(No Cry by Fasion)
(water splashing)
- [Instructor] Today, we're taking a closer look
at the breathing aspect of the freestyle stroke,
breaking it all down
and teaching you how to breathe more comfortably.
(logo whooshing) (logo beeping)
(Priddy by Fasion)
To propel ourselves through
the water while swimming freestyle,
it's important that we're supplying our muscles
with the adequate oxygen.
This requires a good breathing technique
that allows you to swim comfortably and efficiently
with as little impact on your stroke as possible.
The breathing action should actually take place
throughout the whole stroke
rather than one specific point.
You should always be breathing either in or breathing out,
it should never stop or be held.
So let's start as you finish your stroke
at the back beside your hip
and you have your other arm outstretched in front of you.
In this position, you would ideally be rotated
onto your side for a stronger and more efficient stroke,
but this also helps with the breathing too.
As you rotate onto your side with your hips
and shoulders moving in sync,
you should allow your head to rotate around with your body.
Whilst doing this, it's important
that you keep your body straight and inline.
Try to avoid craning your neck
by either lifting the top of your head up
or by trying to look at the roof of the pool.
You should only move your head
to the point where your mouth
is just out of the water
and your eye line is level with the side of the pool.
Imagine that you're trying to leave one eye in
the water whilst the other is above.
By doing this, the top of your head pushes the water
and creates a trough-like effect around your face and mouth,
meaning your mouth isn't actually going to
be submerged under the water.
During this phase of the stroke,
you should be breathing in your through your mouth
whilst avoiding breathing in through your nose.
As your recovering arm comes over
and towards your head,
you can imagine that your bicep or upper arm forces
your head back into the water.
At this point, you'll be starting your rotation back
to the center of the stroke,
so your head should follow your body as before.
Now, as your head submerges back into the water,
you should begin exhaling straight away
to prevent the water from going
in your mouth or up your nose.
This should be a slow and controlled trickle
until your next breath in,
rather than holding the breath
and then a sudden exhale.
By having this constant trickle of bubbles,
it also prevents any buildup of tension.
From here, your body will continue to rotate
and roll onto the other side,
but you should keep your head facedown,
looking towards the bottom of the pool
for a number of strokes before breathing again.
(Keep It by Dylan Sitts)
But how often you decide to breathe
is entirely up to you.
Everyone has different breathing pattern preferences,
but it's advised that you aim
to breathe bilaterally.
This means breathing to either side.
So to keep your stroke symmetrical and balanced,
breathing every three strokes is a very good starting point.
This means that you alternate
from breathing to the left and to the right.
You should trickle your breath out
throughout those three strokes and if necessary,
forcefully expel any remaining air
in the lungs on that third stroke.
At this point, you will begin to roll onto your side
to repeat the same process of breathing in.
(Mile Soul by Amber Spill)
This continuous breathing out whilst
the head is in the water is one of
the biggest cruxes for most swimmers.
It feels unnatural at first.
We advise you practice this
without actually swimming at first.
Simply hold onto the pool edge,
take a big breath in,
and then slowly drop yourself down underneath the water.
As your face enters the water,
start trickling your breath out.
Continue to do this for a few seconds
before slowly pulling yourself back up,
expelling all your remaining air,
taking a quick breath in,
and then dropping yourself back down underneath
the water to repeat again as many times as you like.
Another useful drill involves a kick board.
Hold onto the middle or bottom of the kick board
so that you can place your head down into the water.
As you kick yourself down the pool,
try placing your face down in the water
and trickling your breath
and then breathing to one side,
back to the middle, face down to trickle your breath,
and then breathing to the other side.
Again, keep repeating this until you're more comfortable
with the action.
Although this drill is not allowing
that rotation we've been discussing,
it does allow you to practice the basic action.
(water splashing)
By combining these skills
and practicing them in every swim session,
you will find your breathing technique improving over time
and making front crawl much easier to master.
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