Swim Breathing Fundamentals

Understand why holding your breath increases the urge to breathe and leads to panic.

“Holding your breath actually makes you feel like you're more desperate for air cause the buildup of carbon dioxide in your lungs and blood will trick your mind.”

Learn the concept of trickle breathing: exhaling continuously while your face is in the water.

“Once you've taken that breath, start exhaling as soon as your face is back in the water and there should be a constant stream of bubbles known as trickle breathing.”

Learn to time your head rotation with your arm movement for smooth breathing.

“When your arm is going just past your head, that's when you should be rotating on the opposite side to breathe.”

Kick on your side with arms down, rotating your head slightly to breathe.

“This is a really straightforward one. It's gonna be a side kick with your arms down by your side. If you're swimming along next to the wall I want you just to be facing the wall and then turning your head slightly to breathe and then you can flip round to make sure you do it on the other side coming back.”

Take one stroke, followed by six kicks on one side, focusing on constant breathing.

“Six kicks, one stroke. You're basically gonna take one stroke and then kick six times on one side and that's to teach you constant breathing on the surface of the water before taking another stroke and switching sides.”

Swim using only one arm while practicing breathing on one side, then rotate to breathe on the other.

“You can start off with one arm out in front, you're swimming just say with your right arm breathing to the right side but then to make it a little bit harder put your left arm down by your side, keep swimming with your right, breathing on this side but then when you've got that mastered you can actually rotate to the other side and breathe over there as you would when you're swimming.”

Take three strokes then breathe to the right, five strokes breathe to the left, seven strokes, breathe to the right again.

“So the 3-5-7 drill is a great way to practise bilateral breathing, so you're gonna take three strokes then breathe to the right, five strokes breathe to the left, seven strokes, breathe to the right again. By the seventh stroke you're gonna feel a little bit out of breath and it's gonna replicate that hypoxic training like lack of oxygen that you get in the open water from time to time but then don't worry, you're back into three strokes then again.”

Roll yourself into a ball and trickle breathe as you sink to the bottom of the pool, focusing on relaxation.

“So sink downs or sinking mushrooms are a technique where you roll yourself up into a little ball and then trickle breathe the oxygen from your lungs really slowly as you sink down to the bottom of the pool but this makes you relax and get used to letting oxygen out really really slowly.”