Guide To Breathing Effectively in Freestyle For Triathlon

Learning Objectives: Get past the annoying problem in freestyle of trying to breathe- and get air in your lungs without disrupting your stroke, and wasting valuable energy.

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Learning freestyle is typically a step-by-step process, where you learn one thing, and build upon that skill to learn the next thing. After a few weeks of learning and practicing drills, you start to get how freestyle should go.

DO's

Focus on exhaling over inhaling
Keep your head from moving when not breathing
Avoid lifting your head to breathe
Avoid over-rotating
Learn to bilateral breathe

DON'Ts

Not Getting Enough Air
Extended Arm Sinks While Taking a Breath (elbow drops)
Speed is Sacrificed because of a “Pause” While Breathing
Difficulty breathing while navigating in a race
Sucking In Water While Taking a Breath

Here are 5 things you MUST know to really get breathing in freestyle and 5 common mistakes and their remedies!

1. Focus on exhaling over inhaling. Many swimmers will forget to exhale underwater, as they are focused on other aspects of their stroke. Then, when they go for a breath, they try to exhale and inhale all at once, causing a long pause in their stroke, and a sinking body. The solution is to practice exhaling underwater. Start with...yes, blowing bubbles! This seems silly, but it’s allowing you to get used to the exhalation underwater process. Soon enough, it will feel normal and even relaxing to be able to exhale slowly as you swim, and inhale when you rotate to breathe.
2. Keep your head from moving when not breathing. Another common problem with breathing is the head the rotates with the body. Practice keeping your head still (picture 1.1) by focusing on the pool bottom, and pretending there is a hot cup of coffee on the back of your head that you do not want to spill. (when you need air, the cup magically disappears and you can then rotate you head. :))

breathing-pic1

3. Avoid lifting your head to breathe. This is what most people do, and it stops them dead in their swimming tracks! Instead, breathe to the side as you rotate your hips. It won’t feel natural at first, but soon you will discover how to breathe in the “pocket” that’s created to your side as you move forward (even slowly).
4. Avoid over-rotating. Sometimes swimmers will rotate and try to breathe to the side, but their hips are so over-rotated (at a 90 degree angle) that they are actually looking straight up to breathe. This over-rotation causes a loss of balance, and sinking. This typically creates a scissor kick- which instead of moving you forward, is your brain’s way of trying to keep you balanced in the water. To fix this, practice the side kicking drill (picture 1.2), and when you breathe, focus on having 1 goggle out of the water, and one in. Hint, you will know you are doing this if you exit your workouts with a sore neck.!

breathing-pic2

5. Learn to bilateral breathe (breathe to both sides). For many, this can feel very awkward at first. But learning bilateral breathing will pay huge dividends later. If you are only breathing to one side all or most of the time, your stroke may become asymmetrical- and you won’t be able to swim in a straight line (a terrible problem in the open water!).

Now you have a clear idea of what to focus on. But it’s a guarantee that you will still make some mistakes when you set out to practice. the next 5 points detail common mistakes (or challenges)- and what to do to remedy them:!

1. Not Getting Enough Air. There are a couple of reasons this typically happens in freestyle. First, make sure you breathe out all of your air before you rotate to take a breath. When learning, some people try to exhale and inhale while they are rolling to the side for air. There simply is not enough time for this! Your exhalations should only be in the water in the form of bubbles. At first the timing may seem difficult, but eventually you will get used to it. Second, you may be sinking as you breathe. Make sure you are rolling to the side to breathe, and not rotating your head and looking straight up. Practicing the side kicking and shark fin drills, as discussed in our Essential Triathlon Swimming DVD and our 5-session online clinic you get by signing up for the Tri Swim Coach newsletter will also help you overcome this challenge.
2. Extended Arm Sinks While Taking a Breath (elbow drops). This is mainly a balance issue. While you breathe to one side, your other arm should be extending. For many swimmers, this extended arm pushes down into the water and they are sinking while trying to inhale. The side kicking and shark fin drills will also help to improve this. Another drill that will help here, also discussed in our materials, is the fist drill. This forces you to not use your hands during your pull- thereby improving your balance in the water.!
3. Speed is Sacrificed because of a “Pause” While Breathing. A typical scenario is that you feel like you’re cruising along just fine and then you take a breath and it feels like you’ve just lost all your momentum. To remedy this, when you breathe, concentrate first on breathing to the side (as in #1), then on having your mouth parallel to the water, instead of over the water. The latter will take a while to master, but once you do, it will take care of the pause, and improve your speed overall.
4. Difficulty breathing while navigating in a race. You need to look up to see where you are going, and at the same time grab a breath. How can you do both? Start with bilateral breathing (as in the list above). This will help you to see about where you are without lifting your head up as much. When you need to lift your head up to sight, try not to look straight ahead- this will make your hips sink and throw you off balance. Instead, take a quick peek at your target, roll to the side to breath, and bring your head right back down into position.
5. Sucking In Water While Taking a Breath. In practice, this will sometimes occur because of #1 and #2 above. In a race, the waves may cause the inhalation of water instead of air (bilateral breathing will help here as well). The drills to practice to improve balance and avoid this unpleasant occurrence are the side kicking and shark fin drills, as well as the one-arm drill. To perform the one-arm drill, swim a full stroke with one arm while your other arm rests at your side. Breathe on the opposite side of the stroking arm. This is a difficult drill and takes some practice, but it will pay off!

Breathing in freestyle FAQs

Q: How do I take a breath in freestyle without sinking?
A: There is no “quick fix” when it comes to avoiding sinking when breathing in freestyle. You must practice the balance drills in the pool- kicking on your side, and shark fin drill. These will both help improve your ability to get a full breath of air to the side without sinking.

Q: When do I exhale?
A: The best time to exhale is when your head is down- in the form of bubbles. It’s impossible to breathe in AND out when you rotate to breathe. Exhalation while swimming takes some practice (like walking and chewing gum), but most people find a rhythm here that works.

Q: Why should I learn to breathe on both sides (bilateral breathe)?
A: Bilateral breathing is a great thing to learn for many reasons. It helps you keep a symmetrical stroke, and allows you to more easily navigate in the open water. It can also save you from shoulder injuries, as you put all the pressure on one side when you only breathe one way. However, if one of the sides you breathe on is much more challenging than the other, don’t force things. Master your “good” side first, then add in breathing to your weaker side.

Q: How do I breathe and sight during a race?
A: There are two ways of doing this. One is, peek your goggles up (looking forward picture 1.3) and roll to the side for air, all in one movement. The second way is to roll to the side to breathe, then look forward above the water, right before you put your head back down.

breathing-pic3

Q: I get out of breath quickly; what am I doing wrong?
A: It could be several things, so check to make sure you are
– Not holding your breath!
– You are rotating your hips properly
– Breath to your side and not straight ahead or at an angle (these use
more energy than to the side and prevent you from taking in more oxygen.

Q: What’s the one goggle rule and why is it important?
A: When breathing you only want one eye out of the water and the other just below the surface. This allows you to keep your pace and not break the rhythm of your stroke. This will take some time to get, so don’t worry about being able to do this until you’ve practiced everything else for a while

Q: Should I use a snorkel?
A: Snorkels are good when first learning to swim to help with proper body position, but be careful that you do not rely on them too much. You can become dependent on them, which will ultimately inhibit learning to breath properly.

Conclusion:

Thank you for going through our Ultimate Guide to Breathing In Freestyle For Triathlon. We hope you’ve enjoyed the tips and instruction, and are able get closer to a smooth, fluid freestyle that helps you save energy and go faster in the water!

For more on freestyle mastery and to get a copy of our Essential Triathlon Swimming Video Based Training visit us at:
http://triswimcoach.com

Good luck and see you at the pool.