Acquiring good breathing technique may be one of the biggest challenges for newer swimmers. Poor breathing technique can easily have a negative influence on other parts of the stroke. For instance, poor breathing can cause improper leg or body position, un-even or lop sided stroke, or an overall inefficient stoke, to name a few. Many swimmers have stroke problems that are directly related to breathing technique without realizing that their breathing is the root of the problem.
Here are a couple items to focus on to improve your breathing technique –
Focus on Exhaling Not Inhaling
The number one problem swimmers have with their breathing is not exhaling under the water. If you exhale under the water you only have to inhale when you turn your head to breathe. This makes things much easier.
A simple rule of thumb – if you are not inhaling, you are exhaling. NEVER hold your breath.
If You Aren’t Breathing, Keep Your Head Still
Keep your head stationary when not breathing. Your head should be independent of your body roll. Concentrate on looking at one point on the bottom of the pool. Only turn your head to breathe.
Don’t Lift Your Head When You Breathe
When you lift your head, your legs will drop. That presents the entire frontal area of your body as a big parachute that will cause drag and slow you down.
There is a pocket of air beside your head in a trough created by your forward motion through the water. To breathe into the trough you just have to rotate your head a little without lifting it.
Don’t Over Rotate Your Head
A problem similar to lifting your head is rotating it too far – so you are looking towards the sky instead of to the side when you breathe. The natural result is scissor kicking and loss of balance.
The loss of balance will likely cause you to ‘snake down the pool’ from one side to the other. This has obvious consequences in open water as you try to navigate to your objective.
Poor Body Roll Equals Poor Breathing
If you are struggling to breathe, more likely than not, poor body rotation is the cause. If your body roll is correct, you need only turn your head fractionally to breathe. If your body roll is inadequate, it becomes a challenge to draw a breath without taking in water.
