I teach lessons to a forty year old woman who is having a very hard time breathing. I have been teaching lessons for about ten years and I cannot figure out why she is having such a hard time. She seems to breathe in the correct amount of oxygen and then she slowly exhales through her nose and mouth before breathing again. She has to breathe every two strokes in order to get enough oxygen but even then after a 50 her lungs are burning. She can swim a 1650 in about 35 minutes and she can swim it without stopping but her lungs get tired before anything else. I have had her swim 25's without breathing and she can do that. I am completely stumped as to what her problem is. Any suggestions? Thanks
Thanks for the suggestions. In answer to some of the questions asked, she is in very good shape and she has been swimming for a couple of years. Her best strokes are Backstroke and Breaststroke. She has an ok Fly. The stroke she struggles with the most is Freestyle. She is a triathlete trying to improve her swimming. I know she has done at least one Ironman, so I assume her conditioning is not an issue.
I will have her try the paper bag idea and she if she is trying inhale too much at each breath. I cannot figure out what is wrong with her breathing because everyother aspect of her stroke is fine.
I had a lot of trouble with breathing too. For me I think it was lack of cardio conditioning, but mostly tension. For a long ltime I'd get so focused on breathing that I'd wear myself out. I still feel it starting now and again, but being aware of it, I can make myself relax and regain control. Another thing I did - and sometimes still do - is focus on breathing during warm ups. After a few laps I do the underwater bubbles a few times and it helps to keep me calm. The other thing that sometimes helped with freestyle breathing was to do another stroke, usually fly, that got me breathing hard. After that, breathing for freestyle came easier.
Your swimmer sounds like she is already in better shape than I was though so I don't know if this helps. For me it was more mental than anything.
HYPERVENTILATION,
It sounds very much like hyperventilation although without a doctors oppinion it's difficult to check.Nomatter how fit we are ,this unfortunate condition affects more people than once thought.
try getting her to breathe into a paper bag "to get less!!!!oxygen"yes less...may work.....
My vote is with Sparx35. However, if it is inconvenient to use a paper bag during laps, she might try (1) taking in three-quarter breaths rather than full breaths; or (2) breath every 4 or 6 strokes, rather than 2. I am working on this sort of thing myself.
Ah yes, backstroke. The freedom to breathe, and suck in all the air and water you can stand. This sounds like a good idea. It may even help the freestyle. Both are long axis strokes and have the same concept in mind. One must roll to do them well. Some of the most accomplished freestylers are also backstrokers. It also provides some relief to the worn out freestyle muscles.
Have you ever seen the training snorkel? It looks quite ridiculous, but I imagine it would allow a swimmer unlimited breathing which in turn would give the ability to concentrate on stroke movements and proper body posture. No more favoring one side and creating the inevitable "lope" in the stroke because that head is clean out of the water looking for every ounce of oxygen that the mouth will vacuum up before the recovery arm jams your face back in the blue yonder.
Perhaps your student is getting a bit winded because they're simply not in the best shape? Maybe the interval is too tight? How about trying one lap swim, one lap drill. Kicking on the side is a great way to recover from being winded, and it will also teach good balance in the water.
I just read up on hyperventilation...
It says it can cause broncial constriction and pain
There is a fair amout of info about it on the net.
among many other great ones, this one is pretty interesting:
www.breathing.com/.../hyperventilation.htm
"....Hyperventilation is in some ways a maladaptive response to stress. It is also caused by poorly coordinated unbalanced breathing...."
Does she have any asthma? Allergies?
Did she have her lungs checked out?
Can she swim backstroke? Does she have the same breatihing problem with Backstroke? If she does, I wonder if that may point to a problem with Lungs rather than technique.
How long has this woman been swimming? How experienced is she? How is her cardiovascular conditioning?
In my case, My cardio was very weak when I first started, and it still is (it's only been 9 weeks). Yea, when I push it too hard, my poor cardio conditioning of the moment makes my lungs want to explode, and a lot of really heavy breathing like that can hurt.
If I don't pace myself, I will get to a point where I can't do even a 400 without stopping and literally gasping for air for 5 or 10 seconds or more. When I do pace myself, I can do 1650 without stopping, it takes me 33 minutes. (by the way, i'm 34)
If I go faster, I will have to stop and gasp.
Well, hopefully the above is not completely useless info...
SJ,
Let me toss out a different theory. How hard is she kicking? Although a rapid kick does add a little extra go to freestyle (unless she is kicking with runners' flexed 90 degrees ankles, in which case she might goes backwards with a kickboard, or simply stand still in less severe cases), it takes A TON of oxygen. If she kicks a lot, try teaching her to swim free with an easy 2-beat kick. And, if she needs a hard kick to keep her hips from sinking, teach her balance. Go look up Total Immersion or any article by Emmett Hines (we have some in the Training--Technique section of this web site) if you are not sure what I am talking about.
Matt
