when to breath free style

Personally, I have tried holding it in until right before I am ready to inhale. When I do that, I feel like I'm not getting enough air in my lungs, which may be because I'm either not exhaling all the way, or I'm spending too much time exhaling when I should be inhaling (mouth out of the water, obviously). When I exhale continuously--even when breathing every 3 or 4 strokes, which I do very infrequently--I find that my breathing is more natural. When I'm walking around, I don't take a breath and hold it, then exhale quickly and inhale again. Michael, this was exactly my point in a couple of posts. Your breathing during swimming should not be any different than when you are walking, etc. If you are swimming a regular set you should be breathing as if you were walking. If you are swimming a medium paced set you should be breathing as if you were jogging, and if you are swimming a sprint set you should be breathing as a sprinter would....all relaxed and as normal as possible! Again, only my opinion, but it is turning into a general thought on here!

That's my thought exactly. My personal opinion is that if you're huffing and puffing trying to force all this air out just before taking a breath, it's going to put you out of breath. I'm sure it doesn't have that affect on some people, but that's what it does to me. I don't inhale very much when I swim, and I have a hard time transitioning from a forceful exhale to a gentle inhale--it sort of forces me to take a big-mouthed breath, which does nothing for me.

it sort of forces me to take a big-mouthed breath, which does nothing for me. Which might actually make you intake water as well...

Keep in mind that the relaxed exhaling during the stroke is only that, it has no influence in your performance, but might make you distressed by the stronger urge to breathe once you have exhaled completely. Once you have exhaled completely, your strong urge to breathe will hit you fast. I speak not as a swimmer, but as a gas passer....billy(passing gas professionally and sometimes on his own)fanstone I agree that you should not completely exhale all of the air while your face is still in-water. In my opinion, you should be controlling the rate of your exhale so you have enough air to continue a controlled exhale as you are rotating to breath. P.S. That is absolutely the best line that I have heard, "passing gas professionally and sometimes on his own"...excellent!