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TIP 1: FOCUS ON EXHALING, NOT INHALING
Breathing well is first and foremost exhaling well
You can either exhale either through your mouth or through your mouth and nose, but you must only inhale through your mouth with lifeguard recertification near me.
In addition, exhalation must be active , even slightly forced because of the resistance of the water. Which is different from the exhalation that everyone knows, the one done without even thinking about it in the aerobic environment and which is naturally passive. In swimming, we speak of reflex inspiration and active expiration .
The most common problem is that the swimmer does not exhale enough underwater
If you exhale fully underwater during the inhale interval, you only have to inhale when you turn your head out of the water, that makes things easier. In addition, if the exhalation is not complete, a feeling of suffocation quickly appears and, after a few meters, even if you are an accomplished athlete, you will find yourself in a state of suffocation... which is normal because you do not emit enough. It builds up in your bloodstream and especially your lungs, and as you go, your inhale becomes smaller and smaller, creating that feeling of suffocation. Hence the importance of exhaling all your air in a constant, continuous and total way between each inspiration: this is a key point.
A little exercise that can help you: learn to let yourself flow
Place yourself in the deepest part of the pool, inhale normally then let yourself sink while exhaling slowly (if the exhalation is too fast or too weak, it is impossible to sink or else, you sink a little then you resurface after).
- Do this exercise several times to achieve:
- • to be totally comfortable letting yourself sink;
- • reach the bottom of the pool quickly;
- • to stay there until you feel ready to inhale again (then rise to the surface by pushing on the bottom).
If you are surprised that you have to exhale hard to sink, it shows you that you are not exhaling hard enough in your swim. If you're surprised by being totally relaxed while sinking, maybe you didn't realize how tense you were before. The feeling of sinking is something we naturally dread – it's what gives you tension when swimming.
If you feel really good, try sitting at the bottom of the water or, harder, lying on your back and quietly watching your bubbles rise to the surface. For novice swimmers the 'let it sink' exercise is also important, start by crouching where you can stand and put your head just below the water level, gradually you will go into deeper water with Lifeguard Class Near Me.\
TIP 2: WHEN YOU'RE NOT BREATHING, KEEP YOUR HEAD STRAIGHT
Between each inhale, keep your head in one position. Do not let it rotate with the rotations of your body, this leads to disturbances in coordination.
To position your head correctly, focus on a point on the bottom of the pool about 1 meter in front of you. Just turn your head to breathe.
It will feel a bit strange at first, but you will quickly feel much better about your swim.
If you have trouble keeping your head up, try this visualization: imagine a half-filled champagne glass is on top of your head and you have to keep it very steady otherwise it will empty.
TIP 3: INHALE INTO THE AIR POCKET
When you move through the water, you create a wave with your head and your body, just like the bow of a boat.
The shape of this wave allows water to drain down the face of the swimmer creating a dip on either side of your head and lowering the surface level of the water so there is looks lower than you might expect.
Breathe into this hollow and you won't have to lift your head to inhale, what some swimmers call "breathing into the air pocket" as if there is an air pocket present right there, next to your head.
You don't have to swim fast to create it, even a slow swim will form it and be enough for you to breathe in.
Many swimmers don't realize the presence of this air pocket and try to raise their head or rotate their head to inhale. This is a big mistake and we will see why.
TIP 4: DON'T LIFT YOUR HEAD
The problem with lifting your head to inhale is that your upper body straightens, your stroke is no longer streamlined, and your legs sink. This leads to quantities of aerodynamic disturbances. Assume that your body moves forward with the propulsion gained from your arm movements and kicking. The movement of the arms is formed by an alternating rotation of the arms.
Let's start from the postulate of “right” breathing: the right hand is at the end of the push, it comes out of the water, the left hand is stretched forward, the body then performs a slight rotation on the right side, the head follows the movement, the air pocket is created, the inspiration takes place at this precise moment. As soon as the right hand reaches eye level, the upper body and the head return to the axis: this is the moment of active and continuous exhalation. And this cycle is repeated laterally or bilaterally depending on whether you breathe every 2 or 3 arm movements.
If you raise your head in search of air, you will disturb the formation of the air pocket, so you will tend to breathe too far forward or too high. Your body will be unbalanced, the air pocket will not form, you will seek it even higher or further and a vicious circle is established.
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