- Breathing is probably the biggest challenge
facing newbie swimmers.
Putting your face into the water isn't natural
and then trying to establish the correct movement
and timing that's required in order to get in enough oxygen,
is something that's got to be learned.
So we're going to be covering how to breathe
whilst swimming front crawl.
And bringing you some tips that'll hopefully
make it much easier.
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Holding your breath for too long
will cause a buildup of CO2,
which then triggers that gasp reaction for air,
and it's usually that feeling of panic
that then makes you lift your head right out of the water.
Something, which obviously you want to avoid
when you're swimming.
So the trick is to continuously and gradually exhale,
this'll automatically make you feel more relaxed,
and then therefore able to take in a more efficient
and better in-breath, and as a result,
meaning you can actually go for longer
in-between each breath and therefore,
disrupting your stroke less too.
Admittedly, there is a lot to think about
whilst your swimming, and breathing is quite often
the final component to be added in.
Well today, we're actually going to start with breathing
and then add it back into full stroke later on.
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Relaxation is key, so we're going to start with the basics
to build up your confidence.
So holding onto the side of the pool with both hands,
simply place your face in the water
and gently and continuously breathe out
through either your mouth or nose or both.
And then, once you've emptied your lungs,
lift your head just enough,
to clear your mouth above the water,
and take a controlled steady breath in
before popping your head and face back into the water.
The key is to start breathing out
as soon as your mouth is in the water,
and then continue to do so until it's clear
of the water at the other end.
And this will prevent you swallowing any water
or it going the wrong way.
And you want to make sure that the head movement
is nice and smooth to reflect the relaxed motion.
For more confidence building
we've got another breathing exercise, the sink downs.
So for this you'll need to come away from the wall
and find water that's at least shoulder-depth,
and just start by sculling with your head above the water,
and then take a nice full controlled breath in
and start to gradually trickle that out.
And you should find that you'll start to sink
towards the bottom, and once you're at the bottom,
push back off still exhaling
until you come back up to the surface
and your mouth is clear of the surface.
And then take another in-breath and repeat this.
So you should start to find a nice rhythm
of going up and down with your breath.
Now it's time to bring breathing into something
that's closer to actual swimming.
We're going to forget the arms for the moment,
but we're going to start with just the legs.
So it's a good idea to pop some fins on for this.
Now, ideally if you can do it without a kickboard
it will make it more realistic.
But if you do need to use a kickboard,
we'll explain just how in a moment.
So start with one arm extended and one by your side
with your face down in the water.
Keep a gentle and continuous kick,
and then blow a steady stream of air
out from either your nose or mouth as you rotate your body
away from that extended arm, turn your head a little further
until your mouth breaks the surface.
If you still have any air left in your lungs,
then exhale the rest just before you start your in-breath.
Take a full breath in and rotate back
so that your body and face are looking
at the bottom of the pool all the time while still exhaling.
And then, when you feel you're coming towards
the end of that exhale, rotate your body and your head
back towards the side, so you can take an in-breath.
And continue this all the way down the length.
When you get to the other end,
swap and repeat it on the other side.
And you might well find it easier one way than the other.
But the idea of this is really trying to ingrain
that continuous exhale followed by a nice controlled inhale.
It's now time to put it all back together
and return to the full stroke.
So you want to really concentrate
on maintaining that continuous exhalation
for the number of chosen strokes.
But don't get too hung up on that number at the moment.
Just exhale until your lungs are empty,
and then try and time with the start of a recovery stroke
so you can get your next in-breath.
You want to turn your head to breathe
as your body rotates to the side.
So this should be just as your arm is starting
the recovery phase of the stroke.
If you still have any air left in at this time
then fully exhale it and start your in-breath.
You have until your hand passes your head
to finish this breath, so as soon as your face
returns to the water, start the breathing out.
(chill electronic music)
Most of us will find it easier to breathe
on one side than the other.
But it is a good idea to practice both
as it'll help to keep your stroke that much more balanced.
That said though, if you're squinting
you're likely going to need to breathe every two,
so you can stick to one side for that.
As you become more efficient in the water
and start to move faster and more smoothly.,
you'll notice that your head actually creates
a bow wave effect, which causes the surface of the water
next to your mouth to actually be lower,
and therefore, you're not going to need
to turn your head as far, in order to get your breath in.
Once you're happy you've got your timing nailed,
and you no longer have to consciously think about
that continuous exhale,
it's time to make it a little bit tougher for yourself
and increase that demand for oxygen.
Making yourself feel uncomfortable in training,
will naturally make race day feel that much easier.
So you can do this in two ways,
either by maintaining that same stroke count
between your breaths and then working harder.
Or just carrying on at the same pace and intensity,
and actually taking breaths less often.
So if say for example, you currently breathe bilaterally,
you can then increase this to breathing every five,
and even up to breathing every seven.
And if you are doing this, you're going to have to make sure
you really control that exhalation
and make it a little bit slower
so it can last the full seven strokes.
I know it's easy for me to sit here and say,
you need to be more relaxed,
and it doesn't just happen like that.
But if you work through these drills
and build them up at your own pace,
you'll find that your confidence will start to increase.
And trust me, eventually, breathing will become
a subconscious part of your front crawl stroke.
Well, hopefully you've enjoyed it, give us thumbs up,
like, if you have, and hit the globe to subscribe.
And if you want to see a video that actually details
on how to fit your breathing into your stroke,
you can find that one just down here.
And if you want to see what some mistakes
you might be making that you don't know about,
you can find a video on that just over here.