How do I correct my breathing?
The problem is while swimming front crawl I tend to swallow air while breathing. I don't notice this phenomenon until I get out of the pool and on my bike or start running.
While running after swallowing air it feels like someone has stabbed me with a knife and is twisting it. In my last triathlon it more than doubled my running time turning me from a sub-9 runner to a 18+min/miler.
The only reason I know that I am swallowing air while swimming is the fact this phenomenon occurs after every swim and about an hour after the swim my ass starts gusting wind like a hurricane.
How can I correct this?
Posted Jan 31, 2011, 1:37 AM UTC
24
i used to teach little kids how to swim and i have been a competitive swimmer for most of my life... i ran into this situation 2 or 3 times with the kids... it is my theory that this happens when you turn your head a little more than you should while taking air because it turns your trachea and might send the air in a different direction... i always told the kids to turn their bodies a little more when they breathe so that it is the body doing the work and not the neck... i'd suggest you try this a couple sessions and hopefully it will help you.
Be careful with over-rotating your body- you definitely do not want to turn to breathe from the neck, but opening your body up to breathe is can be a bit tricky, and dangerous to those who's strokes are not perfect. You should be able to get a full breath of air when the middle of your deeper goggle is halfway underwater: this usually lines up exactly with the corner of your mouth, allowing a full inhalation.
Turning your head more can completely throw off your stroke, and is not at all guaranteed to help your air intake. make sure you are exhaling slowly and through your nose after you take a breath; by a slightly longer exhalation, you'll be more aware of how much air you are taking in.
It sounds like you are actually gulping your air when you swim. Try to moderate your breathing- you know how to breathe when you're running or biking- its the same idea- you don't have to change how you breathe in just because you are in a different element.
Make sure you are breathing to both sides! This will help control when and how often and hopefully how much air you are taking in. by breathing every 3 strokes, it will not only benefit your actual stroke, but you have a balance and control to your oxygen intake, hopefully lessening your gulping air, and leaving your insides painless and airbubble-free!