I remember not that long ago starting out swim training for triathlon. A colleague of mine at a gym offered me some swim coaching. Seeing as she was a qualified ASA coach and a very good swimmer herself I jumped at the chance. One of the first things I commented on from my previous experience was that I was unable to swim two lengths without being absolutely wiped out. She was not surprised by my comment at all, as this is a common issue for both new comers to freestyle swimming and to a certain degree those who would class themselves as experienced freestyle swimmers.

Before you start to look at executing perfect swim drills, you really need to look at freestyle breathing. One of the most important things in freestyle swimming is to make sure you fully exhale (breathe out) while your face is in the water so that when you roll to the side to take a breathe, you get maximum intake of oxygen.

Many beginning swimmers because of being tense in the water, completely hold there breathes, then when they roll they have to breathe out fully before they can breathe in again. Swimmers adopting this breathing style get less oxygen in than they other wise could since the time that the mouth is out the water is expelling air rather than taking it in. Usually these swimmers need to breathe every stroke and usually feel wiped out after a short swim, not necessarily from the effort of the swim, but more so because of the lack of oxygen. This becomes a vicious cycle of never really getting maximum oxygen intake before rushing for another. Sound familiar to anyone?

Breathing technique is one of the most important first steps in swimming efficiently and for many swimmers could be more beneficial than swim drill techniques, because without oxygen we cannot perform.

Intensity
It’s a simple fact, that the harder you swim the more oxygen you utilise. While your stroke rate goes up as your intensity and speed increases, it does not increase quite as much as your oxygen consumption. The important point to understand here is that for easy swimming you have no trouble breathing every third, fourth or fifth stroke. However increase the intensity and this is when you need to breathe every two or three strokes to meet the oxygen demand from your body.

Practice Drill
Do a set of five 100 meter swims and alternate between fast and slow throughout the entire 100. Take 20 seconds rest after each 100. Try and experiment with the different breathing patterns to establish what works best.

Bilateral Breathing (Alternate Sides)
Almost each and every one of us has a preferred side to breathe on. Until I was able to master a regular breathing pattern I would always breathe every stroke to my right. The rotation of my body was always better on that side because that’s the side I was rotating on all the time to breathe. However, for efficient swimming we should be comfortable breathing on both sides. Next time you swim imagine a long axis running through your spine that your body rotates around as you rotate to breathe on alternate sides.

By developing the skill of bilateral breathing your stroke will be more balanced by rotating equally to both sides. It will allow you to have a greater range of visibility on each side, which is especially important for open water swimming. Finally, bilateral breathing may also go along way to maximising your oxygen utilisation.

All drills that work on rotation assist in developing a naturally balanced stroke and should therefore be part of every practice.

What breathing pattern should you use?

This depends on a few variables such as your intensity, your lung volume, and how well you transfer oxygen in and out of your mouth. Some swimmers need five strokes to utilise all the oxygen that one full breathe provides yet others will start to fail after three strokes. So how do you find out what’s best for you?

Practice Drill
2 x 100 meter (freestyle) swims with 30 seconds rest as follows

First 25 meters – Breathe every two strokes
Second 25 meters – Breather every three strokes
Third 25 meters – Breathe every four strokes
Fourth 25 meters – Breathe every four strokes

Practice this drill once a week and you’ll find the best breathing pattern to suit. Be sure to fully exhale under water so that when you roll to breathe you are ready to take a full breathe.

Practice Drill
A particularly good breathing practice for beginners or those having trouble mastering freestyle breathing are breathing exercises at the side of the pool. Standing in the shallow end of the pool, bend at the waist while holding onto the side of the pool with one hand. Put the other hand behind your back and place your face in the water.

Fully exhale under water until you are ready to take a breathe. Rotate your body and head to your left side so your mouth exits the water line and you are able to take a full breathe. After taking a full breathe rotate your head so you’re now face down into the water again. Now repeat the process on your right side. Repeat this process until you have completed five breathes on each side, follow this by a 25 or 50 meter swim (depending on confidence) and practice alternate breathing.

Repeat the whole process a further four times.

Next time in swim training we’ll be looking at a few swim specific drills designed to improve your body position, leg and arm mechanics.

Happy training!!

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