Here’s the English translation of the swimming breathing guide:
The Complete Guide to Breathing While Swimming: Mastering the Rhythm for Beginners
Mastering breathing is the most crucial step in learning to swim. Regardless of your chosen stroke, proper breathing technique determines whether you can swim easily and for extended periods. Below is a detailed breathing guide for beginners:
Core Principle: Why is Breathing So Important?
Oxygen Supply: Continuous oxygen is needed to sustain swimming movements.
Body Balance: Correct breathing technique helps maintain a horizontal, floating body position.
Relaxed Swimming: Rhythmic breathing reduces tension and improves efficiency.
Avoiding Choking: Proper breathing prevents water from entering the airway.
Detailed Freestyle Breathing Techniques (Most Common Stroke)
1. Exhaling Underwater is the Foundation (Crucial!)
Action: While your face is in the water, exhale steadily and continuously through your nose or both nose and mouth, producing bubbles.
Key Point: Don’t hold your breath! Ensure your lungs are empty of stale air *before* surfacing, preparing for a quick inhale.
Common Mistake: Holding breath underwater leads to needing to both exhale and inhale upon surfacing, often causing choking due to insufficient time.
2. Rotate Your Head, Don’t Lift It
Action: As your pulling arm prepares to exit the water (e.g., right arm for breathing to the right), your body naturally rotates towards that side, and your head rotates *with* the body.
Technique:
Imagine your body rotating as a whole unit like a boat, not lifting your head.
Keep one ear submerged during the rotation (e.g., right ear in water), with your face turned sideways towards the surface.
Look towards the water surface behind your shoulder, chin slightly tucked in (avoid lifting your head too high).
Common Mistake: Lifting the head to breathe causes the hips to sink, ruining your streamlined position and increasing drag.
3. Quick Mouth Inhale
Action: As your mouth and nose clear the water, seize the brief window to take a quick, deep breath in through your mouth.
Key Point: The inhale is extremely short (approx. 0.5 seconds) and decisive.
Common Mistake: Trying to inhale through the nose (prone to choking) or inhaling too slowly, causing the body to sink.
4. Body Rotation and Head Reset
Action: After inhaling, as your arm enters the water to extend forward, let your head naturally rotate back into the water with your body, face re-entering the water.
Key Point: Head movement should be gentle and smooth, avoiding slamming into the water.
Freestyle Breathing Action Summary
A. Underwater exhalation stage
Action points: Continuously exhale steadily through the mouth and nose, and exhale all exhaust gases
Common mistake: Holding your breath
B. Head rotation stage
Action points: The body drives the head to rotate as a whole, with one ear in the water, looking behind the shoulder, and slightly retracting the chin
Common error: Head up
C. Water surface inhalation stage
Action points: When the mouth and nose come out of the water, quickly inhale deeply and deeply with the mouth
Common mistake: Inhaling through the nose, inhaling too slowly
D. Head reset stage
Action points: After inhaling, gently turn the head back into the water with the body, and immerse the face in the water
Common mistake: Head slamming into water
Breathing Rhythm: Finding Your Pace
Beginner Recommendation: Unilateral Breathing – Breathe every 2 strokes. (e.g., take one breath on a fixed side, like always the right, after two arm strokes). This is the most basic and easiest rhythm to master (2 strokes = 1 breathing cycle).
Advanced Options:
Bilateral Breathing (Breathe every 3 strokes): Alternate breathing sides (Left-Right-Left or Right-Left-Right). *Pros:* More symmetrical body balance, better for distance. *Cons:* Slightly harder for beginners.
Mixed Frequency: Adjust based on distance and intensity. E.g., sprints might use breath every 1 stroke (fast frequency), long swims might use breath every 3 or 5 strokes (slow frequency).
Key Principles:
Regularity: Maintain a stable breathing rhythm.
Comfort: Choose a frequency that feels smooth and avoids breath-holding.
Demand-Driven: Increase frequency during sprints; slow down during relaxed or long-distance swimming.
Don’t Be Rigid: Adjust frequency and take more breaths if you feel short of air.
Breathing Characteristics of Different Strokes
Breaststroke: Lift head to breathe. Lift head as arms sweep out, breathe in as mouth/nose clear water; lower head as arms recover forward, exhale underwater. Clear rhythm.
Backstroke: Face remains above water, allowing free breathing. However, be mindful of mouth/nose position to avoid swallowing splashes; maintain a steady breathing rhythm.
Butterfly: Lift upper body during arm pull to clear water, lifting head to breathe in; exhale underwater as body dives down. Requires strong core and coordination.
Targeted Practice Methods
1. Standing Practice (Poolside/Shallow Water):
Bend over, immerse face in water, practice steady, continuous exhalation (make a “hoo” sound or watch bubbles).
Then rotate head (imagine looking toward your back pocket), clear mouth/nose from water, take a quick breath in through the mouth.
Repeat, focusing on the smoothness of exhale, rotation, inhale, and return.
2. Wall Float with Kicking + Breathing:
Hold onto pool edge with both hands, body prone (face down), kick legs.
Practice turning head to breathe following the steps from Practice 1.
Focus on coordinating body rotation with head turn.
3. Single-Arm Drill:
Hold a kickboard with one arm extended forward. Perform freestyle arm strokes with the other arm, coordinating breathing to that side.
Focus on the timing of the stroke, body rotation, and breathing.
Practice alternating arms.
4. Drills: E.g., “2 strokes + 1 breath, then 3-4 strokes holding breath,” alternating to reinforce breathing muscle memory.
Tips for Overcoming Breathing Difficulties
Relaxation is Key: Tension disrupts breathing rhythm. Trust the water’s buoyancy; focus on exhaling.
Focus on Exhaling: Completely emptying your lungs underwater is *more important* than inhaling. Empty lungs make inhaling naturally smooth.
Practice Patiently: Breathing is one of the hardest parts of swimming. It requires significant repetition to build muscle memory. Don’t get discouraged by choking or difficulties.
Seek Professional Guidance: A coach or experienced friend observing you can quickly spot and correct errors.
Practice in Shallow Water: Ensures safety and builds confidence.
Use Training Aids: Kickboards, snorkels, etc., can be helpful during specific practice phases.
Truly mastering swimming lies not in how powerfully you pull, but in how calmly you breathe. Each turn to inhale is a conversation between your body and the water – learn to listen to its rhythm, and you will move freely within it.
Mastering breathing takes time and patience. Take these techniques to the pool and practice step-by-step. Soon, you’ll find that breathing is no longer an obstacle to your swimming, but the force propelling you forward.
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