How to Breathe During Breaststroke

The breaststroke is one of the hardest styles of swimming. Part of this stroke's challenge is breathing. Learning how to breathe properly during the breaststroke is not only necessary for healthy swimming, but it can allow a competitive swimmer to greatly improve their times.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Bathing suit
• Swimming pool

1. During the beginning of the in-sweep phase of the breaststroke, as you begin to push down on the water with the palms of your hands, your head should start to rise out of the water. Allow your head to lift all of the way out of the water by letting your head follow the upward movement of your spine.

2. Breathe in through your mouth once your head is completely out of the water. Make sure to draw in a deep gulp of air.

3. Breathe out through your nose and mouth once you dive your head back under the water. Exhalation usually occurs during the recovery and gliding phase.

Tips & Warnings

• For professional swimmers, FINA requires the head to break the surface of the water once per cycle, with the exception of the first cycle after the start and after each turn.
• Do not attempt to learn any new swimming technique without proper supervision such as a lifeguard or a CPR-trained assistant.
• Swimming the breaststroke with your head out of the water at all times can cause undue strain on your neck and back muscles, potentially causing injury to the spine.

Resources

• Wikipedia entry on the breaststroke

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