So the group next to me in the pool this morning decides to do a set of 75s (scy), with the middle length being no breathing. Afterwards, one of the group (a bright ex-collegiate swimmer) asked why I scoff at the no-breathers that they do. I said that I thought that there was no physiological benefit or training effect from doing hypoxic training; he replied that he thought that’s what training at altitude was all about; I replied that I thought that was about the lower pressure, not the reduced oxygen.
What’s the deal? Is there any adaptation that occurs (besides the loss of what few brain cells ex-collegiate swimmers remain) by swimming while holding your breath for more than a couple of seconds at a time?
(disclaimer: I can’t/won’t do a single length underwater)
It teaches a swimmer to be more efficient and to learn that the need to breathe can be controlled - which in competitive swimming swimming is a must. Now, not a lot of carry over into the open water arena. But learned efficiency is always a good thing.
I started doing some lengths without taking a breath a while back, and I think the psychological benefit of “knowing” you can go so far without breathing is a confidence boost when things get ugly in the water and you miss taking a “quality” breath.
I agree. Those sets are teaching me to stay calm when I start running out of air. I have this love affair with oxygen…I LOVE breathing so when I start to get tanked I would tend to rush through my stroke to get more of it. I’m much calmer now.
There is a ton of research showing that hypoxic training does not simulate training at altitude.
The reason to do hypoxic sets, would be to increase your breath holding ability and your ability to tolerate increased CO2 which could reduce your desire to breath when the concentration of CO2 is high in the lungs. Best utilized for sprinters, who might benefit from taking less breaths.
There is research showing that swimmers actually slow down during sets that limit the breaths they can take.
Even though you didn’t ask, my take on it is doing 1-2 sets now and then might improve a triathletes comfort in the water during the initial scrum, or if they get smashed by a wave. If the goal is to swim faster, they would best be served by doing sets that encourage them to actually swim faster.
It’s to condition your hypoxic reflex to be more CO2-resistant.
For non-swimmers/deep divers, the body’s BREATHE reflex is one of the strongest reflexes we have. The sense of panic is overwhelming even if you hold your breath for an extra 5-10 seconds.
However, in reality, you can hold your breath much longer with no problem. If you measure O2 sats on yourself as you hold your breath even until you’re blue in the face, you’ll be at 98-99%. It’s our body’s early-alarm warning system. You can actually function for a good 30-sec, if not more beyond that panic limit if you’re not conditioned.
For swimmers, who control their breathing with their strokes regularly, it is helpful to dampen this reflex a bit. It really only becomes dangerous to over-dampen when you’re deep-sea diving (where it’s required, but very dangerous.)
For pool sprinters, this can be extremely helpful. For tris, it’s probably still helpful for the errant wave or getting swum over that keeps you under longer than expected.
I’ve also found that hypoxic sets are a good stroke training tool. They force you to be super efficient keep a good body line without the breath messing that up. Using a snorkel can also help for this, but you don’t get the same efficiency effect as breath holding.
My son’s swim team works on hypoxic sets throughout the season. I have no idea how regularly though. I imagine it is of more use to the short distance/sprinter swimmers.
Sometimes I think some training is based more on how the coach used to train more than the science of the training.
As a former swimmer, here is my response: for swimmers who are doing 1-2 minute races and are trying to maximize speed and efficiency underwater (15 meter rule), these sets are very important. For triathletes, almost a waste of time. Yes, there are minor benefits related to stroke efficiency and it is helpful in a warm down situations, but since most of us swim only an hour at a time, and these sets can take up a bit of time, you are better off doing a real set.
you should do hypoxic sets for the bike and run. theres nothing like doing 400s around the track breathing through your nose only. this isnt triathlon, its a hold your breath contest.
I’ve also found that hypoxic sets are a good stroke training tool. They force you to be super efficient keep a good body line without the breath messing that up. Using a snorkel can also help for this, but you don’t get the same efficiency effect as breath holding.
i’ve used hypoxic sets to identify stroke imbalances/flaws, too - you can feel the differences in the way your arms/legs are moving through the water more easily when you’re not worrying about breath timing.
whenever i feel like i’m losing my grip on the water, a couple of sets of 50’s or 100’s breathing every 4th stroke helps me get it back. YMMV.
Not a swimmer here but for me to get from one end of the pool to the other I need to be more efficient if I am not breathing every three strokes. I cannot try to swim fast or slow, just have to try and be smooth. Once a week I do a set of 4x100 when I get 3,2,1,0 breaths per length.
As others have stated, the benefit is for CO2 tolerance. As a swimmer I did these sets on a much more regular basis. For triathlon training, I do these only occasionally. I don’t think they help me swim faster but I like to be able to not need to take a breath but rather to choose to take a breath. That might just be the swimmer/water polo player in me though.