I have asthma. Is that a problem?

Usually not. Plenty of people train and compete with asthma. What matters is that it is managed and that your coach knows.

See your doctor first, and ask them about this specifically. Hard efforts. Being on the ground with weight on your chest. Cold mornings. Dusty spaces. Get their plan and follow it. I am a coach, not a doctor, and I train around whatever they tell you.

Then tell me before the first session. What triggers it, what your early warning signs look like, where the inhaler is, and what you want me to do if you need it. Do not leave it in the car or buried in the bottom of a bag. It comes out and sits at the edge of the mat where both of us can reach it.

Training privately helps here more than a class would. The pace is yours. You can stop, take a minute, use the inhaler and pick up where you left off with nobody waiting on you and nobody watching. The warm-up can be long and gradual and built around your lungs instead of somebody else’s, and if effort is what sets you off, that one change does more than anything else in this answer. Say something the second your chest tightens. Stopping a round is never a problem.

Environment matters too. A dusty garage in summer is harder work than a lawn in the evening, and cold mornings set some people off more than effort does. Tell me which of those affects you and we move the session. Do not turn up dehydrated either, because that makes breathing harder than it needs to be. See how much water to bring.

None of this asks you to be fit already. Conditioning arrives out of the training itself, at whatever pace your lungs set. See do I need to get in shape first.

If your asthma is not well controlled right now, get that sorted before you start rather than hoping training fixes it. See is this safe for beginners.