Hold your Breath!
/In competitive swimming, small improvements matter. A fraction of a second can determine whether you achieve a qualifying time, reach a final, or touch the wall ahead of the swimmer in the next lane.
That makes a potential 1% performance gain difficult to ignore. But can taking a few maximal breath holds before a race really make you faster?
One small study produced promising results in the 400-meter freestyle. However, the findings require more context than a headline promising an immediate improvement. As a coach, I am interested in any method that may help a swimmer perform better, but it must be supported by evidence, used safely, and placed on top of strong fundamentals.
Let’s look at what the research found, what it did not prove, and whether pre-race breath holds have a practical place in swimming.
What Are Pre-Race Apneas?
Apnea is the temporary stopping of breathing. In a swimming context, a pre-race apnea protocol involves completing a series of controlled breath holds before an event.
This is different from holding your breath while swimming underwater. The protocol examined in the research used maximal breath holds while the swimmers were seated on land.
Repeated breath holds may trigger several physiological responses. As oxygen levels fall and carbon dioxide rises, the spleen can contract and release stored red blood cells into circulation. In theory, this may temporarily support the body’s ability to transport oxygen.
However, this response does not mean that breath holding automatically improves performance. The timing, the swimmer’s experience, the warm-up, the event, and individual physiology can all influence the result.
What the Study Found
The study, titled Effects of Pre-Race Apneas on 400-m Freestyle Swimming Performance, involved nine regional- to national-level swimmers between 16 and 22 years old.
Each swimmer completed four separate 400-meter freestyle time trials under different conditions:
| Pre-Race Condition | Average 400 m Time |
|---|---|
| No warm-up or breath holds | 278.66 seconds |
| Warm-up only | 276.01 seconds |
| Breath holds only | 278.64 seconds |
| Warm-up plus breath holds | 275.79 seconds |
The warm-up-plus-apnea condition was approximately 1.03% faster than completing the time trial without a warm-up or breath holds. That represented an average improvement of 2.87 seconds.
In a 400-meter freestyle, nearly three seconds can be highly meaningful.
The swimmers also maintained a longer distance per stroke during the final part of the trial. This suggests that they may have preserved their efficiency more successfully as fatigue increased.
See Also: How to Breathe While Swimming Freestyle
What the Results Do Not Prove
The study does not show that adding three breath holds to a normal warm-up will make every swimmer 1% faster.
Warm-up alone produced a 0.95% improvement compared with the control condition. The average difference between the warm-up-only protocol and the warm-up-plus-apnea protocol was just 0.22 seconds, and that difference was not statistically significant.
In practical terms, most of the observed improvement may have come from completing an effective warm-up.
The study also included only nine swimmers and tested one event. We cannot assume that the same protocol would produce similar results in a 50-yard sprint, a 1,650-yard freestyle, an open-water race, or a triathlon.
I view the findings as promising but preliminary. Pre-race breath holds may provide a small benefit for some trained swimmers, but they should not replace the proven basics of race preparation.
Why Breath Holds Might Affect Performance
The proposed mechanism involves the body’s natural response to temporarily reduced oxygen availability.
During repeated breath holds, the spleen may contract and release additional red blood cells into circulation. This response could theoretically support oxygen transport during the following exercise.
The researchers observed a reduction in spleen volume, suggesting that splenic contraction occurred. However, they did not find a corresponding change in hemoglobin levels. That means the exact reason for the performance difference remains uncertain.
There may also be an individual psychological effect. A swimmer who has practiced a controlled breathing routine may feel more focused and prepared before racing. On the other hand, an unfamiliar maximal breath hold could create discomfort, fatigue, anxiety, or dizziness.
This is why a race is never the right place to experiment with a new breathing protocol.
Safety Comes First With Breath-Hold Training
Breath-hold exercises can lead to hypoxic blackout, sometimes without enough warning for the swimmer to recognize the danger.
Never practice maximal breath holding underwater, while swimming, or alone. Do not hyperventilate before holding your breath. Hyperventilation lowers carbon dioxide levels and can delay the natural urge to breathe even as oxygen continues to fall.
Any maximal apnea protocol should be performed seated or lying down under qualified supervision. The supervising person must understand the risks and know how to respond if the athlete loses consciousness.
Swimmers with cardiovascular, respiratory, neurological, or other relevant medical conditions should consult a qualified medical professional before attempting breath-hold training.
These precautions are especially important for younger swimmers. Coaches should never introduce maximal apnea work casually or use underwater breath holding as a test of toughness.
The Protocol Used in the Study
The study did not ask swimmers to complete no-breath lengths underwater.
Instead, the participants performed three maximal breath holds while seated. Each breath hold continued until voluntary cessation, followed by two minutes of passive rest. The protocol was completed after a standardized swimming warm-up and before the 400-meter time trial.
The swimmers were also familiarized with the procedure before testing.
That context matters. It was a controlled research protocol involving trained swimmers, not a universal race-day recommendation.
If a coach decides to explore a similar protocol, it should first be evaluated away from competition, under appropriate supervision, and with enough time to observe how the individual swimmer responds. If it causes dizziness, unusual discomfort, anxiety, excessive fatigue, or a decline in warm-up quality, it is not helping race preparation.
Breath Control Is Not the Same as Holding Your Breath Longer
Swimmers sometimes treat breath control as a contest to see who can go the longest without breathing. That is not the goal.
Effective swimming breath control means coordinating the breath with the stroke while maintaining body position, rhythm, and speed. A swimmer who lifts the head, delays the exhale, or rushes the breath may lose alignment and create unnecessary drag.
In freestyle, the objective is not to take as few breaths as possible. The objective is to breathe without disrupting the stroke.
Breathing every three, five, or seven strokes can occasionally be used as a controlled training constraint, but it should have a clear purpose. These patterns do not automatically increase lung capacity, and excessive breath restriction can reduce stroke quality.
For most swimmers, improving the timing of the exhale and maintaining a stable head position will provide more practical value than simply extending the time between breaths.
See also: How to Breathe While Swimming Freestyle
A Better Pre-Race Breathing Routine for Most Swimmers
For most competitive swimmers, I recommend beginning with a simple and repeatable routine rather than maximal breath holds.
1. Complete Your Normal Swimming Warm-Up
Your warm-up should gradually raise your body temperature, establish feel for the water, and include a small amount of event-specific speed.
The research itself reinforces how important this step is. Warm-up alone produced nearly the same average improvement as warm-up plus breath holds.
Learn more: How to Warm Up for Faster Swimming
2. Return to Relaxed Breathing
After the physical warm-up, allow your breathing to settle. Use quiet, controlled breaths without forcing excessively deep inhalations.
A slightly longer exhale can help reduce unnecessary tension before the race. Keep your jaw, neck, and shoulders relaxed.
3. Rehearse Your Race Breathing Plan
Think about where you intend to breathe during the opening, middle, and final part of the race.
Your plan should support your pacing and technique. It should not force you into oxygen restriction that you have not practiced during training.
4. Use Only Familiar Strategies
Your pre-race routine should feel predictable. Do not introduce maximal breath holds, a new breathing pattern, or aggressive breath restriction on the day of an important meet.
Confidence comes from preparation, not last-minute experimentation.
Should You Use Pre-Race Breath Holds?
Pre-race breath holds may be worth exploring with certain experienced 400-meter freestyle swimmers when qualified supervision is available. They are not necessary for every swimmer, and the current evidence is too limited to promise an immediate 1% improvement.
Before adding them, ask several questions:
Does the swimmer already have a consistent warm-up?
Has the swimmer practiced the protocol safely outside competition?
Does it improve readiness without causing dizziness or fatigue?
Is qualified supervision available?
Does the swimmer understand that hyperventilation must be avoided?
Is there a clear reason to use the protocol for this particular event?
If these conditions are not met, focus on the warm-up, race pacing, breathing mechanics, and mental preparation instead.
Breathe Better, Swim Smarter
The most important lesson from this research is not that every swimmer should perform three maximal breath holds. It is that small details in race preparation may influence performance, but they must be interpreted carefully.
An effective warm-up remains the foundation. From there, breathing mechanics, race-specific pacing, technical efficiency, and mental control should work together.
Excellence lives in the fundamentals. A specialized protocol may add the final fraction of a percent, but only after the essential pieces are already in place.
If breathing disrupts your stroke or you need help developing a safer, more effective race routine, explore my personalized swim coaching programs. Together, we can build a preparation strategy around your event, experience, technique, and individual response to training.