On freestyle, I generally try to breathe bi-laterally every 3 strokes, and begin my exhale as soon as my head enters the water.
However, sometimes when I am doing sprints or laps with little rest in between, I find myself holding my breath instead of beginning the exhale immediately. When I do this it feels that my body is able to get more oxygen.
Its seems like my body is craving oxygen, and beginning the exhale immediately gets rid of some of that precious oxygen before I have a chance to process it.
Of course, I realize that delaying the start of my exhale means that I will get able to get more fresh air on the next inhalation, unless I can manage to get rid of all my air very quickly (which seems impossible).
So is it best to just force myself to keep the same breathing pattern (every 3 strokes with exhale starting immediately), even when I am feeling tired or out of oxygen? Or are there times when it is safe, or even better, to hold my breath for at least a second before beginning the exhalation? Maybe at the end of a race (or timed lap)?
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Former Member
Although it doesn't directly answer your question you might find this wikipedia article interesting and informative:
en.wikipedia.org/.../Breathing
When carbon dioxide levels increase in the blood, it reacts with the water in blood, producing carbonic acid. Lactic acid produced by anaerobic exercise also lowers pH.
The change in blood pH is what causes the sensation of needing air, not lack of oxygen.
I don't have a citation but from personal experience I think that exhaling seems to lower the sense of needing to breath, i.e. it is easier to swim a length without breathing if you exhale as you swim than if you hold your breath in the whole way. On the other hand if you hold your breath part of the way before starting the exhale you may make it further with less sense of needing to breath.
Hopefully someone can answer the specific question of whether the body actually continues to draw oxygen out of the air in your longs if you hold your breath in. Considering that you only use 4-5% of the oxygen in each breath I say probably not or we would be able to comforably lower our rate of breathing quite a bit. Perhaps those numbers change when exercising, hopefully someone knows.
Although it doesn't directly answer your question you might find this wikipedia article interesting and informative:
en.wikipedia.org/.../Breathing
When carbon dioxide levels increase in the blood, it reacts with the water in blood, producing carbonic acid. Lactic acid produced by anaerobic exercise also lowers pH.
The change in blood pH is what causes the sensation of needing air, not lack of oxygen.
I don't have a citation but from personal experience I think that exhaling seems to lower the sense of needing to breath, i.e. it is easier to swim a length without breathing if you exhale as you swim than if you hold your breath in the whole way. On the other hand if you hold your breath part of the way before starting the exhale you may make it further with less sense of needing to breath.
Hopefully someone can answer the specific question of whether the body actually continues to draw oxygen out of the air in your longs if you hold your breath in. Considering that you only use 4-5% of the oxygen in each breath I say probably not or we would be able to comforably lower our rate of breathing quite a bit. Perhaps those numbers change when exercising, hopefully someone knows.
