So in the training I do which is Stew Smith's SEAL training I' required to do a pyrimid called Hypoxic swimming which consists of:
100m-breathe every 2strokes
15sec interval
100m-breathe every 4 strokes
15sec interval
100m-breathe every 6 strokes...etc...up to 12 strokes then back down to 2.
To me this is impossible. I get up to 6 but even letting the air out slowly or stroking faster doesn't help. I've done it as relaxed as possible but then after about 25m I can't do it, I swim good to now so Idk what the problem is. I tried doing the 8 stroke on the way up and gave up cause I kept swallowing water. And since I swim alone which in the book it says in caps to not do this workout alone in caps lol but I have to since everyone is either working or in school. But I gave up on the way up on the 8stroke and just ended up sprinting 250m and then sprinting 3x50m and called it a day. This workout is suppose to help me be able to hold my breathe longer fo underwater swims but its really hard. Any help? Tips? Anything?
Hypoxic swimming is very hard. You need to relax, don't push your tempo you will use more oxygen. Use a steady stroke with minimal kick. Stretch your stroke out and work on slowly blowing air out between breaths.
Start with smaller distances. Try something like:
4x25m only 5 breaths per lap (if this is too easy start at 4)
4x25M only 4 breaths per lap
4x25m only 3 breaths per lap
4x25M only 2 breaths per lap
4x25m only 1 breaths per lap
4x25M only 0 breaths per lap
Using a send off that will give you :05-:07 sec rest between 25m and :30-1:00 between sets.
You could do the same with 50m swims, just do 2x50m using the same method as above. I’d stick with 1 breath per lap, or at least 1 per 50m…
I'd also work some longer swims like 400-800m using a breathing pattern that is hard for you, like every 5 or 6 strokes the whole way. This will help you learn to control your breathing. You could even put on some paddles and a pull buoy to do this swim. Again, keep it stretched out and blow out your air between breaths.
It's not something that comes over night; it takes a long time to work on. Just getting in better shape and being a stronger simmer will help as well. So do some interval sets as well, like 12 x 100 (since that is the distance will have to cover) on a send off that will give you :08-:10 seconds reset per 100m.
Doing the little things will help as well, don’t breath going into walls or coming out. Like during warm-up, don’t breathe when inside the flags going into or coming off the walls. This will help train you to swim with less oxygen as well.
Depending on how long you have to train for this set, doing a combination of the stuff above should help you. Just plan it out and attack it in phases, set some goals. Like try to do 1 50m swim on Friday with no breaths. Then next week, after doing some of the work above, see if you can do 2 in a row with :30 sec rest. Then try for 3 the third week. You will get there. Hope that helps…
