Freestyle swimming: When do you stop exhaling?

Asked by: Amy Wilcox

Rule: As with one-sided breathing, it’s important to exhale fully whenever your face is in the water. Holding your breath even a little makes you tense up and causes the sensation that you can’t get enough oxygen. But it’s really a buildup of carbon dioxide in your lungs that you’re struggling with.

When should a swimmer exhale?

Every swimmer is different. Some swimmers feel more comfortable breathing every other stroke, while others swim 3-5 strokes between breaths. We suggest breathing after every 3 strokes.

Where should you breathe out during freestyle swimming?

You want to turn your head to breathe as your body rotates to the side. So this should be just as your arm is starting the recovery phase of the stroke.

At what portion of the freestyle stroke should you exhale oxygen?

If we breath once every second stroke, then we blow out once as the face returns to the water. This puff represents 40-50% of the available air. If we are breathing once every third stroke, then we exhale two short puffs of air at every hand entry.

When swimming freestyle you should not breathe to the side?

Most swimmers prefer breathing on one side, but it helps to practice bilateral breathing: breathing on both sides. You can work on breathing on your non-dominant side by breathing every 3 strokes or 5 strokes during your warm up or during specific sets during your workouts.

How do you exhale when swimming?

So how did you get that breath in well when you're swimming you want to stay streamlined. As possible well then tilt your head just enough that you can get that breath in yeah it's about the timing.

How do you properly exhale?

Diaphragmatic breathing steps



Close the mouth and take a slow breath in through the nose, while feeling the abdomen rise and inflate like a balloon. Breathe out slowly through pursed lips, as if blowing bubbles, with each expiratory breath taking about two to three times as long as each inhalation.

How do you breathe while freestyling?

Bilateral Breathing



Not only is it vital to learn proper breathing during the freestyle, but experts say you also need to breathe properly on alternate sides. This bilateral breathing — inhaling and exhaling, in turn, on both your right and left sides — is most swimmers’ preferred breathing method.

Do you exhale underwater while swimming?

Breathe Out – Most novice swimmers tend to hold their breath underwater instead of breathing out when swimming. When your face is submerged in water, you should be breathing out gently and bubbles should come out of your mouth or nose.

Do you exhale through your nose or mouth when swimming?

Many experienced and elite swimmers are able to achieve sufficient exhalation primarily through their noses. For less experienced swimmers, this takes practice—the important thing is to exhale sufficiently so that you’re ready to inhale as soon as the mouth clears the water during the breathing phase of the stroke.

What are the five biggest mistakes of the swimmers in freestyle?

Polish Your Freestyle Swimming Technique – Avoid These 5 Common Mistakes

• Mistake #1: Head position. …
• Mistake #2: Arm extension and pull. …
• Mistake #3: Body rotation. …
• Mistake #4: Kick. …
• Mistake #5: Breathing.

Should you breathe every stroke in freestyle?

Many swim coaches and swimmers believe that breathing every cycle in freestyle swimming is as good as it gets with respect to respiratory rate, but that is not true. A swimmer can learn, and particularly with a low-profile breathing technique, to breathe consecutively to both sides.

Why does Michael Phelps breathe every stroke?

The position of the hips being higher than the head is a necessary artifact of the butterfly stroke. They have to be high so they can counterbalance the raising of the shoulders and head to breathe, which Michael Phelps does every stroke.

Does swimming burn belly fat?

However, it should be noted that regular swimming doesn’t specifically target belly fat. Rather, it burns any excess fat that your body has reserved for energy, regardless of whether this fat is located on your stomach, hips, thighs, or other parts of your body.

What is the most difficult and exhausting swimming stroke?

the butterfly

The most difficult and exhausting stroke is the butterfly; second only to the crawl in speed, it is done in a prone position and employs the dolphin kick with a windmill-like movement of both arms in unison.

Do 50m freestyle swimmers breathe?

In the 50m free, swimmers dive into the water and crawl as fast as they can for one length of the pool. That’s the entire race. And most of them do it without breathing.

How often do Olympic freestyle swimmers breathe?

The most common bilateral breathing patterns for freestyle swimmers are to either take a breath every three or five strokes. Breathing every three strokes would mean you would first take a breath on one side, then keep your head in the water for two strokes before breathing to your other side.

Why do Olympic swimmers breathe every 2?

Burning oxygen as fuel is part of what swimmers do. But training a breathing pattern such as breathing every third stroke is also beneficial for learning how to relax those parts of your body that aren’t helping you swim and for decreasing oxygen demand.

Do Olympic swimmers breathe bilaterally?

Many elite swimmers do not race bilateral but they train practising bilateral breathing. An effective training method is to swim alternating breathing side every 25.

Should you breathe every 2 or 3 strokes?

Breathe every two strokes—one second inhale, one second exhale. The regularity feeds oxygen to your body consistently, allowing your body to perform more efficiently and for much longer.

Does Michael Phelps breathe bilaterally?

And when he comes back he'll breathe on his right side for 25 meters so that he's getting symmetry in the breathing.

Why does Katie Ledecky breathe every stroke?

Breathing to one side can help you maintain good stroke rhythm for the duration of a race, especially the 200 and up. During her breathing, Katie sometimes lifts her head forward, which causes her to fall out of proper body position slightly.

Who is the best freestyle swimmer?

Top 10 Swimmers of All Time

• Mark Spitz, born 1950. …
• Michael Phelps, born 1985. …
• Aleksandr Popov, born 1971. …
• Pieter van den Hoogenband, born 1978. …
• Johnny Weissmuller, born 1904 – died 1984. …
• Grant Hackett, born 1980. …
• Krisztina Egerszegi, born 1974. …
• Debbie Meyer, born 1952.

What is Katie Ledecky’s best stroke?

Ledecky uses a short left stroke, followed by a long right one, while breathing on her right side every other stroke, and repeating the pattern. “She’s able to really lean into each arm,” Sweetser said. “That’s key to her success.

What is Ledecky’s best stroke?

Her 1,500-m stroke is more similar to her 200-m stroke than her 200-m stroke is similar to her 1,500-m stroke.” Swimming the 200-m and the 1,500-m—and excelling at both distances—is the equivalent of Allyson Felix running the 400-m and the 5,000-m and being competitive in both, says Gaines.

Why are some swimmers faster than others?

Some are slower and some are faster than others. Factors such as the depth of the pool, water temperature, gutter design, lane ropes, and lane width—and even the number of the people in the pool—can all affect your swim speed.

Is Ledecky better than Phelps?

Katie Ledecky ties Phelps’ record



With that, she tied the record of Michael Phelps, winning the award a record 7 times. Notably, Katie won her signature events at Tokyo Olympics; the 800-meters and the 1500-meters. Although she could not win the 400-meters, she still finished with a silver medal at that event.