Before I started taking swimming more seriously as a sport, I always tried to imitate the breathing pattern I saw on TV from professional athletes. The result was always the same: I was out of breath in seconds. When I started swimming for exercise, I made it my goal to learn freestyle. In the beginning, I used a snorkel as most of my swims were at open sea. With the snorkel, I did not have to deal with the breathing technique and was free to improve my form. However, during the winter I started going to the pool. In the beginning I started with the snorkel but soon I got motivated to learn to breathe properly as I saw people around me doing it with ease.
Common drills to learn breathing correctly
Learning proper breathing technique is a crucial aspect of swimming. Here are some steps that I have tried to lean breathing correctly while swimming:
- Practice breathing techniques on land: Before you get in the water, practice your breathing technique on land. Stand up tall and take a deep breath in through your mouth, and exhale forcefully through your nose and mouth.
- Get comfortable with putting your face in the water. Practice blowing bubbles in the water with your mouth and nose.
- Once you are comfortable putting your face in the water, start practicing your stroke while holding your breath. Swim a short distance, and then lift your head to the side to take a breath. Try to exhale slowly while your face is in the water so that you can inhale quickly when you turn your head to breathe.
- Exhale slowly: When your face is back in the water, exhale slowly through your nose and mouth.
- Practice bilateral breathing: Once you are comfortable with breathing on one side, practice breathing on the other side as well. This is known as bilateral breathing, and it will help you to develop balance and avoid muscle imbalances.
- Use a kickboard: To help you focus on your breathing technique, you can use a kickboard to support your upper body while you practice your breathing.
- Practice regularly: Consistent practice is key to improving your breathing technique in swimming. Make sure to incorporate breathing practice into your regular swimming routine.
- Seek help from a coach: If you are struggling with your breathing technique, consider working with a swim coach who can give you personalized feedback and help you improve your technique.
You can find most of these exercises in this article by MySwimPro .
The body and the mind needs to adapt to a new breathing pattern
If everything fails you should also try the following:
Try imitating the breathing pattern you will adapt in swimming while wearing a snorkel. This practice helped me a lot because I understood that this pattern of breathing caused me to panic for some reason when underwater. So practising it while wearing a snorkel made me comfortable underwater and now my mind understands that “I am not drowning” just because I breathe with a different pattern than normal.
Remember, learning to breathe while swimming takes time and practice. Be patient with yourself, and keep working on your technique until it becomes second nature.
