IHT and finswimming performance were investigated in six highly trained athletes preparing for the Russian Cup. The study compared preparation with and without intermittent hypoxic training and examined 400-metre competition times. Its very small groups make individual differences especially influential.
Participants and training comparison
Three athletes formed each group. The researchers followed a six-week pre-competition mesocycle and compared race performance before and after preparation. Both groups improved their times. The experimental programme used Hypoxico and hypoxia–normoxia, not OXYTERRA RS or hypoxia–hyperoxia.
IHT and finswimming performance: reported response
The authors report a larger improvement in the IHT group. However, glycolytic training load also differed between groups. Consequently, the observed performance difference cannot be assigned to oxygen exposure alone. The complete training programme, not just the hypoxic component, forms the relevant comparison.
Why the sample size matters
With only three participants in each group, one athlete's response can strongly influence the result. Baseline ability, training history and competition conditions also matter. Reported statistical significance should therefore be read alongside the small sample and the methodological details rather than as robust evidence for all swimmers.
Protocol reporting
The source gives differing saturation descriptions in its table and narrative. The table lists thresholds of 88%, 85%, 82% and 80%, while the text refers to 85% for weeks two to four. These are not resolved by assumption. They are also not instructions for freediving or unsupervised hypoxic practice.
Conclusion
The experiment offers an exploratory observation about IHT within finswimming preparation. It does not isolate a reliable additional effect from the different training loads. Larger, better-matched comparisons would be needed before generalising to other athletes or sports. The original PDF contains the protocol and competition results.
Context and further reading
Our technology page distinguishes IHT from IHHT, and applications discusses sports and recovery contexts. Product information concerns OXYTERRA RS and does not convert this Hypoxico experiment into evidence for another device.