- 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. (chill electronic music) 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. (chill electronic music) 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.
