How to Avoid the 4 Biggest Breathing Mistakes in Freestyle Swimming
There are some common questions that arise among new swimmers about how to breathe correctly in freestyle swimming. A swimmer’s ability to swim efficiently depends largely on correct breathing. In freestyle swimming, the body position must be correct before anything else. But for many, once they start breathing… everything goes crazy! This is a result of poor balance and breathing when moving the head and not rotating the body to breathe, plus a few other things.
Here are the four freestyle breathing mistakes and how you can overcome them:
1. not getting enough air
There are a number of reasons why this often happens in freestyle swimming. To start, make sure you exhale all the air before you turn to breathe. When learning, there are some people who try to breathe out and in while turning to the side to get oxygen. There just isn’t enough time to do this! The exhalation should only take place in the water in the form of bubbles. The timing may seem difficult at first, but over time you will get used to it. Second, you may find yourself sinking when you breathe. Be sure to turn to the side to breathe and not turn your head to look up. Practicing side kick drills and shark fin drills, as shown on the Mastering Freestyle show with Australian champion Sam Ashby, will also help you with this challenge.
2. Your leading arm (extended) sinks in as you breathe
This has to do with a lack of balance. When you breathe, your other arm should be extended out in front. For many swimmers, the outstretched arm falls into the water, dropping the elbow and sinking the body as they try to inhale. The side kick drill and shark fin drill mentioned above will also help improve this. Another useful exercise that will help with this challenge is the fist exercise, which is also part of the Mastering Freestyle program. This exercise forces you to swim without the use of your hands, thus improving your balance in the water.
3. Sacrifice speed while “pausing” during your breath
It’s typical for many swimmers to go sailing feeling smooth and comfortable and then you take a breath and it feels like you’ve lost all your momentum. To stop this, when you breathe, first focus on breathing out to the side keeping your mouth parallel to the water’s edge, rather than breathing over the water. It might take a while to perfect, but once you do, you’ll eliminate pausing and improve your overall speed.
Four. suck water when breathing
In training this can happen often due to points 1 and 2 above. There are numerous drills to practice that will help you with this, such as the side kick and shark fin drills, as well as the one-arm drill. The one-arm exercise is simply a full blow but with one arm while the opposite arm rests at your side. Breathe on the opposite side of the stroking arm. This dill isn’t easy, but once you get it you’ll notice a huge improvement in your swimming!