The Myth of Hypoxic Breathing
admin January 17th, 2007
This is a response to a forum post over on Beginner Triathlete about so-called “Hypoxic Breathing” swim drills.
People have died doing these drills. There is no physiologic benefit from doing them. The name is a misnomer. If you want to swim uninterupted without worrying about breathing, use a snorkel. I believe the benefit that renee is trying to describe comes from not having your form break down when you roll (or don’t roll, or lift your head, or claw your way to the surface) to take a breath.
A far, far better solution is to have someone work with you to learn how to breath properly. The number of strokes you take per breath is irrelevant. There is no right number. You need what you need. The body’s need for oxygen consumption and getting rid of carbon dioxide is dependent upon how much energy you are using and in what form you are using it (aerobic/anaerbic, etc). When I start my swim warmup, I will frequently swim 7 to 9 strokes without breathing only because I am swimming smoothly, I have not gotten my oxygen consumption up by working hard, I am not generating a lot of waste products due to the low effort. When I have the urge to breath, I breath. When I am doing long endurance sprints, I may breath every 2 strokes. When I am rested and doing a single 25 yard sprint, yes, I can do it with no breaths. But not because I am forcing myself to do it. It is because 15-20 seconds of maximum effort requires little oxygen.
A novice swimmmer who uses all the energy they have just to stay on the surface of the water will need to breath every stroke because of the amount of energy they are using.
Do not play with basic needs of your body.
There is a mantra in Emergency Medical Services:
Air goes in and out,
Blood goes round and round
Pink is good and blue is bad.
That’s really all any EMT, Paramedic or Emergency Medicine nurse or physician needs to know. If it’s good enough for these professionals, it’s good enough for the recreational swimmer.
Air goes in and out.
Don’t forget it.
Practice it daily. Frequently. You’ll get really good at it.