8 Sets to Improve Breathing/Lung Capacity
This is the first installment of my "8 sets" series, where I will post 8 different sets that you can do to help improve your swimming technique, each specific in a different installment.

Below are 8 hypoxic sets which are not to be swum hard necessarily, but instead meant to help you work on your breathing patterns and increase lung capacity. It is proven that the less breaths you take during a race, the faster you go.

You can use any of these sets as inspiration, add on or subtract from them. I have included times for the average swimmer, but they will probably need to be adjusted based on your expertise. If there are no times, then that is because the possible time range is too large and will vary greatly.


1) 20x25s Underwater Butterfly Kick on 30 seconds (with fins)
This is a great set to improve both lung capacity, streamline, and underwater butterfly kicks (used in all strokes but breaststroke). With fins, swim the entire length of the pool completely underwater. It is not particularly slow, so doing this set on 30 seconds should give 5-10 seconds to catch your breath before going again. You can try doing this on your back as well, or if you are very advanced remove the fins.

2) 20x25's Freestyle Sprint 3-2-1-0 on 30 seconds
This set helps teach you how to sprint, and how to breath while sprinting. During the first 5, you are allowed to breath 3 times. During the next 5, 2 times. During the next 5-8, breath only once. If you are up to the challenge, try finishing the set with no breaths.

3) 20x50's Freestyle 6-5-4-3 on 50 seconds
Slightly harder than the set above, it follows the same principles. Swim 50s freestyle with only a certain amount of breaths. The first 5 should be only 6 breaths, next five be 5 breaths, next five be 4 breaths, and final five 3 breaths. This set is actually much more beneficial than the one above, because swimmers will need to be able to hold their water during their turns, and budget their breaths appropriately.

4) 5x300s Freestyle Breathing Every 3-5-7
These 300s should not be swam fast, but with two things in mind: breathing pattern and distance per stroke. Each stroke should be long, and breathing should be done as follows: Every 3 for the first 100, every 5 for the second 100, and every 7 for the third 100. Breathing on opposite sides helps balance out the swimmer, and is very beneficial as opposed to same-side breathing.

5) 1000 Freestyle Breathing Every 5
This is a nice, long set that will help improve technique. Swimmers should be instructed to swim every 5, and here's a point to stress: The breathing should truly be every 5. If you take two strokes, and then reach the wall, that does NOT mean that the counter resets and you can take a breath - you must finish by doing three more strokes and then you can take a breath.

6) 500 Freestyle Breath Every 7 with Paddles and Pullbouy)
Similar to the above set, require true 7-stroke breathing patterns. Because using your quads to kick uses lots of oxygen, a pullbouy will help remove this need. Paddles will help make up for the kicking.

7) 10x50s Breaststroke Triple Pullout on 55 seconds
A very tough set! Swimmers must take 3 pullouts consecutively before they can take a breath and finish the lap with normal breaststroke. This is tough, and great for increasing lung capacity.

8) 10x100s Breaststroke Double Pullout/Kick on 1:50
There are two important elements in these 100s breaststroke: both double pullouts, and double kicks (swimmers must take two kicks per pull). The pullouts help increase lung capacity, and the double kicks do that too, in addition to maximizing the kick and glide.

Got your own sets that you like to do? Share them with us here!


Remember! If you (or swimmers) start feeling dizzy or faint, stop! Do an easy 200 or so, and if you feel better, try again. Do not force yourself to! Also, make sure there is a trained lifeguard on duty when performing these sets, do not try to do them alone.

Good sets, and good series. I'm interested to see what you come up with! This stuff is definitely more for swimmers in training, rather than weekend warriors!

I usually have breathing problem after fast swimming & also sometimes run out of breath & have to take oxygen if I swim for more than 2 hours in a day.But swimming is my passion & I can't leave.

These are really good practices. I actually have these printed out and check them off everytime.