In workouts I'm breathing every stroke and into and out of every flipturn. Even worse, once I am really gasping for air (in the middle of a hard set or on the 3rd turn of a 100) I am almost coming to a stop off the turn to catch my breath. I've been swimming 2000-3000 yards 3x/week for the last 18 months dropping intervals and increasing speed but I guess I am still just not in good enough cardiovascular shape?
Of course, it can't help that I have been constantly reinforcing bad habits. But can I just keep plugging away and eventually the fatigue from swimming the length will at least equal the fatigue from the turns?
The alternative I imagine is some kind of hypoxic training that is going to make me miserable. But I'm willing to do what I've gotta do at this point.
how do you know when you have fully exhaled (assuming that is the goal)?
When there is literally no more air for you to exhale. Try to blow more air out and you can't because there is none. It's not a good state to be in - if you are underwater then you will have to fight the reflex to inhale. I get in this state sometimes when I take too many SDK's, go too deep on a pushoff after a back-to-*** flip turn, cough in the middle of a flip turn, that sort of thing. It's definitely not the goal. It hurts.
how do you know when you have fully exhaled (assuming that is the goal)?
When there is literally no more air for you to exhale. Try to blow more air out and you can't because there is none. It's not a good state to be in - if you are underwater then you will have to fight the reflex to inhale. I get in this state sometimes when I take too many SDK's, go too deep on a pushoff after a back-to-*** flip turn, cough in the middle of a flip turn, that sort of thing. It's definitely not the goal. It hurts.
