Does holding your breath underwater help with running?

Yes it should. Hold your breath underwater until you pass out. Come back and share the results!

A guy in my area tried holding his breath underwater to help his running and ended up drowning himself. If you are dumb enough to try this, don't do it alone.

Running helps running. Swimming may be the next best thing if you can't run due to injury. But, swimming does not do a lot of work on your legs, which is why injured runners prefer to do aqua jogging. So, the answer to your question is no.

And for god's sake if you're going to do something this stupid, just hold your breath on dry land. You're still holding your breath and you won't drown.

I prefer Poodles. I lube up by putting lots of peanut butter on my junk and letting Missy lick it off.

this is a running site, take this silly question somewhere else!!!

BOO YAAAAH!!!!!

shonuff wrote:

this is a running site, take this silly question somewhere else!!!

BOO YAAAAH!!!!!

If you're going to start patrolling all the stupid sh** that is said on this board you may need to quit your day job.

In theory shouldn't water work build up Myoglobin? Surely that would help to some degree.

Former world champion Ken Buchanan used to use underwater swimming.

An old coach I knew had us sprinting on soft mats whilst holding our breaths. It definitely takes you to a different place!

John Smallberries wrote:Swimming may be the next best thing if you can't run due to injury. But, swimming does not do a lot of work on your legs, which is why injured runners prefer to do aqua jogging.

Don't forget using a kickboard - that works your legs as well.

Mrs. M wrote:

Don't forget using a kickboard - that works your legs as well.

Yeah, mate. Kickboarding is unbelieveable... I am a decent runner and swimmer, but the kickboard messes me up badly... I could barely do 50m without stopping when I first started, an absolute drag.

Builds good core stability as well.

SMJO wrote:

In theory shouldn't water work build up Myoglobin? Surely that would help to some degree.

Yes, I think so. And surely myoglobin saturation too? Regarding the latter, I think the effects are noticed within a few minutes and last a few hours. This is the only reason that I can come up with to explain why sometimes I can run very fast for several hundred meters, without an increase in ventilation, which is a very interesting phenomenon.

When I was in college I got injured and had to do pool workouts - aqua jogging, laps, and swimming underwater. I would do several laps, holding my breath and swimming as far as I could. It actually really increased my lung capacity. I began only able to swim half a (college size) pool length underwater, to a pool length and a half. Whether that was just getting used to doing it, I don't know but I felt it was effective and that's what matters. I came out of the pool and 6 weeks later was in the best shape of my life, ran a 90 second PR in the 10k.

Paave Nurmi used to hold is breath until he'd pass out. He wouldn't do it under water though. Paavo Nurmis was also proclaimed the greatest distance star of the 20th Century. You be the judge.

Running helps running I agree....

I used to run 6 days a week doing about 65 miles a week.....then injury.

I run every other day now, running 4 days a week and make up the other three days swimming and cycling.

I use the same type of training doing lengths of the pool underwater, I feel it has made a big difference to my running, I'm running the same times as before.

Make up your own mind.

Do a search for "fixed interval breathing" training. Swimmers have used this training for quite some time.

As far as I'm concerned if you're a runner the pool is for relaxing. Today I spent half an hour just relaxing in the pool. For much of that time I was floating upright just trying to completely let go of my body, particularly my legs. The interesting thing was after I'd done that I went on to swim 5m further underwater then I ever have, without really trying. It was quite spooky how easy and serene it felt. Nearly made the full 25m (yeah I suck :-)