From what I understand, breath control training largely provides little (if any?) physiological training effect other than from the work itself (which is hindered anyway, making it a waste of time for training any of the energy systems).
I assume there is room to mentally adapt and learn how to manage hypoxic suffering. But other than developing a strong aerobic base and increasing level of conditioning, can one actually have room to improve their hypoxic capacity specifically through hypoxic training?
Thank you!
Dumb question but how do you get you lungs measured? A breathing test and then measuring the air pushed out?
at the club team i was on (as a teen) we did underwater weighing to determine body composition (ie bodyfat). to get that you had to do a lung capacity test. how much you inhale - exhale = volume. we did that several times. if a guy was over 14% fat or gal was over 21% fat you were in the running club that was before morning workout. also i was a labrat for U of Irvine/USOC for a whole bunch of tests in '83 that included the same test. we even did a muscle biopsy in our right thighs to determine red/pink/white slow-fast twitch ratios. we also did VO2 max and efficiency on a swim bench. oh and we did this one test that really really hated....lactic acid. where you get your finger pricked every length. after a few days of that you are left with 1 finger that is not bruised and no way to pick anything up. we did that again at the usa junior team training camp in '84. back then there was a big rumor that Salnikov was burning lactic acid as fuel. i remember watching him open a coke and a snickers about 30min before his 800m at the LA '83 meet and then shave a few tenths off his WR.
oh and we did this one test that really really hated....lactic acid. where you get your finger pricked every length. after a few days of that you are left with 1 finger that is not bruised and no way to pick anything up.
We did lactic acid testing in college. Our test was always done in just a single day, but I still remember the finger bruising. I forget the exact protocol, but I remember doing a long swim at around threshold pace, then doing a 200 at maybe 90% effort, another long swim, then an all out 200 free. Our blood was drawn before and after the timed swims, I think.
All hypoxic training does for me is give me anxiety attacks and make me HATE swimming. That's saying A LOT for somebody who can't wait to get in the pool every morning :bliss:; even on my 6th day in a row each week when I am pooped.
When I was in high school, I naturally felt best breathing every fourth stroke. Now, I have to breathe every stroke cycle. My coach/training partner writes the sets for us and I always do them side-by-side with him as written, with one exception: On his hypoxic sets, I bilateral breathe; about as hypoxic as I will go. He knows better than to say anything about it anymore to me. :nono: Besides, if he does, it comes back to haunt him when I beat him on backstroke sprints and give him a big :D.
All hypoxic training does for me is give me anxiety attacks .
If I overventilate before or after hypoxic efforts I get this irregular heart beat that is similar to anxiety or panic symptoms. I found that if I breathe normally, or swim with sufficient air between these hypoxic efforts, it doesn't happen. It initially had me concerned until I figured out I may have been hyperventilating.
Salnikov was burning lactic acid as fuel.Just watched some Salnikov on the old U-tube. His turns were insane. With the underwater footage I quick-click paused his turns. Not sure if he was short on this particular turn but by the time he planted his feet and pushed, his entire axis was already past vertical.
Anything you practice is likely to improve.
Many coaches assign breathing patterns on swim & pull sets.
Bergen, Quick, & Reese assigned hypoxic sets, when I swam for them and Whitney does now.
I prefer breaths per length instead of breathing every 3, 4, or 5
we also sometimes do limited breath 25's 50's & up
Breath control is also important for sprints. Fast dolphin kickers go faster when they SDK further, meaning more time under
water & more SDKs which gets difficult at the end of a race & takes conditioning.
In butterfly, when you lift your head you sink your hips and you might benefit from fewer breaths, Austin Staab the American Record Holder in the 100 fly didn't breathe on his last length.
So some
Interesting story and comments on swimswam that's relevant to this discussion:
swimswam.com/.../
Always good to see David Berkhoff weigh in on the matter... :-)
I can't claim to answer this with any sort of scientific accuracy, but I'd say yes.
Back in the day as an age group swimmer, before we started to do hypoxic work, I had to breathe on the first stroke coming off the wall in free. It wasn't that I was dealing with hypoxic suffering, it was that I had to get air. After a few months of hypoxic training (after I moved up groups, my new coach was reallllly into hypoxic work and anything that made you suffer), I was able to make it anywhere from 3-5 strokes off the wall before needing to breathe.
That being said, I don't think I've ever noticed a substantial drop in breathing outside of the turns as a result of hypoxic work--no matter how much hypoxic work I do, I always seem to take approximately the same number of breaths per 50/100 as I do sans hypoxic work. I might take the breaths later in the race, but the number is always about the same, maybe a shade less with hypoxic training.
this is a very very subjective topic.
it can be argued many ways.
yes it might be possible to aid you in turn work.
i think it helps me some and i have large lungs....measured at 7 liters. i can go 50m underwater on just a single breath from the start.
or i can go 75yds swimming free.
either last year or the year before Tom Shields did a no breather on the last 25 of the 100yd fly at ncaa championships to win it. he said he saw stars after the touch and thats why he didnt look at the scoreboard.
on the opposite hand we have little known Michael Phelps who breaths every stroke on fly.
and there is the tall man Sun from china that trains in australia that takes 2 breaths into and out of the turns of the 1500 and just destroyed the WR at the olympics. nobody has ever been close to his new time. in any type of suit.
so, using the best in the world that has ever swum as a reference....it's a complete toss up!
we are all different, do what works best for *YOU*!
