I took lessons when I was a kid and never mastered the breathing technique for freestyle swimming so I gave up on swimming. Now it is 30 yrs later and I am determined to learn how to swim and have been taking a group class at the local natatorium.
I have been making a lot of progress and learning things that I don't remember from my childhood lessons (keep your chin to your chest, making the S-pattern during the pull stroke, etc). I have also been focused on rolling of the body more - and especially rolling to breathe so that my head is on my left arm/shoulder (breathing to the right).
However, I'm still struggling with the breathing in that I am sucking in water and end up choking. I've had multiple people watch me and they say that my form looks good and even the part when I roll to breathe - but they are unsure at what point I am getting water in my mouth.
It's been hard for me to figure it out - here's some of my thoughts - it's a bit hard to self-diagnose and so far the people watching are not catching it -
Is the timing of the opening and closing of my mouth just a bit off that I am sucking water when I turn to breathe and return to face down?
I'm not the best at exhaling underwater so I wonder if I'm trying to exhale and inhale during the short time that I am turned?
Do I need to turn my head more (look at ceiling)?
Am I slowly sucking in water when my face is down since I'm not exhaling correctly?
Any thoughts on how I can figure this out or other things to look for?
Thanks
Mike
Thanks for the tips and feedback...I was intrigued by the comments also around the pull pattern and chin tuck.
The S pull pattern is fairly old school. I'm sure there are successful and fast people out there that use that style but it's not current technique. I also would be concerned about the idea of the chin to the chest. Think about having a neutral head (ie - a pilates type head position). Then adjust it slightly as needed.I'm taking lessons through an organization called Swim America - the instructors are mostly college age kids - some competitive swimmers and some not. I may be doing a bad job of explaining things also!
In terms of the chin tuck, a number of the instructors commented about my head alignment - that I was not looking down at the bottom of the pool but more forward (still underwater). They said it was key to get the head and body aligned better and that would keep my whole body aligned (I guess my feet were sinking a bit). So they had us swimming with a rubber duck (or they said to use a tennis ball) between our chest and chin - and to try to hold it there while moving forward as well as when I rolled to breathe. If you couldn't hold it when breathing, you were probably picking your head up vs. rolling. When I focus on doing this (minus the duck!), it seems to feel more natural.
In terms of the pull pattern, they said it was more of an "S" or Question mark shape when pulling. This was not the first time I had seen this recommendation. I recently bought Janet Evans "Total Swimming" and this is a quote from the book - "... As the pull begins, with the elbow still underwater, the hand begins to move in the shape of a backward S-away from the body and toward the wall of the pool about 12 to 15 inches (30-38 centimeters) before turning ..."
What is the preferred pattern for pulling? I used to just pull straight back and when I do the "S" shape, it seems to have more "propulsion" capability.
In terms of the breathing issue, you have all pointed out some good things to think about -
I think that the "comfort" level that was mentioned is key...I'm definitely not relaxed yet..Getting better but I think that I stress myself out worrying about the breathing (and everything else too). I also think that I gasp for a large amount of air - I had read on post on this site about "small" breathes vs large breathes. To try to get the breathing down, I am trying to breathe on each stroke (unilateral to the right).
As far as not exhaling underwater, that's something you have to pay attention to while you swim until you get it down. My mouth doesn't close when I swim, because I have found that if I try to exhale out of my nose, I either can't completely exhale before I go to take a breath, or I choke a bit when I do take a breath. If you try to inhale immediately after exhaling, it can close your throat and make you choke--especially if you have water in your mouth.
mjgold - your comments are interesting because I was thinking that might be part of the issue is that my mouth is always open and I'm accidentally sucking water in. You said that trying to inhale immediately after exhaling can close your throat - makes sense - so clarify what do you do? This is different than alot of things I have read where they tell you to exhale everything before turning to breathe.
Thanks for the tips and feedback...I was intrigued by the comments also around the pull pattern and chin tuck.
The S pull pattern is fairly old school. I'm sure there are successful and fast people out there that use that style but it's not current technique. I also would be concerned about the idea of the chin to the chest. Think about having a neutral head (ie - a pilates type head position). Then adjust it slightly as needed.I'm taking lessons through an organization called Swim America - the instructors are mostly college age kids - some competitive swimmers and some not. I may be doing a bad job of explaining things also!
In terms of the chin tuck, a number of the instructors commented about my head alignment - that I was not looking down at the bottom of the pool but more forward (still underwater). They said it was key to get the head and body aligned better and that would keep my whole body aligned (I guess my feet were sinking a bit). So they had us swimming with a rubber duck (or they said to use a tennis ball) between our chest and chin - and to try to hold it there while moving forward as well as when I rolled to breathe. If you couldn't hold it when breathing, you were probably picking your head up vs. rolling. When I focus on doing this (minus the duck!), it seems to feel more natural.
In terms of the pull pattern, they said it was more of an "S" or Question mark shape when pulling. This was not the first time I had seen this recommendation. I recently bought Janet Evans "Total Swimming" and this is a quote from the book - "... As the pull begins, with the elbow still underwater, the hand begins to move in the shape of a backward S-away from the body and toward the wall of the pool about 12 to 15 inches (30-38 centimeters) before turning ..."
What is the preferred pattern for pulling? I used to just pull straight back and when I do the "S" shape, it seems to have more "propulsion" capability.
In terms of the breathing issue, you have all pointed out some good things to think about -
I think that the "comfort" level that was mentioned is key...I'm definitely not relaxed yet..Getting better but I think that I stress myself out worrying about the breathing (and everything else too). I also think that I gasp for a large amount of air - I had read on post on this site about "small" breathes vs large breathes. To try to get the breathing down, I am trying to breathe on each stroke (unilateral to the right).
As far as not exhaling underwater, that's something you have to pay attention to while you swim until you get it down. My mouth doesn't close when I swim, because I have found that if I try to exhale out of my nose, I either can't completely exhale before I go to take a breath, or I choke a bit when I do take a breath. If you try to inhale immediately after exhaling, it can close your throat and make you choke--especially if you have water in your mouth.
mjgold - your comments are interesting because I was thinking that might be part of the issue is that my mouth is always open and I'm accidentally sucking water in. You said that trying to inhale immediately after exhaling can close your throat - makes sense - so clarify what do you do? This is different than alot of things I have read where they tell you to exhale everything before turning to breathe.
