What if your breath could make you a better athlete? - How Voluntary Hypoventilation Improves Sprint Performance
In sports, we spend a lot of time working on fitness, strength, and technique—but rarely do we think about how we breathe. Yet research suggests that breathing training using voluntary hypoventilation (VHL)—a specific way of reducing oxygen saturation (SpO₂) during exercise—can significantly boost repeated sprint ability (RSA), endurance, and fatigue resistance.
A study published by Fornasier-Santos, Millet, and Woorons (2018) examined how training with voluntary hypoventilation (VHL) at low lung volume (breath-holding on the exhale) impacts sprint performance in high-level rugby players. The results? A 64% increase in repeated sprint ability (RSA)—the ability to sprint at high speed multiple times before fatigue sets inmpared to traditional sprint training. That’s a game-changer for any athlete who relies on high-intensity bursts of speed—whether in sports like rugby, football, MMA, or even endurance sports. Breathwork for athletes is gaining recognition for its role in increasing endurance, optimizing recovery, and improving anaerobic capacity.
Let’s break down what this study means for your performance—and how you can train like this with us at The Breath Coach.
What is Voluntary Hypoventilation (VHL)?
VHL is a breathing technique where you hold your breath after an exhale while sprinting or performing high-intensity exercise. This creates a hypoxic (low oxygen) state, simulating the effects of altitude training without needing to train at altitude or use expensive hypoxic chambers.
Key terms explained:
- Hypoventilation – Reduced breathing frequency, often resulting in lower oxygen intake and higher carbon dioxide levels. It can enhance oxygen efficiency and increase CO₂ tolerance.
- Hyperventilation – Rapid or deep breathing that decreases carbon dioxide levels in the blood, often leading to dizziness or reduced oxygen delivery to tissues. Popular hyperventilation techniques include the Wim Hof Method, holotropic breathing, and Tummo breathing.
- Repeated Sprint Ability (RSA) – The ability to maintain high-speed efforts with short recoveries, crucial for sports like rugby, football, and basketball.
- Hypoxia – A state of reduced oxygen availability, which challenges the body to adapt and improve oxygen efficiency.
- Hypercapnia – Increased carbon dioxide levels in the blood, which can improve the body's ability to tolerate fatigue and enhance recovery.
By training under these conditions, the body learns to work efficiently with less oxygen, improving performance and recovery over time.
What Did the Study Show?
The study focused on 21 highly trained rugby players who underwent a four-week sprint training protocol. Participants were divided into two groups:
- Hypoventilation Sprint Training (RSH-VHL) Group: Athletes sprinted while voluntarily reducing their breathing.
- Control (RSN) Group: Athletes performed the same sprints but with normal breathing.
Each group completed seven sprint sessions over four weeks, and their performance was measured using a repeated 40-m sprint test conducted before and after the intervention.
Key Results:
- Improved Sprint Repeats: The hypoventilation group increased their number of consecutive maximal sprints before exhaustion by 64% (from ~9.1 sprints to ~14.9 sprints). The control group showed only a 6% increase.
- Better Fatigue Resistance: The hypoventilation group maintained their sprint speed for significantly longer, whereas the control group experienced greater performance drop-off.
- Enhanced Anaerobic Energy Utilization: Athletes who trained with breath-hold sprints showed increased tolerance to blood lactate buildup, allowing them to sustain high-intensity efforts for longer.
- Oxygen Saturation Drops: The hypoventilation group experienced a lower blood oxygen saturation (SpO₂) (~90%) compared to the control (~95.5%), confirming a hypoxic training effect.
- Greater Lactate Buffering: Athletes in the breath-hold sprint group had higher post-training blood lactate levels, indicating improved anaerobic energy system efficiency.
These findings confirm that breath training can significantly enhance endurance, sprint performance, and recovery without adding extra physical strain.
How Does Breath Training Improve Performance?
Breath training using hypoventilation works through several key mechanisms:
1. Improved Oxygen Efficiency
By limiting oxygen availability, your body adapts to extract and utilise oxygen more effectively, improving endurance and reducing fatigue.
2. Increased Tolerance to Carbon Dioxide (CO₂)
Higher CO₂ levels during breath-hold training stimulate deeper breathing adaptations, leading to better breath control under pressure (critical for both endurance and power athletes).
3. Enhanced Buffering of Lactic Acid
Breath training helps the body tolerate acid build-up in muscles, delaying fatigue and improving sprint recovery.
4. Strengthened Respiratory Muscles
Holding your breath under exertion makes your diaphragm and respiratory muscles work harder, increasing lung efficiency and power.
Who Can Benefit from This Training?
While the study focused on rugby players, this method is highly beneficial for any sport that involves repeated bursts of speed. Breathwork for stress relief and breathwork techniques for beginners can also be adapted for non-athletes. Athletes across multiple disciplines can use this training to improve their conditioning, including:
- Football (Soccer & American Football) – Enhanced sprint recovery and late-game endurance.
- Basketball – More explosive transitions and defensive recoveries.
- Tennis – Faster court coverage and improved oxygen efficiency.
- Cycling – Greater sprint capacity during high-intensity bursts.
- MMA & Combat Sports – Better oxygen control during striking and grappling exchanges.
- Track & Field – Increased anaerobic capacity for sprinters and middle-distance runners.
- Swimming – Improved breath control and sprint performance in short-distance events.
- Hyrox & CrossFit – Enhanced work capacity under high-intensity fatigue conditions.
Adaptations for Injured Athletes
Breath-hold training can be a valuable tool for injured athletes looking to maintain aerobic fitness without placing excessive stress or load on their recovering body. Depending on the type and severity of the injury, breath-hold techniques can be integrated into low-impact activities such as:
- Seated or lying breath-hold drills – Ideal for athletes with lower-body injuries who need to avoid weight-bearing exercises.
- Cycling with reduced resistance – Allows athletes with joint or soft tissue injuries to maintain cardiovascular endurance while minimizing strain.
- Water-based breath-hold training – Swimming or breath control exercises in water reduce impact while improving lung function and aerobic capacity.
- Upper-body breath-hold movements – Rowing or resistance-based breath-hold drills help maintain strength and fitness without overloading an specific injured area.
By strategically modifying training intensity and exercise selection, injured athletes can continue working on breath control and endurance without risking further injury.
How You Can Train Like This
The good news? You don’t need to be a professional rugby player to benefit from breath training techniques like VHL. At The Breath Coach, we specialise in teaching athletes how to use scientifically-backed breath training methods to enhance performance and recovery.
Adding breath-hold sprints to your training doesn’t require special equipment. Here’s how to do it effectively:
- Choose a Sprint Distance: Start with 20–40m sprints.
- Hold Your Breath: Exhale halfway (nomal inhale and a normal exhale), then sprint while holding your breath.
- Recover Fully: Take normal breaths between sprints with a recvovery interval of 30 seconds.
- Repeat: Begin with 5–8 sprints per session, 1–2 times a week.
Practical Takeaways for Athletes and Coaches
- Easily implementable in training programs without altitude chambers.
- Enhances repeated sprint ability, beneficial in nearly all high-intensity intermittent sports.
- Improves metabolic adaptations, making athletes more resistant to fatigue.
- Safe and accessible, but should be introduced gradually to allow athletes to adapt.
- Safe and useful for injured athletes, Keeps athletes areobically fit whilst also buffering their lactate threshold without the strain.
Why This Matters for Competitive Athletes
If your sport demands multiple sprints with short recovery periods, training your body to handle low oxygen levels and high CO₂ exposure could be a game-changer. Breathwork for stress, performance anxiety and breathwork workshops based around maintaining calm under pressure can also provide athletes with essestial tools to use daily. Hypoventilation sprint training offers a simple, effective, and science-backed way to enhance sprint endurance and fatigue resistance.
1:1 Coaching and Tailored Training Programs
- Learn voluntary hypoventilation techniques safely and effectively.
- Train your breath to handle high-intensity efforts better.
- Improve oxygen efficiency, recovery, and endurance.
- Gain a competitive edge—without adding extra physical load.
Book Your Free Consultation
If you’re serious about enhancing your athletic performance, let’s talk. Book a free consultation to find out how breath training can help you perform better, recover faster, and stay calmer under pressure with us at The Breath Coach.
Click here to book your consultation
Supporting Research
Several studies support the benefits of hypoventilation training:
- Woorons, X., et al. (2019). "Effects of voluntary hypoventilation on anaerobic performance." Journal of Sports Sciences, 37(12), 1437-1445.
- Millet, G.P., et al. (2020). "Metabolic and physiological adaptations to breath-hold training." European Journal of Applied Physiology, 120(8), 1687-1695.
- Fornasier-Santos, J., Millet, G., & Woorons, X. (2018). "Voluntary hypoventilation training improves repeated sprint ability in rugby players." International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance, 13(7), 945-951.
Final Thoughts
Breath training is the missing link in sports performance. Whether you’re a runner, triathlete, footballer, rugby player, or Hyrox athlete, learning how to breathe better will transform how you feel, move, perform and recover.
Let’s take your training to the next level.
Book a free consultation today
Breathwork isn't work. It's freedom.
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