A huge number of our swimmers come to us as they have difficulty when breathing in the water. 😟 Many people associate swimming with feeling short of breath, tightness in the chest, water going up the nose, ‘drinking’ the water and generally feeling uncomfortable when it comes to breathing.
For many people, the ‘breathing barrier’ is a psychological problem. On land, we don’t think about breathing at all. With swimming when you put your face in the water the option to breathe in is taken away and we subconsciously panic that we will ‘run out of breath’ or choke on the water.
We will let you in on the most widespread mistake we find with breathing. After taking a breath in and putting face in the water, it is common to want to hold on that breath and not let it go, and then lift up and go to breathe in again straight away. Many people will not even realise they are either only partially exhaling or completely missing out on the exhalation phase. Exhalation is the most important part of the breathing process. To get a full breath in, you need to fully exhale.
Anyone who has done a Salty Fit lesson or course will be familiar with being told to blow bubbles. To fully exhale all the air in your lungs (that’s 5 litres!), you need to blow out lots and lots of bubbles in the water. Next time you are at the pool, see if you can fully exhale every time you put your face in the water.
Once you master the exhalation process, you will find you get an easier and better breath in. As your breathing improves, you will find other elements of your swimming much easier. You will relax in the water and therefore float better. More efficient breathing means you have more oxygenated blood in your body and will, therefore, feel less tired when swimming! 😊
Sounding all a lot easier said than done?! Week 1 of both our Ultimate Beginner and Build Your Style courses focus entirely on breathing. If you want to get rid of all that head noise and finally learn to breathe properly, we can definitely help you out. Our next courses start the first week of October. Book in now or give us a call on 0437374715 or email at info@saltyfit.com.au
