Proper Breathing While Swimming in an Olympic Pool

Learning how to breathe properly when you're swimming freestyle can help you maximize your oxygen use in the water, increase endurance and make your workouts more effective. Doing laps in a 164-foot Olympic swimming pool is much more taxing than in a standard pool (48 to 100 feet). In an Olympic pool you need to maintain a steady breathing pattern much longer.

  1. Breathing While Swimming

    • Your focus should be on timing your breaths and getting enough air in your lungs between strokes. Initially, try wearing a nose plug while swimming laps to get a feel for the timing of your breaths. Ideally, you should let your need to breathe determine the rate of breaths. Once you feel comfortable enough to swim without a nose plug it is time to learn specific techniques for breathing in the water.

    Basics

    • Breathing while swimming freestyle requires you to rotate your head to the side, but what you should do is shift your shoulders to help prevent the disruption of your swimming technique. Incorporate the shoulder shift into your stroke by harnessing the natural side-to-side movement that occurs while swimming. This is especially helpful in an Olympic-size pool, where each stroke needs to be as efficient as possible to conserve energy.

    "Bowl" Technique

    • One of the most effective ways to become comfortable with the in-and-out flow of air while swimming is known as the "bowl technique." This involves submerging your face in a large bowl of water for a period of time while breathing in a manner similar to the breathing pattern used in swimming. Begin by resting your lips slightly below the surface of the water to get used to breathing out of the corners of your mouth. When this becomes comfortable, submerge your mouth and nose entirely while letting out a light, steady stream of air. This prevents water from getting into your air passages while swimming and is the first step toward proper breathing in the water. Try this technique the next time you are doing laps in the pool.

    Rhythmic Breathing

    • Move on to rhythmic breathing by alternately taking a breath every three strokes. Then lower it to two. Try different combinations of strokes and breaths until you find one that suits your particular stroke. Only lift your face out of the water far enough to get a decent breath. Any more will disrupt your stride and disturb your balance in the water.

    Breath Control

    • Stay relaxed while you are breathing in the water to avoid disrupting your balance and stride. Air in your lungs keeps your body more buoyant in the water, so aim to release air from your nose and mouth slowly and steadily over a few seconds. Breathe out the rest of the air in your lungs as you emerge for another breath. Maintain a steady, smooth stroke while coming up for air. Resist the urge to jerk your head out of the water to "catch" a breath. In an Olympic pool, breath control will make it easier to the swim longer distances more fluidly.