Excellent question. I am in pulmonary rehab, and they stress both cardio (30 mts daily) and strength training for pulmonary health generally. The program is not specific to bronchiectasis or NTM, with little information on airway clearance. I have listened to a few lectures by NTM specialists and each of them has stressed cardio for airway clearance and the importance of getting ones heart rate up and “breaking a sweat”, stressing that simply walking is not enough unless one is doing it at a pace/elevation that is challenging. I have also recently heard a lecture by a Yale respiratory therapist who said that exercise is great for airway clearance, if one actually works to clear the airways after exercise with breathing techniques, etc. I don’t have much mucus and very little (often nothing) comes up when I do airway clearance with albuterol/saline/vest/breathing techniques. I have no coughing while I workout so I don’t know if by itself my cardio exercise is “moving my mucus”. But I try to do 30 mts of day of cardio (I also strength train 4 days a week). Hopeful that the cardio is moving some mucus and knowing that at least it is beneficial for lung health generally. I intend to add at least a few minutes of breathing techniques after my cardio to help “clear”. Very curious as to others thoughts/experiences on this topic.

I walk two miles with some inclines, about 45 minutes. The coughing doesn't usually start until 15-30 minutes later, which makes it comfortable to walk with friends. 😊 When things start moving, I encourage it by lying on my slightly-inclined bed with my head at the bottom and use the Aerobika and Autogenic App, 4 minutes on my back, then 2.5 minutes on each side. I use the Aerobika and Autogenic App sitting up for 6 minutes right after nebulizing, too. I'm not sure I'm doing the AD correctly, but the counting on the app helps me stay focused.