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.
Former Member
Wow, more than a year later I realize that all of you were right. One day recently I decided to focus on really blowing out as much air as possible and was amazed at how much more I had - like I could create a Jaccuzzi under me which made me think - how do you know when you have fully exhaled (assuming that is the goal)?
I also have since found I have high blood pressure which is now mostly under control. That is mostly good news because I had some health scares but passed a lot of other tests for what could have been much worse.
I don't know if the breathing was more cause and effect of tension while swimming, but the exhaling along with working towards a high elbow and proper hand entry has me now feeling so much more comfortable in the water.
I can now do longer sets with bilateral breathing which has really helped balance out my stroke. Oh the air, it feels so good!
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.
That is what I figured. But why is it that if I sit here and take a deep breath I can only exhale for a second but while swimming, or even just bobbing under water, I can create such a prolonged long stream of bubbles?
That is what I figured. But why is it that if I sit here and take a deep breath I can only exhale for a second but while swimming, or even just bobbing under water, I can create such a prolonged long stream of bubbles?
Really? I can't blow all my air out in a second, even if I try... it especially takes a while to blow out the last bits.
