If you are working on SDK up to 15M,or an extra pull down on the BR pullout, or not breathing from flags to flags on the turns for free, then it may be good.
If you try to swim more than 25 underwater,especially if you hyperventilate first, you run an unacceptable risk of dying from Shallow Water Blackout.
I'm with Allen. Working on distance off the walls, not breathing into and out of turns, etc. is something that's going to benefit your racing skills. Hypoxia for the sake of hypoxia is silly, IMO.
I'm with Allen. Working on distance off the walls, not breathing into and out of turns, etc. is something that's going to benefit your racing skills. Hypoxia for the sake of hypoxia is silly, IMO.
My main problem is that flip turns really wear me down. Although, I know that flip turns are pretty much every swimmer's enemy when it comes to tiring out, especially on SCY. But as a distance swimmer, I would like to minimize the impact turns have on my ability to keep my breathing under control so that I can swim longer distances without slowing down my pace. As it is right now, every time I flip turn, I immediately feel that urge to breathe as quickly as possible to the point that I don't even rotate all the way onto my stomach coming out of the turn. Instead, I end up rotating on my side so that I can immediately take that first breath as soon as I surface rather than having to wait for that first stroke before turning my head to breathe.
There is a series of three articles on shallow water blackout featured on SwimSwam (and lately, more such articles have appeared on sources such as Swimming World). Here is Part 2 on the facts: swimswam.com/.../
Scary!
Hey Judester--it sounds like you just need to improve your turns. Flip turns are not the enemy for swimmers who routinely use them and have the technique down - they can even be useful if you are good on your walls :) Technique and repetition on your turns would probably be a lot more useful to you than breath control work at this point...
Hypoxic training is a part of many swimmers' workouts. As Allen mentioned, however, the risk of shallow water blackout is present if the training is done underwater, for extended periods of time, and with prior hyperventilation. It's also never a good idea to do hypoxic training sets on your own.
There is a series of three articles on shallow water blackout featured on SwimSwam (and lately, more such articles have appeared on sources such as Swimming World). Here is Part 2 on the facts: swimswam.com/.../
I agree with gobears - the issue seems to be more with your flipturn technique than with your ability to hold your breath. Do you experience the same problem when you practice turns on their own? An inefficient turn, coupled with intense fullstroke sets, can result in the need to come up for air quickly out of the wall. That points to a conditioning issue. Do you hold in air when you are turning or do you release the air underwater gradually? Holding in your breath is also taxing and can increase the desire and need to take in air. The actual turn itself may be slower and inefficient, thus forcing you to stay underwater for a longer period of time. It is difficult to really be able to determine the cause without seeing you swim, but those are some of the issues that might be responsible in this case.
Our coach advises against Hypoxic training for older masters swimmers, as its not possible to develop or even delay the diminishment of lung capacity in ageing swimmers.
That said, I train for 50 free, and my goal is to take as few breaths as possible. So in training we do the same when dive start sprinting. While it may not improve lung capacity, you get a feel for how long you can swim at top speed without a breath, prior to CO2 accumulation impacting performance. I'm down to one breath per 50 - I could finish the 50 without breathing but find I'm too focused on the pain of wanting to breathe than finishing the race strong with good form.
I also find it helps to have full lungs for a little extra buoyancy.
There's a good article on the subject here:
www.alexandriamasters.com/.../hypoxic.htm
As far as I can tell,there is no really good research in lung capacity in Masters Athletes.From my personal experience and observations,I would be stunned if vigorous exercise did not delay diminishment of lung function.I suspect that lung capacity can be improved by exercise in previously sedentary individuals. Aging gets us all,but active people age more slowly on pretty much all measured parameters.
Notice I said vigorous exercise,not hypoxic training.Real data on positive effects of hypoxic training is also something I could not find.If anyone has links to good studies,I'd love to see them.
Absolutely agree with Allen. Practicing consistent, vigorous exercise will improve conditioning and lung capacity at any age. USMS certainly seems to agree, as they list "develop lung capacity" as one of the positive benefits of swimming: www.usms.org/.../articledisplay.php
USA Swimming also discusses the ability of swimmers to improve their lung capacity. They do not place age limits on this: www.usaswimming.org/ViewNewsArticle.aspx
Holding your breath to increase buoyancy is a misunderstood concept. It is not necessarily guaranteed that filling the lungs with air and holding the breath is going to increase buoyancy enough to counteract the negative effects of avoiding controlled exhalation: increased CO2, increased anxiety, increased tension of the muscles. Here's a good article that discusses this: swimswam.com/.../
