Why do swimmers breathe in only through the mouth and breathe out only through the nose ? Considering that breathing in and out through the nose and mouth much faster, effective, isn't it stupid?
:)
I know some swimmers prefer to breathe out through their nose, but I've never come across an instruction to only blow out air in that way. I think the more important point is to blow out all the air before the next inhalation. Personally, I find I do that best if I breathe out using both mouth and nose.
As for inhalation, however, I think the point behind at least trying to just breathe in through the mouth is to try and avoid sucking water up the nose. If you get water in the mouth along with your breath, it's much easier to deal with.
John - stay with the music of the Beatles . Swimming - if you have done some, kind of requires you to swallow water at times , which is hard to do inhaling thru the nose.
That's a good question.
I'm just a mechanic, and not a musician, but here's my take: The nostrils have no valves so you can't inhale effectively near the surface. Ever notice true aquatic mammals all seem to have nose valves?
Johnny Weismuller in his 1930 book, Swimming the American Crawl, actually recommends exactly that. "Breath in through the mouth and out through the nose." My practice however is to breath out through both but mostly through the mouth.
