I’ve only gotten back into swimming in the last 6 or so months. When it comes to exhaling underwater, should I hold my breath for one count, then exhale from my mouth? Or am I supposed to exhale as soon as my head is back in the water (after the inhale)?
Exhale as soon as your face reenters the water. You don’t need to be holding your breath; you can let it out consistently until you take your next breath.
Inhaling oxygen is just as important as exhaling carbon dioxide. I slowly exhale through the nose as soon as the inhale is complete and do a last quick and forceful exhale through the mouth right before the next inhale. Breathing should be continuous and feel quite natural.
No need to hold your breath; it’ll make you more tired. Some swimmers breathe every 2 strokes (I personally do 3-5). A coach and ex Olympian told me and others that when we’re doing out-of-water exercise, e.g. walking, running, we don’t hold our breaths and breathe when we need to, so why wouldn’t we do this in swimming? My regular coach tries to get us to breathe less, probably to decrease tiredness from turning our head to breathe. I guess it’s what works for you at the end of the day.
Start exhaling slowly as soon as your face enters the water. Sometimes I’ll breathe out a tiny bit more during the catch. You always keep enough oxygen in your lungs to NOT trigger the carbon dioxide build-up. I breathe every 5 strokes with a 2 beat kick. As my head is starting to rotate out of the water, I give a quick breath out and suck in.
Try holding the wall with 2 hands and experiment with long, slow exhales (or bubbles) from mouth or nose or both. Then, experiment with short sharp exhales. Then try medium. Then try switching between all 3, long, medium, and short.
I wouldn’t actively exhale much with your face in the water, maybe a little leaking, then a full exhale before breathing.