Breathing when learning front crawl
/It’s become very obvious over the last 5 years + of running Sea Swim Cornwall that breathing or simply the act of putting your face in the water is quite a big barrier to swimming front crawl for a lot of people. The other issue is that if you haven’t mastered breathing, it makes it incredibly difficult to then work on your leg kick, arm pull, body position etc when you’re still focused on your breathing. Over the last few years we’ve developed a nice little exercise that introduces breathing technique slowly and in a safe and controlled environment.
Step 1 : this can be done in the open water but I think it’s far better done at home. Simply fill the bath up, then sit on your knees and put your face in the water. You’re simply looking to breath out in the water and then bring your face up and out of the water and breath in. These aren’t big breathes, where you’re filling your lungs up. They’re shorter, sharper and quicker breathes. Repeat this for 5-10 minutes until you’r enice and comfortable doing it at quick intervals.
Step 2 : Once you get used to step 1 try and progress to lying flat in the water (on your knees) and breathing to the side…as you would swimming. You’re then looking to having your face in the water for around 2 seconds (breathing out), turn your head to the side and breath in for around 1 second. Keep repeating this for an initial period of around 30 seconds and once you start to get more confident extend the time period to 1 minute +.
Alternative : you can also try this in the open water or with a bucket full of water. Simply stand just deeper than waist depth and lean forward and follow the steps above.
Step 3 : not really a step. Just remember that in the open water the water is a lot colder! Acclimatise to the temperature before trying these breathing exercises. Don’t go straight in and start try them whilst gasping for air and getting used to the cold!
Step 3 : once you’re comfortable with your breathing start to them work on your stroke. Particularly breathing whilst using your arms.
Remember : worth being aware that lots of people that start swimming front crawl in the open water get worried about taking in a mouth full of water. They try to avoid this by over-rotating and bringing their mouth as far away from the water as possible (effectively looking up). This is fine in the very short-term. The problem with doing this long term is that you’re over rotating to achieve this high breathing position. To prevent yourself from rolling too far over and flipping onto your back your leg kick often then become wider (like the stabilisers on a bike). This in turn creates drag and slows you don’t, as well as sapping your energy and preventing you from getting into a rhythm.
Moving forward : it really depends on your lung capacity but you generally want to breath every 2 if your swimming distance. You can breath 3…and you might find that you swim a little straighter doing so. You do this to try and stay in the aerobic energy system for as long as possible…ie. you continue to use Oxygen. If you go into your anaerobic system earlier than you need to, you’ll more than likely find that you get tired and stiff far earlier.
