velominati, “shut up and ride”. That’s them not me, I could talk about cycling and tobacco all day!

That is quite the ride, probably better on the way back! I use to do a team training ride that included riding to the trailhead, three laps of the mountain bike trail and a team time trail on the way back with a sprint near the finish. All told it was just under 40 miles. During this time when i was at my peak fitness i was just under 140lbs, now however, i'm just over 170lbs. I have a long way to go, but have no expectations at 43 over getting back to that fitness, just want to feel good and feel good on the bike.

 

[EvertonFC]

I've actually never noticed a relationship between exercise and pipe smoking. I lift weights 5 days a week and smoke a pipe every day. Unless you're inhaling, I'm not sure why it would impact you.