Hi,
I started swimming a couple of months ago following a running injury. I can't run at the moment so I thought I would keep fit by swimming, but my problem is I don't know how to breathe... I can barely do 25 mt and then I have to stop and rest for 30-60 seconds. I have no problem running (I completed my first half marathon in March) so I can't understand why this is so difficult..
I'm working with a teacher to improve my freestyle crawl technique (which was quite poor as I hadn't had much practice in the last 20 years or so...) and she says the breathing will come naturally, but after 2 months swimming twice a week I can't see any improvement... still cannot swim continously for more than 25 metres. I can do *** stroke or back stroke without stopping, it's just the freestyle what gets me completely out of breath.
Is there anything I can do to improve my breathing technique?
Thanks
I still have a lot of trouble with freestyle breathing. I found that some breathing exercises for singing have been helpful for freestyle breathing, you might look into those too. Breathing works on negative pressure - inhaling is the contraction of the diaphragm (among other factors), expanding the chest cavity and automatically filling the lungs with air. Exhalation is the reverse process. One exercise is to take as deep a breath as possible and then exhale all the way - absolutely until you can't do breath out any more (and then even more) and the inhale. It helps you get used to a) the feeling of being out of air and how much it actually takes to get there and b) what taking that deep breath feels like.
I still have a lot of trouble with freestyle breathing. I found that some breathing exercises for singing have been helpful for freestyle breathing, you might look into those too. Breathing works on negative pressure - inhaling is the contraction of the diaphragm (among other factors), expanding the chest cavity and automatically filling the lungs with air. Exhalation is the reverse process. One exercise is to take as deep a breath as possible and then exhale all the way - absolutely until you can't do breath out any more (and then even more) and the inhale. It helps you get used to a) the feeling of being out of air and how much it actually takes to get there and b) what taking that deep breath feels like.
