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How to Breathe While Swimming

One of the most important skills in swimming is learning how to breathe correctly.

Swimming and Breathing

Improving your breathing while swimming will help your performance. Kidzworld teaches you how to maximize your O2 while you are in the H20!

The Importance of Breathing

Swimming is a very physically demanding sport, so you need to maximize your energy as much as possible. Being able to breathe efficiently is vital in swimming because you will be slowed down if you are not doing it correctly. Your fatigue will affect your rhythm, technique and, if you are swimming competitively, your time. They say the most important skill in swimming isn't your stroke or kick, but rather your breathing. There are many techniques in competitive swimming where you follow a breathing pattern. For example, taking a breath every four strokes or eight strokes, etc. Although we won't get into specific breathing patterns, here are a few general things you can do to breathe more efficiently in the water.

Tips

As you start to put your face in the water, release a little air from your nose to prevent water from going through your nose.
Keep your mouth closed whenever your face in under water.
One of the biggest mistakes people do is trying to exhale and inhale at the same time. There is not enough time to do both. So right before your face emerges from the water should exhale in the water in the form of bubbles, then inhale as much as possible when your head comes out of the water.
Make sure you are rolling to the side to breathe. In order to prevent sucking in water, make sure you aren't sinking when you breathe - take your breath on your upward motion.
Keep a rhythm when you are swimming. If you don't have a rhythm, then your breathing pattern will be inconsistent causing you to get tired more easily.
Keep your body relaxed. When your body is not in panic mode, you will breathe easier and your body will perform better.