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
Agree that you do need to meet certain criteria to make single side breathing work better for you. That is why I pointed out that I changed breathing patterns LATE in my (otherwise still young, compared to others like Windrath) career. I already had a decent kick which I then worked to make a hell of a lot stronger (side note that I think at the time I switched I could maybe make repeat 100 yard FR kicks with a board on 1:40 on a great day. I got that down to 1:25 consistently, and nearly managed to catch my best 100 yard FR swim time with my best 75 yard FR kick time...a benchmark I have been told is a good one to meet!). Sorry I digressed. I also had/have a strong core (I do a lot of core work on the side but also take a dedicated core class once a week), which helps compensate for the lack of rotation from breathing only to the one side.
But like everyone keeps saying, the best thing you can do is play around with it yourself and figure out what works best for you. And remember this, one of my favorite things to tell my swimmers when they would be implementing something new (whether it be a training device or a stroke/technique change): Sometimes you have to swim slower before you can swim faster. If at first you don't feel like the change/choice you made is making you better, just give it some time before relegating it to the scrap heap of bad ideas!
Agree that you do need to meet certain criteria to make single side breathing work better for you. That is why I pointed out that I changed breathing patterns LATE in my (otherwise still young, compared to others like Windrath) career. I already had a decent kick which I then worked to make a hell of a lot stronger (side note that I think at the time I switched I could maybe make repeat 100 yard FR kicks with a board on 1:40 on a great day. I got that down to 1:25 consistently, and nearly managed to catch my best 100 yard FR swim time with my best 75 yard FR kick time...a benchmark I have been told is a good one to meet!). Sorry I digressed. I also had/have a strong core (I do a lot of core work on the side but also take a dedicated core class once a week), which helps compensate for the lack of rotation from breathing only to the one side.
But like everyone keeps saying, the best thing you can do is play around with it yourself and figure out what works best for you. And remember this, one of my favorite things to tell my swimmers when they would be implementing something new (whether it be a training device or a stroke/technique change): Sometimes you have to swim slower before you can swim faster. If at first you don't feel like the change/choice you made is making you better, just give it some time before relegating it to the scrap heap of bad ideas!
