Freestyle swimming: Where to breath in (chest vs. stomach)?

Asked by: Mark Doninger

Where do you breathe when you swim in freestyle?

Rule: Coordinate your strokes with your breathing. Drill: While standing in the shallow end with your head in the water, take a few practice stationary strokes, using your arms and repeating bubble, bubble, breathe on right side; bubble, bubble, breathe on left side.

Should you breath with your chest or stomach?

Proper breathing starts in the nose and then moves to the stomach as your diaphragm contracts, the belly expands and your lungs fill with air. “It is the most efficient way to breathe, as it pulls down on the lungs, creating negative pressure in the chest, resulting in air flowing into your lungs.”

Should you breathe on both sides when swimming freestyle?

It can be done, but it isn’t required to enjoy your swimming. If bilateral breathing causes discomfort and you just don’t want to take the time to learn to breathe on your other side, just keep breathing to one side.
May 5, 2021

How are you supposed to breathe when swimming?

You should inhale the entire time your face is clear of the water. Some swimmers try to hold their breath while submerged and then inhale and exhale while their face is out of the water. Holding your breath will cause you to tire quickly, and breath-holding can actually lead to a loss of consciousness.

How is proper breathing executed in a freestyle stroke swimming?

To breathe, the swimmer turns his head to the side during the arm recovery until his mouth is above the water surface. The swimmer inhales quickly and then turns his head back down. The exhalation begins as soon as the mouth is under the water surface again and continues until the next breathing arm recovery.
Mar 26, 2021

What is freestyle breathing technique?

So the cycle of breathing should be an inhale, followed by a slow-release exhale (while swimming), and then lastly–a HUGE exhale right before you turn your head to take the next breath.
Jul 19, 2019

Should you breathe with your stomach?

The correct way to breathe is called belly breathing, also known as diaphragmatic breathing or horizontal breathing. What you do is inhale using your belly. Your belly should come outward as you take in air, and you’ll feel your lungs opening up. This draws oxygen all the way down into the bottom of your lungs.
Dec 14, 2020

What is the difference between belly breathing and diaphragmatic breathing?

The difference between belly and diaphragmatic breathing



In other words, the difference between belly breathing and diaphragmatic breathing is that diaphragmatic breathing allows for even deeper breaths than belly breathing by engaging the side and back body.
Aug 1, 2021

Is belly breathing good?

This technique helps to slow down your breathing so you can catch your breath and use less energy to breathe. When you feel short of breath, belly breathing helps get more oxygen into your lungs and calms you down so you can better control your breath.
Feb 27, 2020

What is the recommended way of breathing in and breathing out in 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. Breathe In – Most swimmers breath in through their mouth.

How often should you breathe in freestyle?

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. It is important to keep a streamlined position on the surface of the water while breathing.
Feb 10, 2020

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.
Feb 28, 2019

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 do Olympic swimmers breathe on one side?

Helps to develop a symmetrical and balanced stroke with equal power on both sides, reducing chance of shoulder injury. Helps to swim straight in open water races and keeps options open – e.g. breathing away from swell, keeping eye on competitors.

Why do Olympic swimmers only breathe on one side?

Swimmers are suspended by their buoyancy and the density of the water and aren’t going to fall anywhere. There does need to be some balance in propulsion since the hands and feet that are generating propulsion are doing so on one side or the other side of the midline of the swimmer’s body.
Jan 13, 2021

Why do Olympic swimmers breathe every 2 strokes?

It gives you breath control.



Most swimmers breathe every two strokes as default. Which means that when it comes to race time, and our example swimmer needs even more oxygen than is typical, they are scrambling to get filled up on oxygen that they need.

Does Michael Phelps breathe every stroke?

Phelps owns the five fastest times in history in the 200 fly and five of the top 10 in the 100. Yet he’s done it by breaking one of the long-standing butterfly tenets: He breathes every stroke, barely lifting his chin above surface level.
Aug 8, 2008

Do you breathe every stroke for 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.
Jun 4, 2019

How do you breathe every three stroke?

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.

What’s the best breathing pattern?

Use the belly



The most efficient way to breathe is by bringing the air down toward the belly. As the diaphragm contracts, the belly expands to fill the lungs with air. “Belly breathing” is efficient because it pulls the lungs downward, creating negative pressure inside the chest.
May 18, 2020