How to improve your breathing technique

How to improve your breathing technique

On average we breathe 20,000 times per day. Most of the time, breathing is natural and a subconscious activity to sustain life. However, this style of breathing can often be inadequate for swimming and can limit the distance and speed you achieve in competitions.

Confident swimmers develop control of their breathing as an integral part of an easy and relaxed swimming technique, so let’s look at some of the tips about the inhale/exhale breathing cycle you may need to consider before heading to your next swimming meet.

 

Exhalation

This is the critical part of the cycle to get right. Correct breathing technique requires you to exhale strongly and evenly under the water, between breaths. Exhaling must be regulated, and slow enough to leave you ready to inhale at the right moment when you turn your head to have a breather. Doing correctly with good timing and rhythm will help the quality and speed of your stroke.

 

Head position

It is also important to keep your head still in between breaths. Some swimmers allow their heads to roll with every body rotation, making good coordination almost impossible. For example, if you imagine you have a cup and saucer on your head which must stay balanced, this can help your awareness and development of a steady head position. Another tip is to look down at one spot on the pool floor, this also guarantees that your head will not roll side to side. Getting this right helps you to coordinate your stroke, and build a strong swimming rhythm.

Good breathing will not improve your stroke speed and efficiency by itself, it is further improved if you prevent yourself from rolling your head too far as you inhale. You should be looking to the side, not skywards so only one goggle lens needs to be above the water as you breathe. Otherwise, the resulting head rotation will cause you to lose balance and slow you down, which is not what you want this race season! Just remember, except when inhaling your head stays still.

 

Inhale

When swimmers move through the water, they create a ‘bow wave’ in the front, as a boat does in the water. This leaves a trough, which swimmers call a ‘pocket’, on each side of your head. This allows a pocket to let you inhale without lifting your head above the water. If your exhalation has been long and steady, you should find that inhaling through your mouth is natural. Observe other swimmers, especially professionals, to observe how they use the bow wave effect whilst swimming to help visualise how you may use it in your own swimming. Lifting your head from the water actually reduces your waves and makes good breathing harder. Furthermore, lifting your head above the water can also lower your body, tilting it downwards, which generates drag and makes swimming harder and more effort.

 

Bilateral breathing

At first, you should breathe on the side you find most comfortable as you work on mastering your breathing techniques. However, ‘bilateral breathing’ which is breathing on both sides has many advantages. Breathing on one side makes it difficult to rotate evenly as you swim, and swimming in a straight line down the race lane subsequently becomes more difficult. Bilateral breathing will give you a more symmetrical stroke and thus better control of direction. An example of a bilateral swimming pattern could mean breathing every three strokes and thus breathing side to side, before switching and spreading the same pattern on the other side.

Improving any of these aspects listed above can help you to relax, improve your swimming, and essentially put in less effort.

At Proswimwear, we have a vast range of training aids that can help you improve your stroke, and performance in the pool this race season. Be sure to check out our website for great deals!

https://www.proswimwear.co.uk/swimming-accessories/swimming-training-aids.html?product_list_limit=60

Share:

© 2024 ProSwimwear Ltd. All Rights Reserved. - Part of the Niche Online Sales Group Ltd