I'm a guy in my early 30s and I swim laps mostly for fitness and to challenge myself, and to also build stamina so I can take surf lessons in a few months. I was wondering how good breath control sets are for improving your fitness and stamina in the water. I do sets where I breath once every 2-4-6-4-2 every 50 yards with up to 30 seconds rest between each rep, and it makes me feel challenged and gets my adrenaline going but it doesn't give me any bad effects afterwards (it just feels like an enjoyable hard swim but nothing excessive). I know some say breath control sets are bad, but I've also read that they are great for building stamina even if you play a different sport, and that they promote the production of hemoglobin and mitochondria. Assuming its a good (or at least not a bad) way to build stamina and challenge yourself, once I'm ready to step it up, what is the most strokes per breath I should max out at during workouts? Also, is it better to breathe once every x number of strokes, or to just breathe x numbers of times per length?
Engaging in these type of breath-holding activities -- whose benefits are, in fact, debatable to begin with as Steve mentioned -- should be limited to serious competitive swimmers and should be practiced under the direct supervision of a coach.
He described 2/4/6/4/2 breathing. Hardly sounds extreme to me. Certainly not as extreme as the "swim a 50 underwater" breath holding exercise, which would require hyperventilation to suppress the urge to breathe. In addition, he's planning on taking surfing lessons. It's quite possible he'd be underwater longer than the typical breathing interval, so being able to hold his breath without panicking when the CO2 sensor kicks in would be a good thing, in my opinion.
For me, as a mostly non-competitive swimmer, being able to make it past the flags on a push-off during a 10K postal swim is a huge win.
Engaging in these type of breath-holding activities -- whose benefits are, in fact, debatable to begin with as Steve mentioned -- should be limited to serious competitive swimmers and should be practiced under the direct supervision of a coach.
He described 2/4/6/4/2 breathing. Hardly sounds extreme to me. Certainly not as extreme as the "swim a 50 underwater" breath holding exercise, which would require hyperventilation to suppress the urge to breathe. In addition, he's planning on taking surfing lessons. It's quite possible he'd be underwater longer than the typical breathing interval, so being able to hold his breath without panicking when the CO2 sensor kicks in would be a good thing, in my opinion.
For me, as a mostly non-competitive swimmer, being able to make it past the flags on a push-off during a 10K postal swim is a huge win.
