How to Correct Breathing While Swimming

Breathe comfortably while swimming.

Swimming is one of the most beneficial forms of exertion. A cardiovascular exercise, it offers the added benefit of being a low-impact sport. Unlike what happens with jogging or running, your joints will not be jarred by repetitive impact when swimming. Whether you intend to swim for recreation, exercise or in a race, knowing how to correct your breathing to the rhythm of your stroke is crucial to the ability to propel yourself any distance in the water without running out of breath or becoming easily exhausted.

Instructions

1. Swim slowly at first and monitor when you exhale. Many new swimmers will hold their breath while their face is underwater and will try to both exhale and inhale when their face comes up. This leads to less time to breathe deeply while your head is out of the water, which means you will more easily to run out of breath while swimming.

2. Exhale completely with your face in the water, before you take a breath when your face emerges. This will allow you to take in a complete and deep new breath of air every time you inhale. Taking a deep breath will allow you to remain underwater longer before surfacing to inhale.

3. Match your breath-to-stroke ratio to the kind of swimming you are doing. For strenuous swimming, such as during a race, two strokes for every breath will give you the oxygen you need to complete the race. Three strokes or more for every breath is better for longer, slower swims.

References

• Breathing right will put you on your way to swimming right
• Health Swimming Benefits

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish