Hi all, i have just joined this forum. I am a 24 yr old female, who competive swam for 5 years from 1993-98. I am now getting back into the water again and have totally lost my lung capacity. .I had excercise induced asthma when i swam back in the day, but it was not a problem. now i am finding that i have to stop my workouts becuase i feel like i cannot get enough air. . i have started using an inhaler, but i still need to build my lungs up again. . .can anyone give any advice, exercises i could do to slowly bring me up again? i am breathing every 3 strokes about 90% of my workouts - which by the way are on my own - uncoached. but i am gasping for air coming out of my flip turns. . .any advice would be great! thanks a lot!
janelle
Parents
Former Member
You might want to practice "squared breathing". You inhale to a count of 8 (slowly), hold your breath for a count of eight, exhale to a count of eight and again hold for a count of eight. Repeat that up to ten times and concentrate on inhaling "from the bottom clear up to your collar bones and after you hold, exhale slowly but fully. You may only be able to do this "square" a few times at first but with practice it will get easier. You can do this several times per day. Somebody mentioned above that some people tend to inhale too much and don't exhale all the way - I agree and this exercise trains you to do inhale and exhale equally. Oh, and if a count of 8 is too easy, try 10. Just another idea - good luck!
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Former Member
You might want to practice "squared breathing". You inhale to a count of 8 (slowly), hold your breath for a count of eight, exhale to a count of eight and again hold for a count of eight. Repeat that up to ten times and concentrate on inhaling "from the bottom clear up to your collar bones and after you hold, exhale slowly but fully. You may only be able to do this "square" a few times at first but with practice it will get easier. You can do this several times per day. Somebody mentioned above that some people tend to inhale too much and don't exhale all the way - I agree and this exercise trains you to do inhale and exhale equally. Oh, and if a count of 8 is too easy, try 10. Just another idea - good luck!
