Learning to Swim / Breathing

General Forum
1

I started swimming in my neighborhood pool a few weeks ago. Every time I did it, I swam a little further than the time before. Or to state it differently, I seemed to progress quickly.

Then I started swimming in the pool at my gym. Same thing… I eventually could swim from one end of the pool to the other three times before I had to stop to catch my breath.

That’s when my back started hurting. After googling, I found out why. I was swimming with my head above the water the entire time, which is terrible form and causes the kind of back pain I was having.

I have since watched some youtube videos that explain how to swim with your face in the water. I have no problem doing that, but inhaling when I come up is not working. I invariably end up with a mouth of nose full of water.

My timing is not correct but I have not figured out how to fix it. As a result, I have signed up for swimming lessons. Hopefully the instructor will be able to show me what I am doing wrong.

In the meantime, if you have any youtube videos that you think may help, let me know. Thanks in advance!

2

Start at the wall, practice freestyle arms, bubbles, and breathing every 4 strokes. Progress slowly!

3

Thanks for that. I have been doing a variation of that already. The biggest issue I have is how to inhale without getting water in my mouth or nose. I’ll keep working on it.

4

When you inhale, you should use your mouth, and you should exhale with your nose or mouth with your head in the water.

5

Rotate your body 30° with each stroke. It eases breathing and improves swimming. Slow down and relax!

6

Thanks for the reply. I am working on some drills to improve my breathing.