Hi,
I recently got into swimming competitively a couple days ago (the Olympics will do that to you, I guess). Since I've just started, I'm trying to master the freestyle before I move on to any other strokes. However, I have found it incredibly difficult to breathe. Whenever I try to take some air, I tilt my head to the left and inhale. But, every time I have done so, a nice stream of water fills my mouth. Does anyone know how to fix this?
I'm hoping it is as simple as changing the stroke that I breathe on, but I honestly don't know.
Thanks a ton,
~ Aespect
Your best bet is to work with a coach to assess and correct the issue.
Breathing issues can come from a number of areas. One common problem is swimmers lifting their head instead of rotating from the chin. If you lift your head to breathe, the last part coming out of the water is the mouth; but if you rotate from the chin your mouth is out of the water first and your head stays low to keep buoyancy balance.
Other typical issues are under rotation and timing. An eyes-on coach can work through all of these.
All of this. This is probably easy to correct with a bit of practice but not being able to get a good breath is usually a symptom of something else. One additional possibility is if you are not blowing bubbles out when your face is in the water when you turn to take a breath, it can take awfully long to breath out and back in. If it takes too long, water could stream in due to the things that break in timing does with your stroke.
Your best bet is to work with a coach to assess and correct the issue.
Breathing issues can come from a number of areas. One common problem is swimmers lifting their head instead of rotating from the chin. If you lift your head to breathe, the last part coming out of the water is the mouth; but if you rotate from the chin your mouth is out of the water first and your head stays low to keep buoyancy balance.
Other typical issues are under rotation and timing. An eyes-on coach can work through all of these.
All of this. This is probably easy to correct with a bit of practice but not being able to get a good breath is usually a symptom of something else. One additional possibility is if you are not blowing bubbles out when your face is in the water when you turn to take a breath, it can take awfully long to breath out and back in. If it takes too long, water could stream in due to the things that break in timing does with your stroke.
