A Girl’s Guide to the Farmer Blow

May 29th, 2008 at 9:29 pm (Cycle) · Digg! this story! Digg! this story.

OK - First, let’s get one thing straight!  A “Farmer Blow” is what ATHLETES do when they have phlegm (aka ’snot’) built up in their nose while they exercise.    It’s one of those little secret tricks that many athletes DO but nobody talks about.   Well, I’m here to let the cat out of the bag!   While you are riding or running, you plug one nostril and ‘blow’ out the other side.    No tissues.  No hankies.  Just blow.

Guys do it all the time…   This post is to let you gals know ~ it’s OKAY for us to do it too!  It took me a few months to get over the ummmm, unladylike-ness of it.  Demure, it is not.   However, when you are out there givin’ your all - who has time to take out the tissue? We get sweaty and gritty just like everyone else. There’s no reason why we can’t take advantage of this time-saver trick.  It is perfectly natural (and, environmentally friendly too!)  ;-)

Be sure you look behind to confirm no person (or unsuspecting dog) is in your line of fire….. and be sure you’re among friends. It can be one of those things that test a friendship. ;-) If you are comfortable enough with someone to Farmer Blow in front of them, they must be a good friend. :-)

You Go Girl!

Workout:

  • Type: Cycle
  • Date: 05/29/2008
  • Time: 21:29:35
  • Total Time: 1:04:00.00
  • Distance: 16 miles
  • Average Speed: 15 mph

6 Comments

  1. hardly said,

    May 29th, 2008 at 9:35 pm

    Sometimes, you just need to have grown up on a farm!

    For first-timers, the tendency is to give this about as much effort as when you use a kleenex to blow your nose, which is not enough, um, force. Exhale FORCEFULLY through the unplugged nostril, and keep it going a bit longer than you think you ought. Ideally, this should only take one shot. Just remember that James T. Kirk sometimes had to take multiple shots at those Klingons to get them to go away!

  2. seashell said,

    May 29th, 2008 at 9:39 pm

    Yes! Yes! The science of the Farmer Blow! Fun for girls AND boys!!!! (LOL!)

  3. Moe said,

    May 30th, 2008 at 8:40 am

    Right on Shelly! I’ve never quite perfected the farmer blow and sometimes still end up with a face full of sticky snot! Yum! ;) Maybe a warning to the first-timers out there….what hardly says is right on — you need to be very forceful! It can be a very useful skill!

  4. bigdave_nv said,

    May 30th, 2008 at 9:08 am

    the racing farmer: close mouth, turn head, exhale forcefully. ;)

  5. neversaydie said,

    May 30th, 2008 at 10:30 am

    Heehee I’ve had many any embarrassing experience regarding the farmer’s blow, but still, it’s quite necessary out on those long trails when there is just no tissue in sight.

  6. mtbman1 said,

    June 1st, 2008 at 1:39 pm

    Something you don’t see in your average cycling training book. If I write such a book, it will include a section on “Farmer’s Blow”!