This small changed helped one our members, Trent, go from struggling to make 100m to being able to swim 2km without stopping. If you can't swim for long distances, try changing the way you breathe. ES Membership: goo.gl/PXKpGm
50m is my limit without rest and then I have to take a 2 minute rest to catch my breath. Unfortunately, I have to do a 100m pool race 😥 I may or may not literally drown I have 2 weeks to build up stamina before my next swim meet.
Same... I used to get exhausted after 25! I have been getting better over time. I hope the tips in this video will accelerate my progress. I have been exhaling gradually through the nose, but I haven't been taking that forceful exhale in the water before turning for air.
yesterday i did 50m as a test to attend classes. boy I left so bad that I couldn't even talk or build any thought. Some how I passed but I'm afraid of the classes.
I've been swimming for close to 10 years and was accustomed to exhaling slowly but I did not fully exhale before the next breath, after only one or two swim sessions of applying this, it has totally changed the way I swim - truly amazing - thank you so much
@@jackjudefor sprinting it makes a huge difference. The reason why it doesn't in distance is most people don't have the cardiovascular engine to power the legs. They use like 80% of the oxygen. If you've ever used fins, and become proficient, you know the legs can produce power/speed
Adrian Jaramillo I know. I did swim team for 13 years. I also had a chest deformity that restricted my lung capacity. I got that fixed. But the timing can be difficult.
Bruce Wayne if you were in a swim team for 13 years and still couldn’t flip turn how much of a clown are you? You could teach an animal to flip turn in a fraction of that time. Don’t try to “Johnny big balls” it about you swim team exploits, you just make yourself sound like an arrogant tit..... how do you like them apples son?
I'm a long distance swimmer, sometimes swimming up to 3 miles consecutively, and I can agree breathing is 101% everything!!! Your body knows what to do, it's your breathing that you gotta constantly think about :)
I trained 8times a week when corona came and lost interest until now cuz of corona and now my stamina is shit 400metera and I start getting tired like tf use to be able to swim 3k+ (never tried more than that
I just learned to swim a few months ago at the age of 48. I am doing laps at the pool now, but I am one of those still getting exhausted after 50m. I am almost certain it is related to my breathing. I don't have a huge amount of lung capacity either (I am very tiny with a tiny chest). I haven't been able to do a lot of intensive cardio for over two years due to chronic shin splints and stress reactions. I just pause a minute and then do another 50m or switch to backstroke to recover before trying freestyle again. But I would love to be able to do more than 50m at a time. Nevertheless, if I can swim laps for the first time at the age of 48, anyone can learn this!
@@moviedude22 It takes practice, but concentrate on technique and giving as much power to your stroke as you can but RELAX and GLIDE in between the power strokes, your legs during a crawl stroke tend to stay busy, but your upper body and arms (what's doing most of the work) should be in a RHYTHM that includes RELAXING. Try a few laps going full bore with no rest, TENSE ALL THE TIME, no gliding, and no RHYTHM and you'll see how fast you tire, then try it with the natural rhythm and POWER STROKES and you'll see not only can you go MUCH longer, but FASTER to boot. Hope that helps, get to the pool and try it.
Agreed. On my trips to China I was stunned to find that I was nearly the fastest in the pool. I'm on the slower side at home. What I saw the young Chinese men doing was a lot of flailing and slashing trying to keep up with me. I'm by no means an expert. But I would share some techniques that i learned from RU-vid. Here I am approaching 60, and out swimming these kids. Note that I no longer travel there and swim at a Y with many more young competitive swimmers, I have swimmers I can look to to improve myself.
just got hold of this video. I began swimming again after more than 30 years. I need to re-learn. This morning I was out of breath, and here I found the solution. I will watch, learn & apply. Thanks
I first watched this video 2 weeks ago and I couldn't swim for more than 50 meters without stopping. Now I can swim my entire 1 km workout without any involuntary breaks. This changed everything! Thanks for posting guys. Greetings from Maui. Aloha!
I'm very jealous of your change. I see I posted a comment here 3 months ago and since then I've moved my max from 75m to 125 meters. But I can only manage 125m today if I have already warmed up and if I have a 30+ second breathing break before starting. I have to breathe every second stroke to make it that far and every flip turn I get more and more desperate for air on the first stroke. If I swim very slowly and breathe every 3-4 strokes, I can do 25-50m. If I sprint I can manage 50 meters in 40 seconds but I need a full minute break both before and after. I daily run 8 km in 45 minutes without any shortage of breath, so I'm not sure that it's my fitness, even though it seems like the most obvious cause in my view.
@@matheusvinicius7231 I'm not swimming at this level anymore, unfortunately. I don't remember the exact issue I talked about here, but I was able to swim 3000m freestyle in
If you intone, hum a phrase, or ‘sing’ a little while breathing out, a repetitive phrase ( mine goes up at the end which automatically expels the remaining air) it supports both rhythm and breath control, takes away the need to monitor breathing, and allows you to focus on other aspects such as relaxing and checking into all the minutiae of the stroke form.
Overnight improvement! On my last swim I was exhausted after 1x 50 metre lap (requiring 30+ seconds to recuperate). Was able to swim more than 300 metres today without taking a break. Thank you.
Tried this in my swim yesterday. By exhaling both through my nose and mouth my endurance significantly improved immediately! Continuous laps for 1K with no shortness of breath or exhaustion. Thank You!!!
moviedude22 no i consistently exhale through nose and mouth and then right before I rotate to breath I exhale through nose/mouth with more pressure. I then inhale as soon my mouth clears the surface. I ensure to inhale with a big open mouth. Somehow that helps me make a bigger inhalation, which in turn helps me avoid getting into what I call “air deficit” i.e. exhaling more powerfully than inhaling. Hope this helps?
@@brownie1966 Yes! very much so, but I am clearly a bit dense with the finer points of front crawl technique.... So to clarify....simultaneous nose/mouth breathing throughout the stroke, but emphasis on big simultaneous - nose/mouth exhalation just before rotating to inhale? or is it an alternating nose exhale, then mouth exhale leading into a simultaneous nose/mouth breath?
@@moviedude22 You got it i.e. simultaneous nose/mouth breathing throughout the stroke, but emphasis on big simultaneous - nose/mouth exhalation just before rotating to inhale. Give it a try and see if it helps you. Good luck!
Man this video just upped my game! I went from 50yds to 200s today. Goal is to get to 500s and I no longer see that as impossible. Thanks. This was a huge help for me. I was so stuck.
@The Watcher At least I'm an asshole. I'm attending a swimming course cuz its ridiculous not be able to move in water, especially since I live in a freaking island! After two months I learned the basic movements of freestyle, but breathing seems to be a problem yet. I'm always out of breath
THANK YOU FOR THESE TIPS. I went from being able to swim 50m (and completely exhausted afterwards) to swimming 100m (and being completely exhausted afterwards) in one sesssion after watching this video. I will keep practicing my breathing and hopefully soon I won’t be exhausted after 100m anymore! I’m a chronic breath holder and wasn’t fully exhaling either. Thanks again :)
Carbon dioxide is what makes you feel the burn and I exhale slowly when my face is underwater then aggressively when I am about to turn my head to breathe. YMMV
Love to see something on psychology of going farther for relative newcomers to swimming. I’m 72, former marathon runner, but my pool “toughness” definitely needs work. Head down and plow through it? Love your videos. Many thanks. Peter G
Gradual increase in distance can be a good approach. You might increase your total distance by 1-2km each week, just like running don’t go too big too early
Great advice, makes loads of sense. Will try it out at earliest opportunity. Thanks! Now if I could just find a good drill to get leg kicks in time with stroke....
Yup! That's exactly what my problem was. I'm 43 and I just learned how to swim freestyle 3 months ago but I have been practicing non-stop and watching tons of videos and doing all kinds of drills and getting better and better every day. My problem was after a 25m lap i had to rest for a minute or 2 and didn't know why. As soon as i placed a buoy between my legs, my focus went straight to upper body-torso rotation, high elbow catch and breathing. The one thing i noticed is without the buoy I was so focused on every movement except the breath--I was holding it and getting tired fast. Now i can go longer :)
MyMd1111 for me it was NOT holding my breath which is what I was doing. I put my face in water and hold my breath and do my stokes, then side breath and hold breath in water again. By the time I reach the wall i am out of breath. So when face in water blow bubbles. Also, don't be stiff. Let arms be relaxed like a noodle and don't fight the water, just glide smoothly.
This was me .is using buoy cheating i have a pool triathlon 750m and wont be able to use the buoy .I cant swim 3 lengths without stopping when not using buoy.
The more you swim, the better you will get. I started out three years ago at age 47 with my lap swimming. I couldn't get to the end of 25 meters without being winded and hating it. I kept at it and found a swim buddy. I am now 1.5 years into a PT job as a lifeguard and swim 1/2 to 1 mile several times a week. Take your time. Be very focused on the formation of your arm strokes. "Zip" up your sides with your thumbs, pinkies come out of the pool first, turn your hand, thumbs back in. Gentle strokes. Remember to look at your shoulder when turning your head so you you are not pulling your head up. Practice rotary breathing with a kick board, arms extended in front of you. I tell my swim students to inhale through the mouth and be ready to start the exhale though the nose as soon as their faces are back in the water. Count 1,2, breathe if you have to. As for the bouy, you are not cheating anything other than your leg workout. If you swim at a YMCA or a Rec Center and they have flippers to use, use them! Not only will you build some thigh strength, you will fly through the water with less effort overall. Worse case is you can always backstroke though the swimming portion of a Tri. I did it that way. You can do this!
Leigh Oden thank you :) that's very encouraging. I was discouraged at first, thinking i will never get better than this, i will never be able to do that, I will settle for knowing the basics and be fine with that. but the more i practice, the more tutorials i watch and follow, the better I get and it's barely been 4 months. So i am optimistic i will be even much better by next summer and keep getting better as time goes on. its impressive that after 1.5 years you're a lifeguard.Amazing!
This is extremely helpful! My RU-vid is flooded with breathing tips while freestyle swimming but I think this is the only video where I could actually relate to what mistake I am doing (I am doing both the mistakes mentioned in the video) and the very clear methods to correct them. I'll bring these to effect immediately. Thank you so much for sharing! ✨
I've been exhaling from the mouth and tried this my last few swims. Breathing out nose definitely helps with swimming for longer without breaks. But think I will need some more time to unlearn my previous way and adopt a new way. I'd like to also day thank you for other tips. I've incorporated the base position tip and the slower kicking tip as a train for a long distance swim. These tips have shown immediate changes in my ability to swim with less breaks. Base position Slower kicking
This video was a gamechanger for me. I'm a 50+ novice swimmer training for my first triathlon. I have a pretty good aerobic base from running and biking but was really (I mean really) struggling with swimming (I was exhausted after 50m). This video first - and then a couple of other videos from this channel - have me feeling confident for the triathlon on Sunday - and more importantly, really really enjoying swimming. Starting with a sprint tri (750m swim), next year olympic, and the year after that..? This channel is awesome!
Excellent video! I took up swimming to do triathlons several months ago and cannot get beyond 100 yds without getting totally exhausted. If I use a swim snorkel I can go for a mile and feel exhilarated. So far, the only triathlon I felt comfortable enough to do had a 400m swim in a 50m, 8 lane pool lane. Taking about 3 breaths at the end of each length helped a lot. Thanks for the good info.
Amazing video! I'm always tired after 100 meters freestyle, and I actually know that it maybe the breath problem but don't know how to impove that. After watching this video and the other ones about the breath you provided, I will try in the future two weeks and hope that I can defeat 200 meters or longer. :D
Thank you so much 🙏🙌 This is exactly the same method an elderly man(who was in a swim team) taught me to do. I went from 100m to 500m in the same week and I still had plenty in the tank. Just a simple technique to take in air through the mouth and slowly exhale it all though the nose and mouth under water, emptying the lungs before you take it in all again.
Your breathing tips are spot on brother. I see there is a ton of people that say they are tired before 100m. The thing is, it takes a solid 4-6 weeks of swim training 4-5 times a week to get in good swim shape depending on your beginning fitness level. To add to that you need to train correctly with proper technique. None of this stroking with your head above water, or holding your breath, swim half way across the pool then gasping for air and doing it again. With proper technique you'll be able to swim faster with less energy, and it becomes enjoyable. Find someone that actually knows how to swim correctly and take lessons, then you can start your serious training.
This video was an amazing help. I tried these breathing tips and went from being able to swim a max of 5 laps before the video, and after I’m consistently swimming 12 laps
This was helpful. I've been swimming in the ocean since childhood (60 years) but never took a lesson or picked up freestyle till last month. I had a reasonable side and backstroke. Once I began practicing freestyle I found myself doing this two-part breath. Halfway when my head first reentered the water from a breath and then an explosive exhale to finish just before I took another breath. I didn't know if this was a good technique. Now I know it's ok and I'll focus on more on stroke dynamic and getting fit before I think again about my breathing. I am somewhat out of breath at even 75M and I usually take a few seconds every 100M to get my breath back, but I think this is due to lack of fitness. Thanks for the helpful video.
Breathing is for 1)obtaining oxygen, and 2) eliminating CO2. The failure to do #2 to its fullest is one major contributor to "short-of-breath" during any sport. "Getting rid of all the air" (1:31) really means 'eliminating most CO2'--since one cannot completely empty one's lungs (google: pulmonary residual volume). In most sports this is easy--one can just increase one's rate of breathing without changing the depth (tidal volume). But there is only one point in a swimmer's stroke cycle where a swimmer may breath--so it must be optimized (this video). Teach yourself to exhale to residual volume. (But don't neglect to take a normal breath next!). I personally have not found taking a full breath (to Total Lung Capacity) has helped me much.
yeah, taking a bull breath isn´t good because you are fulling your lungs. What that mean is that your upper-body will be floating a lot more, that causes that your legs fall down. If your legs fall down you are forced to distribute more strenght to your lower-body (legs), in order to do not loose hydrodinamics, you are getting more exhausted and fatigued
Jeph, - "teach yourself to exhale to residual volume' to be main focus, vs 'full breath to total lung capacity'- secondary.. you are making very interesting, helpful points.. I will try to focus on that. Thank you for expert-level comment.
I am a beginner, in my 7th week. I swim in a 25 yard length pool, and I am needing a few second break before I even return back across. I will try this! My goal is distance. I need to learn to flip turn....
I was always taught to take as few breaths as possible on a short sprint. 50m or under. Less head turning helps you keep streamline which makes you go faster. But thanks, this will definitely help my swimming in general, because I've had such a problem with getting too tired from lack of breath.
I've just swimming properly for fitness and this is something I'm really struggling with, this video has been super helpful going to give it a try tomorrow. Subz.
I've been swimming my whole life (my dad was a swimmer and taught me) and I never had a problem with tiring early as described, and now I realise that even though I was never taught this breathing technique, I already do it naturally. I could never understand why my friends were so tired even though we all had the same physical stamina training - maybe this is their problem. If this fixes it, I'm sure many of my friends will be grateful to learn this technique!!
Thank you so much!! I'm swimming 2 relays, 50 backstroke, and an 100 freestyle at my Championship trials on Saturday! 50 backstroke is my best ever event, so I'm not too nervous about that. But I was so scared when I found out that my coach put me in 100 free! I'm not a very good long distance swimmer, and I'd rather do a 50 free, but it is what it is. I'll make sure to use these tips at trials!!
Great content, thanks for this video. One suggestion: your thumbnail picture-in-picture in the lower left corner of the video obscures the swimmers' hands during catch phase. Try placing your thumbnail in one of the upper corners to prevent from blocking our view of the swim technique.
I'm just like that member ---I can run half marathons, bike a lot of miles. I know how to swim, but I get out of breath quickly - all related to improper breathing. Thanks for the tips.
Same here, it's really frustrating. I'm going to do some triathlons this year, and I'm confident with the biking and running... but the swimming has been a struggle.
Thank you!! This is a great video that will help me loads!! Was getting out of breath a lot, I though I was breathing it all out quickly but it seems I haven't breathed out enough because I can't take a decent amount of air in. Now it makes sense!
Can't wait for that next video on breathing on both sides. I prefer my right side and I comfortably can swim longer on my right. I've been trying to learn how to breathe on my left side but I can only do 50m at a time then I need to rest. I don't have a coach so I don't really know where to pin point my error. I can do 4 strokes per breath easily on my right and whenever I introduce bilateral breathing (3 strokes/breath) everything went haywire so it must be my left side. Since I don't have a coach my strategy now is to swim only on my left side for the next two weeks since I'm assuming it's just like trying to learn how to write using my left hand when I'm right handed.
Hey man, thank you for the video! My breathing frequence is very short (every two strokes) and I still make the second mistake you are talking about... I exhale very soon because I can’t help doing it very fast, so I end up getting way more tired than if I just hold it. Any advice? I’m desperate.
This video is just what I needed. Tried swimming for 30 mins earlier today and had to stop every two lengths to get my breath back. I'm back in the pool.on Monday so will try this breathing technique
I only breathe once during a whole 50 while sprinting but what should my ratio be on a 100 my last 25 off the wall slows me down because i dont have enough breathe
100 you have to have a breathing cycle. It's preferred to breathe on your dominate side but for your pattern, I'd recommend breathing every 4 strokes if you can sustain the CO2 in your body well (i.e. have a good lung capacity). If you can't then breathe every 4 strokes for the first 25 then every second from there. If you're struggling to hold your breathe coming off the wall and need to breathe when you reach the surface, take one last breathe before you turn at the wall (even if means to breathe the second stroke but not as you're turning) or go a slightly slower pace (like 95% if you're going 100% or 90% if you're going 95%). I can't help you too much as everyone is different but those are my tricks to surviving the turn. The main thing is to resist the urge of needing a breathe as all that urge is just the build up of CO2. Your body just wants to get rid of it so it can transform more oxygen into CO2 and keep you swimming so if you can store a larger amount of CO2 before exhaling it all then you should be good. Don't force yourself though to hold your breathe or you will suffocate. I'd explain more on how your body works and ways to help but there's a lot of detail.
The best advice I was given was to take in the volume of breath you normally take and not overfill your lungs as you need to get rid of it all. Easier said than done but once you can get your head around it, the more swimming you can do without getting breathless and anxious
Thank you. So much , I’m new to swimming but I loved employing these new strategies in the pool , I finished my routine faster and I was nowhere near exhausted as I usually am . Thank you so much,!!!
Great video, not a problem I suffer from but something I DO see in a lot of adults that are taking up swimming for the first time. The concept of breathing OUT while their face is still in the water never occurs to them and they struggle to both breathe out and in during the short gap when their face is out of the water.
Awesome. I dump the air too soon, starved of fuel after my first 100 I shorten my stroke and it slows me down. I literally searched why is my first 100 so quick just now and found this info. Thanks for posting. I will try this tomorrow.
I would think how frequently you breathe is critical. Every stroke cycle always to the favored side? Or alternate side breathing every other stroke? I don't know if this is psychosomatic or not, but I feel like I get much less oxygen breathing on my left side when I try to alternate consistently. Another point not touched on here which applied at least to pool laps, is how to breathe optimally in and out of flip turns. I find that I can swim much, much longer distances without a break, if I omit the flip turns. That's the point at which I am going into oxygen debt every lap.
For the point of alternating, In meetings and competitions I only breath on my dominant side, I find it easier faster and more efficient. But in long distance I usually try to breath on my left side to give a "break" to my right arm. (Because breathing on one side only put a lot of stress on that side's arm). If you wanna train on breathing on both side do this type of exercise: 5 stroke then breath . This will force you to breath on both sides, you can also do 3 strokes or even 7 if it's some short distance.
@@nexcentaurexx1653 thanks for the thoughtful observations and suggestions. Yes, like you, I do intermittent alternate breathing to my "weaker" side to (hopefully) improve my stroke balance. Particularly how evenly I rotate while breathing. If I exclusively breathe to my right side, I find my right arm or body position remains pretty flat on that side.
Thank you. With the sprinter breathing, I've been doing static breath holds in my room for free diving (but no free diving), a spin off I fould was I could lift more in the gym. I thinks its because when do the breath holds (1.5 minutes to 3 minute) u have a lot of contractions in diaphragm and ribs, I think that strengthens the breathing muscles as they can get rather forceful and over time I I've strengthened breathing muscles. I haven't done any swimming since doing the practice but I'm keen to see if there's a positive affect with swimming too.
When I breathe through my nose and stop, I either get water in my nose or breathe too late and drink water....could practicing this for a while, improve ???
I hope I can be like Trent, the guy you mention in the description, sooner. It has been 10 years since the last time I swam 75m freestyle and never got better. Whereas, my brother, to whom I introduced him the correct way of freestyle, including high elbow arm recovery, had got huge progress that he swims 1000 meter freestyle non-stop a week.
