Breathing Technique for Swimming

How to Breathe While Swimming

Learning to breathe correctly while swimming can take practice. The salt or chlorine can really sting the nostrils of those not used to practicing breath technique. Swimming is a sport that definitely has a rhythm and pattern. If one wishes to become relaxed and smooth through the water, proper breathing is a must and learning to breathe with the rhythm of the stroke will make swimming much more comfortable after some practice. Many beginning swimmers will hold their breath while performing freestyle and this quickly leads to exhaustion. Another common mistake is only breathing only on one side. This mistake is made by amateurs and experienced swimmers alike. Breathing exclusively on one side is a problem because during the pull phase of the freestyle stroke, pulling while inhaling takes more force than pulling while exhaling. Over time and the thousands of breaths that you will take while training the uneven force on one side can create a very significant imbalance in biomechanical development that can affect form and posture.

Proper breathing technique consists of exhaling underwater and inhaling on alternating sides. The easiest way to do this is to use three-stroke breathing also known as “bilateral breathing” this will maintain and even and symmetrical stroke and breathing pattern. It should be said though that when racing, swimmers sometimes use two-stroke breathing because the time between breaths is reduced by half which is certainly beneficial in competition but not always in training. It is important to note as well that one shouldn’t try to take too large a breath or rotate one’s whole face out of the water. During that phase of the stroke you only have a short period of time where your face is out of the water and attempting to inhale or rotate too much will interfere with rhythm. You only need to inhale enough to sustain you until your next breath and one goggle lens should remain underwater. Exhalation has its tricks as well. Exhalation should take place face-down in the water. That is the most important part. Following that, the exhalation should be relaxed and steady with the timing of the strokes in-between breaths. Your lungs should empty somewhat slowly but completely. This helps make sure that you get enough air during the inhale despite the limited time above water. If you don’t have the lung capacity or stamina to use bilateral breathing, it is certainly okay to use two-stroke breathing but alternate sides with each lap to maintain symmetry.