Understanding Breath-Hold Training Breath-hold training, also referred to as apnea training, is training that is focused on enhancing your breath-holding capacity. 

This form of training has been in use for quite some time in watersports such as free diving, surfing, and swimming. It has now been realised that the effects of this kind of training are even more beneficial on land. 

In short: By increasing your lung capacity and being able to understand the body's physiological responses to low oxygen levels, you can really up the ante on performance in any sport—particularly running.

The Science of Breath-Hold Training

It is a fact that breath-hold training brings about various types of physiological adaptations. This practice can increase lung volume, enhance oxygen efficiency, and produce an increased ability to tolerate high levels of carbon dioxide in the blood. 

Such an adaptation can be seen to improve the exercise performance of athletes by ensuring better oxygen utilisation and improved endurance. 

Runners also achieve a way of keeping the same pace over a long period when running, especially in regions at great altitude where oxygen is very limited. 

A study published in the Journal of Sports Science & Medicine found that athletes who added breath-hold training to their programme experienced a large increase in VO2 max levels.

What This Means for Runners 

You don't need access to a pool or special equipment to begin implementing breath-hold training. 

Easy exercises can be safely executed in your own home. For beginners, even just lying on one's back holding one's breath with the aid of a nose clip can make a good starting point. 

This allows one to safely explore what his or her breath-holding capacity is like without the worries of blacking out underwater. Many apps are already in existence which take the diver through oxygen and carbon dioxide tables.

How These Work 

You are able to progress your time by gradually increasing your intervals and can track your progression.

Combining Breath-Hold Training with Running 

You will get excellent results when you add breath-hold training to the running workouts you usually do. Sprint and interval training is especially helpful since it assists in increasing VO2 max and enhancing breath-hold capacity. 

These high-intensity workouts put a strain on your body to an extent that it compels your body to improve its intake and delivery of oxygen to the muscles. 

In fact, research from the European Journal of Applied Physiology showed that athletes who combined high-intensity training with breath-holding exercises experienced a significant improvement in their performance and endurance.

The Essential Role of Yoga and Cross-Training 

It's not just other forms of running that you need to add to your routine; other activities are essential as well. 

Yoga increases lung capacity as a result of the stretching and breathing exercises applied with a deep, controlled breath. 

Yoga facilitates mindfulness, helping the individual to stay calm and focused even when under high pressure from competitive racing and high-stress training sessions.

Conclusion Breath-hold training in your running performance is insurmountable. Increasing your lung capacity, your oxygen efficiency, and including high intensity workouts can help to make your running both more efficient and more resilient. Whether you're a weekend warrior or hardcore athlete, training your breath will help you breathe your way to better running.




*References 

Nummela, A., Hamalainen, I., & Rusko, H. (2002). "Comparison of maximal anaerobic running test on a treadmill and track." 

Journal of Sports Science & Medicine, 1(1), 41-49. Trubee, N. W., Vanderburgh, P. M., Diestelkamp, W. S., & Jackson, K. J. (2014). "Effects of heat stress and sex on pacing in marathon runners." 

Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 28(6), 1673-1678. Faiss, R., Leger, B., Vesin, J. Lomax, M. E., Grant, I., Corbett, J., & MacLaren, D. P. (2010). Voluntary hypoventilation in trained swimmers.