New to swimming - how to regulate breathing?

[Anonymous]

I never learned how to swim properly. I can get across a pool with something that looks like an awkward combination of dog-paddle and crawl, but it's not graceful. I'd like to swim better, but I'm really stuck on the breathing tempo.

I'm taking a breath every second right-arm stroke. But by the time I'm halfway across the pool, I'm gasping for air. I end up having to keep my head up for a couple strokes to catch my breath, even though I don't feel physically tired - more like I'm hyperventilating.

Is there a breathing technique or rhythm that is more effective? Is this something that a good swim coach could help figure out? Or do I just need to keep doing it and I'll eventually get used to it?

[Anonymous]

Are you exhaling underwater? You need to get rid of the air in your lungs first before you can have room to inhale fresh air when you bring your face out to breathe. (Teaching kids to blow bubbles underwater isn't just for fun and for getting used to wet faces!) You might not be able to exhale completely underwater in time to turn your face and inhale fresh air, but getting rid of most of that "old" air steadily in advance will make room for the new breath you need to take. Otherwise you're just trying to top off lungs that are already full of CO2 with little gasps for extra oxygen, and that doesn't work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are you exhaling underwater? You need to get rid of the air in your lungs first before you can have room to inhale fresh air when you bring your face out to breathe. (Teaching kids to blow bubbles underwater isn't just for fun and for getting used to wet faces!) You might not be able to exhale completely underwater in time to turn your face and inhale fresh air, but getting rid of most of that "old" air steadily in advance will make room for the new breath you need to take. Otherwise you're just trying to top off lungs that are already full of CO2 with little gasps for extra oxygen, and that doesn't work.

Thanks - yes, I am. I take a big breath in, then put my face back down and exhale slowly until the next time I turn my head for a breath. I'm blowing bubbles the whole time my face is down.

[Anonymous]

Try practicing going longer between breaths, ironically, so you get more air out before you try to take air in. Our DCs' coaches have them drill 3 arm pulls, then breathe on the 3rd, then 5 arm pulls and breathe on the 5th. That makes you alternate sides and also makes you try taking a little longer between breaths. You can play with the numbers, too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you exhaling underwater? You need to get rid of the air in your lungs first before you can have room to inhale fresh air when you bring your face out to breathe. (Teaching kids to blow bubbles underwater isn't just for fun and for getting used to wet faces!) You might not be able to exhale completely underwater in time to turn your face and inhale fresh air, but getting rid of most of that "old" air steadily in advance will make room for the new breath you need to take. Otherwise you're just trying to top off lungs that are already full of CO2 with little gasps for extra oxygen, and that doesn't work.

Thanks - yes, I am. I take a big breath in, then put my face back down and exhale slowly until the next time I turn my head for a breath. I'm blowing bubbles the whole time my face is down.

Just a warning, I also learned from youtube. I used to do like you did - slowly exhale. The issue is, this made me sink. So now I exhale right before I took my breath. I can swim a lot of laps without stopping now. Give it a try.

[Anonymous]

This may be specific to me, but when I started I was trying to exhale out all the air in my lungs and this was making me run out of time before I needed to take my next breath, so my intake was not as long as it needed to be. It didn't take too many cycles before I was gasping for air.

Once I allowed myself to breathe out whatever air I could naturally get out in the time I had, my breathing became not too panicked.

I was an adult learner, and maybe I was too pendantic about breathing out all my air. Not sure if this is an issue for you, but thought I'd share. Good luck!