The thing I hate about quitting swimming and swimming again is you have perfect posture, yet it’s literally impossible to breathe and it’s so tiring, yet you’re required to swim so much If you live, it feels more like you survived.
I didn’t grow up swimming and used to have this problem and for the better part of a summer since I started swimming as an adult regularly, I thought I could never swim continuously for more than a lap (two lengths of a 25 yard pool) as I would be breathless by then even though my limbs would have barely even warmed up. I continued practicing taking the necessary break after each lap until one day towards the end of summer, I could magically seem to be able to do any number of laps and I finally got out of the pool that day because of the bittersweet feeling of my limbs started to tire, not because I was breathless. The sudden seemingly magical jump from one lap to an arbitrary number of laps was in retrospect because of practice that over time made my form slightly more efficient and my breathing more tuned with my body’s needs, but more specifically because of the following two reasons: (1) Exhaling: breathing out fully without a primitive fear of losing all air and instead having the confidence that there will be another breath coming in shortly; (2) Slowing: like running, swimming slowly at a pace you can sustain for a long time with your aerobic capacity; If you think about it, swimming noobs are remarkably similar to running noobs that go out too fast and burn out quickly until they slowly learn to control your pace at a level sustainable for a long time. In retrospect, there was of course no sudden magical jump from one lap to an arbitrary number of laps, rather the muscle memory progress was gradual, but what turned a “mental switch”: I had become so used to becoming breathless after a lap that I stopped even trying to do multiple laps back to back not noticing that I was getting less and less breathless over time at the end of the lap. If I could do it all over again, I would first take much more time doing simple floating or treading like drills and become confident that I could stay relaxed at one place in water without going down. Not having that confidence came in the way of going for a third length after finishing a lap and feeling breathless because there would be no stopping until I reached the other end. (I suppose I could hold on to the wall in the corner lane or to one of the lane dividers but the embarrassment of it would terrify me back then.) For the longest time, even much after I could swim many laps back to back like above, I could never be comfortable just staying relaxed at one place in water, rather I had to keep moving forward or stay really carefully steady on my back with minimal movement and would feel like I was about to drown any moment. Part of this primitive panic was that I started out learning freestyle and stuck with freestyle alone for a long time. Most people start out with breaststroke and it’s much easier to tread water with your arms and limbs to stay afloat at one place or move very slowly with your head above water if you can do breaststroke, but if all you can do is freestyle, you have to keep moving. I finally learned how to just stay relaxed at one place in water with minimal movement just enough to keep your head up, and that helped so much not just in the pool, but also being able to have fun in outdoor water like my friends and most normal people do.
That was so helpful and reassuring that with a fair bit of practice I can get there. I am going to save this post and refer back to it at every opportunity as a constant reminder that it can be done. Great post and thanks for taking the time to encourage us all.
Definitely me - have been swimming four times a week for a year and have not improved - I have watched a ton of You Tube tuition videos and had lessons but I just get told 'relax' - If I knew how to relax, I would - I can just about do the first 25 metres but I am very knackered afterwards - I can then manage half a length each time before coming up gasping for air like I have just run a Marathon - I have 110 logged SCUBA dives, some in caves, and I can star float for ages, so I am comfortable in water. Try to front crawl and breath at the same time, however, and my normal breathing technique just does n't seem to work and my lungs just seem to lock up and burn causing me to come up above the water - When I exited the pool tonight I looked at how far half a length is and it is sooo embarrassing that I cannot swim further than this without gasping for air........I have asked countless people I see in the pool that can track up and down all hour and they say just practice and relax....but HOW do I relax. Amongst the half dozen videos I have watched tonight, it says just fin on your side swimming with one arm to begin with - I tried this, went nowhere, just sank! I am not giving up, but I am defying all principles of learning at the moment as I am just not getting any better. I will try the scrunched up breathing and sinking to the pool floor and see if that will control my breathing a bit. Wish me luck!
@@sahumullasaud4837 yes, I am very active, running, tennis, cycle Ng football, so not unfit, just breathless after short front crawls. I can do breaststroke and backstroke all hour. How did you get on? Any improvement?
@Andrew Lear I swim on and off throughout the year. When I do start, I can catch up easily. The first 50m or so can be difficult, but once I get into a rythm, it gets better.
I always admired swimmers who could swim lap after lap after lap non-stop, and couldn't understand why I was so winded after 1 lap. Next time I swim I'll try and remember this. Thank you!
Cheers, Mark. Struggle a lot with quick fatigue / sinking legs. Really useful clarification on bilateral breathing. Have been told to breathe every three strokes by countless coaches, yet when I watch pro triathletes, OW swimmers, or even the fast-laners at my local pool, virtually ALL of them breathe every two. Makes sense to me to breathe mostly on your 'good' (i.e. more efficient) side: more breaths = more oxygen / less fatigue. You can always throw in the occasional breath on the other side if you need to see what's going on. Going to start doing it this way as soon as I'm allowed in a pool again...
I used to swim competitively and was always trained to breathe every 3. Main reason was to prevent imbalances as mentioned. Later I switched sports to waterpolo which lead to becoming very dominate on right side and only ever breathing to one side, now getting back into swimming ‘normally’ it feels so strange to do 3 then breathe. Personally I still prefer bilateral breathing, but just be careful about possible imbalances it can create, but otherwise it’s so much more comfortable to breathe this way in my opinion!
I mean, I haven't been swimming since around may/early June, so yeah, there is a reason I will be out of breath after 100m, when, at any time in the future, the pools are open again 😂
I've forced myself to breathe every 4 strokes from day 1 and I can honestly say that even though it wasn't easy to start with it's really helped me calm my breathing and increase my lung capacity! Now breathing every 4 is my comfortable stroke
I find the breathless feeling starts to ease after the first 100m or so. Just like running, it’s the early exertion until you get into a rhythm. As a triathlete I still hate the start of the swim.
Thank you for this video!!! I'm out of breath pretty quickly and I've been relearning better forms and doing drills but I still am out of breath. What I realized and how this video helped me is that it's ok to breathe at every other stroke instead of 3 or 5! I'll try to relax more in the water next time!
Total Immersion. It’s all I needed. Took me from out of breath after 50m (when in shape to run a 1hr25min half marathon) to swimming 1 mile plus in open water. I’m not one for fads, but it changed my swimming forever and the way I approach all sports.
@@8026480 I had lessons from a good TI coach every 2-3 weeks for 3 years. She used underwater cameras to show me what I was doing. The books and videos are good, but ultimately you need feedback on what you’re doing, and you can’t see yourself when you’re swimming, so it’s impossible to know. For example, when I first started I though my kick amplitude was about 10 inches, but it turned out to be more than double that. To this day, when I think my leading hand is flat, it’s angled upwards, etc etc. Water is so dense (800 times that of air) that all these little things make an enormous difference to pace.
Thank you for this amazing video! I am a new swimmer and I was struggling trying to get used to the breathing every 3 strokes after watching another video. I am so glad you mentioned you can breathe every 2 strokes!
After he told me about the breathing and sudden exhale, I took one breath out whilst sitting down then exhaled very fast and ended _out of breath after the first breath_. I realised that the actual swimming is always okay with me but I’m always out of breath. This video helped lots with this 🎉🎉🎉
Please allow a 72 year old guy an observation: I taught myself freestyle over the past 6 months. It was always my dream to learn and get on from my 65 years of (pretty competent) breaststroke swimming. There's a swimming enclosure in Copenhagen harbour, it's exactly 100 m long and 5 m deep. I have discovered that I have difficulty not getting out of breath for the first 3-400 meters. I thought I'm too old. So now I'm in Vietnam for my habitual 6 months of winter stay. Yesterday I went into the South China Sea and to my uninhibited pleasure I immediately swam 300 meters without a break in 1.5 tall waves and I was hardly out of breath. I'm now convinced that it's the swimming in 17°C that prohibits breathing normally. I've absolutely no problem in 30°C! My best time for 100 m is 2:20. My breaststroke takes me almost a minute longer. My best thanks to RUclips and this channel in particular for teaching me freestyle!
hi, Great Tips !!! Great Videos !!! Huge fan !!! I've been doing OpenWater for some time, I have a tip, when exhaling don't flush all the air, leave some (like 25%), because you may caught a wave (choppy waters) or a splash, making it difficult to inhale, forcing to inhale on the next stroke, if you exhale all the air you will struggle a bit until the next stroke. More cool videos ;) !!! Thanks !!!
Due to a knee injury, I am currently switching from running to swimming, and thus from recreational breast stroke to "serious" freestyle, and I have exactly this problem, and two of your three reasons apply to me. Thank you a lot!
Same here. Knees are knackered so i can't mountain bike anymore so i started swimming. I can do breast for a mile or 2 relatively easily but 2 lengths freestyle kills me.
Totally agree with everything said here. I'd like to add a thought about freeing your neck. When we "hold" our heads in a certain position (usually looking forward and down) this can also introduce tension, and prevent us breathing easily. Try standing at the side of the pool, bend into the water and let your head "go" entirely, allowing it to be completely supported by the water. You can get a friend to gently push down and release so you can feel it bob up again. Take this feeling into swimming a gentle length and feel the difference in the quality of your movement through your whole body. It's like magic! And really helps you breathe easily. See Steven Shaw's Method and Ian and Cheryl Cross Swimming without Stress for more on this.
I am training for my first Ironman in 2023 (Tempe AZ). The swim is a big challenge for me because I am missing my left lung and ribcage. As a result I have the added challenge of my left side collapsing with each breath in the water making my breathing even more strenuous. I am working very hard to become more efficient and comfortable in the pool training at least 3 days per week. Long shot but is there anyone else out there with a similar physical challenge working to complete long distance swims? I would love to hear from you and learn what is working for you!
While I significantly increased my running capacity, I've discovered that I kinda had a reduced swimming capacity now, it was perplexing and sad, thanks for the idea of taking shorter smaller breathes, that kinda made me match my earlier highest capacity - but it's still surprising that running capacity doesn't translate into swimming capacity, at least not for me :D
wow this might be a game changer for me... i wondered why breast stroke i felt so much more comfortable going longer than freestyle and i'm almost positive its because of my breathing... looking forward to focusing on this next time in the pool
Great advise, don’t usually leave comments but I thought you deserved it. As I was working it out myself in the pool, you’ve literally over all the issues in one video with the solutions. I’ll watch it couple times just in case and make sure it settles in my mind so it becomes a habit in my thought process.
I have my PADI swim test this Saturday. 2 months ago i didnt know how to swim. Now i can barely manage a 100m non stop. But the PADI instructor told me i could do any stroke so i plan on mixing backstroke with freestyle for my last 100m. I wish i could swim like these folks i just get so out of breath so fast. Even tried kicking less. Dumb bc i already have good cardio, this holding breath thing is defeating me
Bilateral breathing arggg! I've been back in the pool for the first time since I was a kid (cough maybe 25 years cough), and was forcing myself to breath every 3 strokes because That's How It's Done, and i was just failing. When I finally 'let' myself breath every 2 strokes, it all started coming together.
I hadn't swum for 3 years and I swam one lap and nearly died. It didn't really get better even when I started going multiple times a week every week. I also didn't know how to breathe underwater anymore so it really impacts your flow to keep your head up. I think I'll stick with backstroke if I go again (2 year gap now eek)
@@daveyscorer1 Thanks for your reply I am breathing out and in only through my mouth not using my nose at all, but to be honest I have tried it both ways still struggling
Thank you for the video!! Y’all are awesome. Exactly the advise I was looking for... specially with how often to breathe. I used the every two strokes like you, and it made all the difference 😎. I’m new to swimming, and I’ve made amazing gains quickly applying your concepts.
I do the opposite in the last exercise, I full my lungs and then take an impulse to the bottom of the poll, and as I start float back to the surface, I slowly release the air like if as controlling my accent velocity. It really works, 2 times is more than enough.
I have many bad habits, I hope I can correct them. But one thing doing every swim in 6 stroke/breath (500m), 4 stroke/breath(500m),bilateral(500m) and breast stroke(500m)
I was a competitive swimmer in the fifties, I was twelve,no problems breathing, just turn the head and there is a cup beside your mouth . Breathe out just before turning head and then breathe in , no problem.
@@texasbaseball2015 with modern stroke,yes, keep on top of the water not under it, hand enter the water at an angle, not flat and the hands pull UNDER the body , not out to the side.
Great video. I still always feel discomfort when CO2 is stated as waste product. Without CO2, hemoglobin is uncabable of releasing oxygen for your cells and a persons fitness level is directly related to his/her body's tolerance for CO2 in blood as higher concentration allows more efficient use of oxygen. It is known as the Bohr effect.
@@Ryujinn999 by accumulating co2 in blood. Personally, I train with methods made by Patrick McKeown known as Oxygen Advantage program. While I swim, I increase the strokes between breath step by step. Currently I can swim entire 25m pool with one breath if allowed small recovery and I find the most comfortable pace for long distance to be 3 or 5 strokes / breath
Fantastic tips. Thank you for posting. 🙏 I swim for an hour but mainly breast stroke as after a length of freestyle I need to recover. Brilliant video. 👏👏
This video was made for me. can't wait to try it when pools open again. Maybe not the bilateral breathing until I get a bit better but that exercise at the end for sure going to try it 😂
Guys listen. The best tip for this issue is : SWIM VERY OFTEN ! Swim at least 4 times a week. After 6~8 months you get used to this breathing problem. These other tips are not very important
I feel like my biggest breathing problem is panicking when reaching my "out of air" point. I am teaching myself to calm myself down and blow the water away from my mouth before breathing in again. I think my CO2 tolerance is getting higher everytime I swim and that's giving me alot more confidence in water.
I can breathe naturally on right side. Left side is a struggle still (head too high or swallow water). I practice every 4 on one side (starting from different hand to get both sides) and every 3 (rotating sides). I am still fine tuning rhythm and technique to make it a habit.
I grew up swimming but running and swimming both make me quickly out of breath. It’s such a pain to have to rest every lap. I never have any issue with cycling. I’ll try breathing every 2 strokes
i think breathing too hard is the main issue. its like you say. we wouldnt breath hard either when cycling or running in a low pace. swimming is mostly around z2 or even z1 so breathing hard is surely not required.
I don’t feel that I struggle so much with breathing because I don’t feel as winded and can complete 50 meter sets without feeling super exhausted but I still can’t seem to do a straight 100 without resting in between so far they say my technique has made leaps and bounds in just a month but my endurance is still not where I want it for a 500 meter swim
This is EXACTLY my problem with swimming. If I only have to swim 100m, I can do it in 1m40s or so. But after the 1st or 2nd lap, my heart is racing and I need to start pausing every 25m lap. I'm blowing bubbles, breathing every 2 strokes, and still suffering. I think my primary issue is over kicking. My legs just feel like they are sinking, so I kick, and that just burns up my O2 and raises my heart rate. Do you have any drills on how to not over kick and force myself to a 2-Beat kick?
Take some time to swim with a pull buoy, really focusing on your rotation and catch. Also, really think about how you hold your head. Is your neck long and loose? Try letting your head go and allowing it to be supported by the water. I think of this as a "magic switch", and all my clients agree it makes a huge difference. When you "hold" your head in a certain position, IE looking slightly forward and down, this introduces tension which can affect not just your breathing but also your whole range of movement. Being loose and free in your head, neck and back will make a huge difference. See The Art Of Swimming (Steven Shaw) and Swimming Without Stress (Ian and Cheryl Cross) for further tips.
Not a fan of exhaling "completely". Nobody does that when running. Keeping 30% and adding 30% of overall capacity feels much more natural and is not nearly as tiring. It's easy to practice swim breathing while walking uphill at 130bpm for instance, you'll see what I mean.
I have difficulties with breathing while swimming in pool when i need to make a turn. I have a feeling that i lose breathing rythm at that point and i don't have confidence to continue swimming before a take a short brake. It's crazy that i can barely do 100 m in pool but i didn't have any problems swimming 2 km in open water without pause.
One thing i just can't get the hang of is inhaling while doing a stroke. I always end up with a mouth or nose full of water. When i watch a professional it looks like their mouth isn't even clear if the water when they inhale?! I've only just started back swimming after years away from the pool, so hopefully I'll get back into the swing of things and also build some strength and lose weight.
Would you recommend training with breathing trainers like Power Breath, Airofit and so on (when you're not at the pool or swimming, obviously) to help you breath more easily in the water?
That made it worse I quickly abandoned the power breather. I kept wanting to turn my head. What I didn’t like most was it restricts breathing. I don’t want to train my breathing muscles, I wanted to train my stroke.
I remind myself breath as I would if I were walking when at the top I went from 25m first day of jan and I’m nw doing 200 metre and over takes time to get your breathing just right
When I'm in the ocean, I don't mind my legs dragging along the bottom. I just attach a little net to my feet and catch halibut. But I still do bilateral breathing.
I think a good video to make “why my ear hurts when open water freestyle swimming “. This happens to me as I’m warming up for about 5 min. Once I warm up my ear no longer hurts
@@jerryyoung6494 What do you mean, "why did I answer"? I told him to check with a doctor instead of getting diagnosed by people on the internet, doesn't that make sense?
I feel hopeless at this point. I do nothing right. My teacher tells me quote "You must feel the water, you are not feeling the water". I don't understand what that means exactly. To be relaxed? To not think that much, to not panic? All of these? Like I am trying as much as I can to be relaxed and I feel relaxed until the point when I need to breathe again. I am getting really frustrated, because it seems that I don't make any progress, that I can't "feel the water". Maybe I am not made for swimming even tho I have enormous desire to learn to swim and I am fascinated by this sport and its beauty. She (my teacher) tells me I am doing everything like a robot, that I am too fast, that I don't "pet the water". I feel like a piece of wood in the water, nothing is correct and nothing I try is leading me to at least a little bit of a progress. It has been 3 months since I started and I am starting to question my ability to learn to swim as an adult. I don't know why I am even writing this comment, maybe because I have a built-in frustration of my inability to learn, despite my efforts. Should I stop I wonder....
While I agree with the suggestions about breathing itself, the headline is deceptive because the video only addresses... well breathing. The simple fact of the matter is that exhaustion is a product of too little supply and too much demand, i.e. too little gas (oxygen) available to the motor/s (muscles). Okay muscles need other stuff too, but you do not eat while swimming and should avoid drinking. At any rate: supplying enough oxygen is only one part of the equation, to use your muscles effectively (meaning they do not use more than you can supply) is the other. I suppose like many triathletes I overused my leg kick, probably because I am fairly good on the bike and rely on their strength. However the big leg muscles also demand huge amounts of oxygen while the smaller upper extremity musculature needs less. And unlike on the bike in the water you get much more forward progress from your arms. Someone taught me that and I stopped kicking like an ostrich, I was able to keep on swimming (to quote a world famous fish). So my experience is: breath properly and give those legs a rest, exhaustion comes much later.
I always struggle with breathing until I found a solution by make a humming sound when you exhale. Imagine you sing your favorite song by humming. Keep humming until you turn your head to the side for the next breath.
For clarification, when you say two strokes do you regard this as a example: left arm stroke, then right arm stroke, then breathe on left side and repeat the same process? Or do you regard left arm stroke and right arm stroke as one unit and you do this unit two times? To me the later would be four strokes.
I want to trickle the air through my nose, but I get this sensation that I can’t hold back the air and I just want to blow it all out. I can blow some through my mouth to try and even it out and then I get that distressed feeling. Breathing every 3 strokes- it feels like a human respirator…the first 3 or 4 breaths are fine and then it slowly declines. On my way back from 25 yards, I start taking full breaths and that’s the beginning of the end.
First one is definilty one of my problem aha I always think about doing sprints and how your supposed to breathe less, so I try and practice then I remind myself that I’ve done 50 out of 800 😂
It’s funny… but in another video by a different coach he stated that exhaling ALL the breath is the problem. He said breathe normally as you do in normal situations. I did this a couple of times and it made sense. For example sit or stand and take a breath in and breath out by forcing the lady bit of air out.. it’s totally unnatural. Am I wrong?
I've noticed one thing to explain - the gliding phase - in the video above in all shots of the swimming persons have very short glide just before the catch of the water. Is it not a mistake? The arm that is extended uder water is working when the head still catching the breath. Shouldn't be waiting (the arm in front) for head to almost get back to the water?
It is a known fact that the body can't effectively deliver oxygen through the body in a highly exerted situation for the fist 30-40 minutes. I've been racing bikes for over 30 years and more recent with several triathlons under my belt. Biking wasn't much of an issue although very noticeable. The first 30 minutes can't catch my breath but after about 30 minutes, i can maintain high cadence and hold a conversation. However, swimming which is triathlon first event, is another story i am trying to find a way around it. After the fist 30 minutes, i can increase and continue swimming for miles without running out of breath. But the first 30 minutes, is a problem. I have to stop or slow down quite a bit. In my early years, this time was quite a bit smaller (maybe 15-20 minutes) but it has always been there. As i got older now in my late 40s, i noticed it takes longer to acclimate. Any advice? Yah, i know i could worm up or swim before but that is not always allowed or an option.
I don't know if I'm out of breath after 100m but I can't continue swimming when swimming freestyle. If I swimming breatstrokes I can swim an hour without stopping?
Thanks for the tips. Also waiting for the “out of breath after 50m” video.
hahaha that me 2
Lolol I feel you 😂
Lol 40m here and I’m a marathon runner.
The thing I hate about quitting swimming and swimming again is you have perfect posture, yet it’s literally impossible to breathe and it’s so tiring, yet you’re required to swim so much
If you live, it feels more like you survived.
@@fluffimirpuddin1657 cycler and runner here... 40m is still my goal😂
I didn’t grow up swimming and used to have this problem and for the better part of a summer since I started swimming as an adult regularly, I thought I could never swim continuously for more than a lap (two lengths of a 25 yard pool) as I would be breathless by then even though my limbs would have barely even warmed up. I continued practicing taking the necessary break after each lap until one day towards the end of summer, I could magically seem to be able to do any number of laps and I finally got out of the pool that day because of the bittersweet feeling of my limbs started to tire, not because I was breathless. The sudden seemingly magical jump from one lap to an arbitrary number of laps was in retrospect because of practice that over time made my form slightly more efficient and my breathing more tuned with my body’s needs, but more specifically because of the following two reasons:
(1) Exhaling: breathing out fully without a primitive fear of losing all air and instead having the confidence that there will be another breath coming in shortly;
(2) Slowing: like running, swimming slowly at a pace you can sustain for a long time with your aerobic capacity;
If you think about it, swimming noobs are remarkably similar to running noobs that go out too fast and burn out quickly until they slowly learn to control your pace at a level sustainable for a long time. In retrospect, there was of course no sudden magical jump from one lap to an arbitrary number of laps, rather the muscle memory progress was gradual, but what turned a “mental switch”: I had become so used to becoming breathless after a lap that I stopped even trying to do multiple laps back to back not noticing that I was getting less and less breathless over time at the end of the lap.
If I could do it all over again, I would first take much more time doing simple floating or treading like drills and become confident that I could stay relaxed at one place in water without going down. Not having that confidence came in the way of going for a third length after finishing a lap and feeling breathless because there would be no stopping until I reached the other end. (I suppose I could hold on to the wall in the corner lane or to one of the lane dividers but the embarrassment of it would terrify me back then.) For the longest time, even much after I could swim many laps back to back like above, I could never be comfortable just staying relaxed at one place in water, rather I had to keep moving forward or stay really carefully steady on my back with minimal movement and would feel like I was about to drown any moment. Part of this primitive panic was that I started out learning freestyle and stuck with freestyle alone for a long time. Most people start out with breaststroke and it’s much easier to tread water with your arms and limbs to stay afloat at one place or move very slowly with your head above water if you can do breaststroke, but if all you can do is freestyle, you have to keep moving. I finally learned how to just stay relaxed at one place in water with minimal movement just enough to keep your head up, and that helped so much not just in the pool, but also being able to have fun in outdoor water like my friends and most normal people do.
You’re the most patient person ever I could never type that much in the comment section 😂
Thanks for the info. I got some good stuff from this, so thanks for taking the time!
super helpful comment. I'm a noob looking to get better, so appreciate this a lot!
@@neelreddy4523 bro that's mighty helpful thanks!
That was so helpful and reassuring that with a fair bit of practice I can get there. I am going to save this post and refer back to it at every opportunity as a constant reminder that it can be done. Great post and thanks for taking the time to encourage us all.
Who else is in the "out of breath by 25m" club..?
Definitely me - have been swimming four times a week for a year and have not improved - I have watched a ton of You Tube tuition videos and had lessons but I just get told 'relax' - If I knew how to relax, I would - I can just about do the first 25 metres but I am very knackered afterwards - I can then manage half a length each time before coming up gasping for air like I have just run a Marathon - I have 110 logged SCUBA dives, some in caves, and I can star float for ages, so I am comfortable in water. Try to front crawl and breath at the same time, however, and my normal breathing technique just does n't seem to work and my lungs just seem to lock up and burn causing me to come up above the water - When I exited the pool tonight I looked at how far half a length is and it is sooo embarrassing that I cannot swim further than this without gasping for air........I have asked countless people I see in the pool that can track up and down all hour and they say just practice and relax....but HOW do I relax.
Amongst the half dozen videos I have watched tonight, it says just fin on your side swimming with one arm to begin with - I tried this, went nowhere, just sank!
I am not giving up, but I am defying all principles of learning at the moment as I am just not getting any better.
I will try the scrunched up breathing and sinking to the pool floor and see if that will control my breathing a bit.
Wish me luck!
@Andrew Lear Do you do any other exercises other than swimming? Building stamina and strength in other ways may help. Also, it could be a heart issue?
@@sahumullasaud4837 yes, I am very active, running, tennis, cycle Ng football, so not unfit, just breathless after short front crawls. I can do breaststroke and backstroke all hour.
How did you get on? Any improvement?
@Andrew Lear I swim on and off throughout the year. When I do start, I can catch up easily. The first 50m or so can be difficult, but once I get into a rythm, it gets better.
@@sahumullasaud4837 Cheers, so now I am going to die soon as well....🤦
“Out of breath after 25m”, anyone?
I always admired swimmers who could swim lap after lap after lap non-stop, and couldn't understand why I was so winded after 1 lap. Next time I swim I'll try and remember this. Thank you!
As a sprinter, I feel bad for distance swimmers
This video was made for me, I'm that guy who breaststroked his way round his first triathlon
Same here brother, you're not alone.
You’re not alone, I doggy paddled!
This is me!! At the moment I will be swimming breaststroke for my first Ironman 70.3 unless I can sort out my breathing.
I hear ya mate!
This gives confidence. I have to pass a confidence swim yo even participate in my first triathlon Nd this is how it's going down for me as well.
Cheers, Mark. Struggle a lot with quick fatigue / sinking legs. Really useful clarification on bilateral breathing. Have been told to breathe every three strokes by countless coaches, yet when I watch pro triathletes, OW swimmers, or even the fast-laners at my local pool, virtually ALL of them breathe every two. Makes sense to me to breathe mostly on your 'good' (i.e. more efficient) side: more breaths = more oxygen / less fatigue. You can always throw in the occasional breath on the other side if you need to see what's going on. Going to start doing it this way as soon as I'm allowed in a pool again...
I used to swim competitively and was always trained to breathe every 3. Main reason was to prevent imbalances as mentioned. Later I switched sports to waterpolo which lead to becoming very dominate on right side and only ever breathing to one side, now getting back into swimming ‘normally’ it feels so strange to do 3 then breathe. Personally I still prefer bilateral breathing, but just be careful about possible imbalances it can create, but otherwise it’s so much more comfortable to breathe this way in my opinion!
I mean, I haven't been swimming since around may/early June, so yeah, there is a reason I will be out of breath after 100m, when, at any time in the future, the pools are open again 😂
I've forced myself to breathe every 4 strokes from day 1 and I can honestly say that even though it wasn't easy to start with it's really helped me calm my breathing and increase my lung capacity! Now breathing every 4 is my comfortable stroke
respect, in training im always breathing every 2 strokes while swimmind freestyle but i‘ll try every 3 strokes the next time
I find the breathless feeling starts to ease after the first 100m or so. Just like running, it’s the early exertion until you get into a rhythm. As a triathlete I still hate the start of the swim.
Thank you for this video!!! I'm out of breath pretty quickly and I've been relearning better forms and doing drills but I still am out of breath. What I realized and how this video helped me is that it's ok to breathe at every other stroke instead of 3 or 5! I'll try to relax more in the water next time!
if you rip out your lungs you don't need to breath in the first place
or turn on the lights
So much technique and timing involved. I’m still lightheaded when I’m done with my laps. Finding that sweet spot is tough
Total Immersion. It’s all I needed. Took me from out of breath after 50m (when in shape to run a 1hr25min half marathon) to swimming 1 mile plus in open water. I’m not one for fads, but it changed my swimming forever and the way I approach all sports.
What TI resources did you use?
@@8026480 I had lessons from a good TI coach every 2-3 weeks for 3 years. She used underwater cameras to show me what I was doing.
The books and videos are good, but ultimately you need feedback on what you’re doing, and you can’t see yourself when you’re swimming, so it’s impossible to know. For example, when I first started I though my kick amplitude was about 10 inches, but it turned out to be more than double that. To this day, when I think my leading hand is flat, it’s angled upwards, etc etc. Water is so dense (800 times that of air) that all these little things make an enormous difference to pace.
@@RobManser77 Thanks for that Rob.
Thank you for this amazing video! I am a new swimmer and I was struggling trying to get used to the breathing every 3 strokes after watching another video. I am so glad you mentioned you can breathe every 2 strokes!
Exactly what I struggle with in swimming! Anyone else counting down the days before getting back in the pool because of lockdown? 🥴
Mee too.. stupid lockdown... its so absurd that we can't go to gym now pools
Yes 😢
Here in Belgium they are open.
I’m trying to become a triathlete and the lack of pools makes it quite difficult!
@@paddywiggle tell me about it
After he told me about the breathing and sudden exhale, I took one breath out whilst sitting down then exhaled very fast and ended _out of breath after the first breath_. I realised that the actual swimming is always okay with me but I’m always out of breath. This video helped lots with this 🎉🎉🎉
Please allow a 72 year old guy an observation:
I taught myself freestyle over the past 6 months. It was always my dream to learn and get on from my 65 years of (pretty competent) breaststroke swimming. There's a swimming enclosure in Copenhagen harbour, it's exactly 100 m long and 5 m deep. I have discovered that I have difficulty not getting out of breath for the first 3-400 meters. I thought I'm too old.
So now I'm in Vietnam for my habitual 6 months of winter stay. Yesterday I went into the South China Sea and to my uninhibited pleasure I immediately swam 300 meters without a break in 1.5 tall waves and I was hardly out of breath.
I'm now convinced that it's the swimming in 17°C that prohibits breathing normally. I've absolutely no problem in 30°C!
My best time for 100 m is 2:20. My breaststroke takes me almost a minute longer.
My best thanks to RUclips and this channel in particular for teaching me freestyle!
hi, Great Tips !!! Great Videos !!! Huge fan !!! I've been doing OpenWater for some time, I have a tip, when exhaling don't flush all the air, leave some (like 25%), because you may caught a wave (choppy waters) or a splash, making it difficult to inhale, forcing to inhale on the next stroke, if you exhale all the air you will struggle a bit until the next stroke. More cool videos ;) !!! Thanks !!!
Due to a knee injury, I am currently switching from running to swimming, and thus from recreational breast stroke to "serious" freestyle, and I have exactly this problem, and two of your three reasons apply to me. Thank you a lot!
Same here. Knees are knackered so i can't mountain bike anymore so i started swimming. I can do breast for a mile or 2 relatively easily but 2 lengths freestyle kills me.
Totally agree with everything said here. I'd like to add a thought about freeing your neck. When we "hold" our heads in a certain position (usually looking forward and down) this can also introduce tension, and prevent us breathing easily. Try standing at the side of the pool, bend into the water and let your head "go" entirely, allowing it to be completely supported by the water. You can get a friend to gently push down and release so you can feel it bob up again. Take this feeling into swimming a gentle length and feel the difference in the quality of your movement through your whole body. It's like magic! And really helps you breathe easily. See Steven Shaw's Method and Ian and Cheryl Cross Swimming without Stress for more on this.
I am training for my first Ironman in 2023 (Tempe AZ). The swim is a big challenge for me because I am missing my left lung and ribcage. As a result I have the added challenge of my left side collapsing with each breath in the water making my breathing even more strenuous. I am working very hard to become more efficient and comfortable in the pool training at least 3 days per week.
Long shot but is there anyone else out there with a similar physical challenge working to complete long distance swims? I would love to hear from you and learn what is working for you!
Great work! Keep pushing 🙌
While I significantly increased my running capacity, I've discovered that I kinda had a reduced swimming capacity now, it was perplexing and sad, thanks for the idea of taking shorter smaller breathes, that kinda made me match my earlier highest capacity - but it's still surprising that running capacity doesn't translate into swimming capacity, at least not for me :D
They are different.
resistance in water is difficult. try to run in water and see your effort to do that
It really doesnt translate at all!! I can essentially do an Ironman bike and run but cannot swim 25m
@@faresbarbary9471
wow this might be a game changer for me... i wondered why breast stroke i felt so much more comfortable going longer than freestyle and i'm almost positive its because of my breathing... looking forward to focusing on this next time in the pool
Great advise, don’t usually leave comments but I thought you deserved it. As I was working it out myself in the pool, you’ve literally over all the issues in one video with the solutions. I’ll watch it couple times just in case and make sure it settles in my mind so it becomes a habit in my thought process.
Thanks for the tips. I am doing my Padi open water course and need to be able to swim 200 metres. This video has helped me 👍✌️ thank you 👍✌️
I have my PADI swim test this Saturday. 2 months ago i didnt know how to swim. Now i can barely manage a 100m non stop. But the PADI instructor told me i could do any stroke so i plan on mixing backstroke with freestyle for my last 100m. I wish i could swim like these folks i just get so out of breath so fast. Even tried kicking less. Dumb bc i already have good cardio, this holding breath thing is defeating me
My problem too. I'm going to give this a try at tomorrows swim. Many thanks.
I probably forgot how to swim since the pools have been closed for almost a year now. 😩
Same here
Using a snorkel seems a good excercise to expirience your capabilities, then adapt your breathing technique.
Bilateral breathing arggg! I've been back in the pool for the first time since I was a kid (cough maybe 25 years cough), and was forcing myself to breath every 3 strokes because That's How It's Done, and i was just failing. When I finally 'let' myself breath every 2 strokes, it all started coming together.
I hadn't swum for 3 years and I swam one lap and nearly died. It didn't really get better even when I started going multiple times a week every week. I also didn't know how to breathe underwater anymore so it really impacts your flow to keep your head up. I think I'll stick with backstroke if I go again (2 year gap now eek)
Im out of breath after 25 m
Me too
me 3
Me to am fed up can’t seem to master it at all got a half Ironman to do in June and it’s a worry
@@malcolmcrosbie8627 breath out through your nose as soon as your face goes into the water. Don’t take a huge breath in when you do breath
@@daveyscorer1 Thanks for your reply I am breathing out and in only through my mouth not using my nose at all, but to be honest I have tried it both ways still struggling
This is my biggest hurdle! Thank you so much... 🙏🏾
Thank you! I just got back into swimming, I will work on all this.
Thank you for the video!! Y’all are awesome. Exactly the advise I was looking for... specially with how often to breathe. I used the every two strokes like you, and it made all the difference 😎. I’m new to swimming, and I’ve made amazing gains quickly applying your concepts.
I do the opposite in the last exercise, I full my lungs and then take an impulse to the bottom of the poll, and as I start float back to the surface, I slowly release the air like if as controlling my accent velocity. It really works, 2 times is more than enough.
You are right
I have many bad habits, I hope I can correct them. But one thing doing every swim in 6 stroke/breath (500m), 4 stroke/breath(500m),bilateral(500m) and breast stroke(500m)
I was a competitive swimmer in the fifties, I was twelve,no problems breathing, just turn the head and there is a cup beside your mouth . Breathe out just before turning head and then breathe in , no problem.
And now? Does it still work like that?
Easier said than done
@@texasbaseball2015 with modern stroke,yes, keep on top of the water not under it, hand enter the water at an angle, not flat and the hands pull UNDER the body , not out to the side.
Great video. I still always feel discomfort when CO2 is stated as waste product. Without CO2, hemoglobin is uncabable of releasing oxygen for your cells and a persons fitness level is directly related to his/her body's tolerance for CO2 in blood as higher concentration allows more efficient use of oxygen. It is known as the Bohr effect.
I mean it is a waste product by definition.
How do u build that tolerance? By holding ur breathe under water??
@@Ryujinn999 by accumulating co2 in blood. Personally, I train with methods made by Patrick McKeown known as Oxygen Advantage program. While I swim, I increase the strokes between breath step by step. Currently I can swim entire 25m pool with one breath if allowed small recovery and I find the most comfortable pace for long distance to be 3 or 5 strokes / breath
Thanks Mark! What other exercises though!!!! I need more! Cheers from the USA
Thanks those are great tips. Despite the comments i am waiting for the "out of breath after 25m" video....no joke.
Fantastic tips. Thank you for posting. 🙏
I swim for an hour but mainly breast stroke as after a length of freestyle I need to recover.
Brilliant video. 👏👏
This video was made for me. can't wait to try it when pools open again. Maybe not the bilateral breathing until I get a bit better but that exercise at the end for sure going to try it 😂
Great advice! Will try it. Training for 2 open water swims in March, your tips help a lot!
How did they go?
Guys listen. The best tip for this issue is : SWIM VERY OFTEN ! Swim at least 4 times a week. After 6~8 months you get used to this breathing problem. These other tips are not very important
Great counseling thank you.. personally I don't swinm well when I do not sleep enough
I feel like my biggest breathing problem is panicking when reaching my "out of air" point. I am teaching myself to calm myself down and blow the water away from my mouth before breathing in again. I think my CO2 tolerance is getting higher everytime I swim and that's giving me alot more confidence in water.
I can breathe naturally on right side. Left side is a struggle still (head too high or swallow water). I practice every 4 on one side (starting from different hand to get both sides) and every 3 (rotating sides). I am still fine tuning rhythm and technique to make it a habit.
Great Video 🏊♂️ Very Helpful 🏅Thank you 👍
I grew up swimming but running and swimming both make me quickly out of breath. It’s such a pain to have to rest every lap. I never have any issue with cycling. I’ll try breathing every 2 strokes
actually helped a lot before a swimming comp! thank you :)
Thanks for another great video. The colours seem more vivid and the video so crisp- are you using an new camera?
Great advice, really needed this!
Waiting for out of breath after 15m
i think breathing too hard is the main issue. its like you say. we wouldnt breath hard either when cycling or running in a low pace. swimming is mostly around z2 or even z1 so breathing hard is surely not required.
I don’t feel that I struggle so much with breathing because I don’t feel as winded and can complete 50 meter sets without feeling super exhausted but I still can’t seem to do a straight 100 without resting in between so far they say my technique has made leaps and bounds in just a month but my endurance is still not where I want it for a 500 meter swim
Zach, I was the same before. My advice: slow down, breathe more often, RELAX. I am not a great swimmer but can now do 2km open water. Just not fast!
I look forward to trying this 👍
I can't turn my head enough to the left to be able to breathe from that side. Will need to work on it.
This is EXACTLY my problem with swimming. If I only have to swim 100m, I can do it in 1m40s or so. But after the 1st or 2nd lap, my heart is racing and I need to start pausing every 25m lap. I'm blowing bubbles, breathing every 2 strokes, and still suffering. I think my primary issue is over kicking. My legs just feel like they are sinking, so I kick, and that just burns up my O2 and raises my heart rate. Do you have any drills on how to not over kick and force myself to a 2-Beat kick?
Check out total immersion
Put your hip up
@@justinkim_ I wish you could quantify putting your hips up. It's hard to know what body parts are where when you are swimming.
Take some time to swim with a pull buoy, really focusing on your rotation and catch. Also, really think about how you hold your head. Is your neck long and loose? Try letting your head go and allowing it to be supported by the water. I think of this as a "magic switch", and all my clients agree it makes a huge difference. When you "hold" your head in a certain position, IE looking slightly forward and down, this introduces tension which can affect not just your breathing but also your whole range of movement. Being loose and free in your head, neck and back will make a huge difference. See The Art Of Swimming (Steven Shaw) and Swimming Without Stress (Ian and Cheryl Cross) for further tips.
@@canolista7879 Thanks. I'll try more pool buoy usage and remove my kick completely so I can focus on the pull, rotation, and breathing.
Great video, really well presented 👍
Thank you! 👍
really liked the video. I'm a long term lap swimmer. Having first issues with swimmer's elbow. Would welcome any advice or suggestions. Thanks
Good video. All makes sense. Very helpful 👌
Not a fan of exhaling "completely". Nobody does that when running. Keeping 30% and adding 30% of overall capacity feels much more natural and is not nearly as tiring. It's easy to practice swim breathing while walking uphill at 130bpm for instance, you'll see what I mean.
I have difficulties with breathing while swimming in pool when i need to make a turn. I have a feeling that i lose breathing rythm at that point and i don't have confidence to continue swimming before a take a short brake. It's crazy that i can barely do 100 m in pool but i didn't have any problems swimming 2 km in open water without pause.
One thing i just can't get the hang of is inhaling while doing a stroke. I always end up with a mouth or nose full of water.
When i watch a professional it looks like their mouth isn't even clear if the water when they inhale?!
I've only just started back swimming after years away from the pool, so hopefully I'll get back into the swing of things and also build some strength and lose weight.
So useful, thank you!
Just started swimming again after many years my god I couldn't catch a breathe swam for 45 mins gooosed
Would you recommend training with breathing trainers like Power Breath, Airofit and so on (when you're not at the pool or swimming, obviously) to help you breath more easily in the water?
That made it worse I quickly abandoned the power breather. I kept wanting to turn my head. What I didn’t like most was it restricts breathing. I don’t want to train my breathing muscles, I wanted to train my stroke.
I remind myself breath as I would if I were walking when at the top I went from 25m first day of jan and I’m nw doing 200 metre and over takes time to get your breathing just right
When I'm in the ocean, I don't mind my legs dragging along the bottom. I just attach a little net to my feet and catch halibut. But I still do bilateral breathing.
Thank you Mark, great video once again. Very much appreciate the honesty on the unilateral breathing
2:36 what if you’re swimming in the ocean with mad waves. How do you get fresh air so quickly wouldn’t water be flying over my head the whole time ?
I think a good video to make “why my ear hurts when open water freestyle swimming “. This happens to me as I’m warming up for about 5 min. Once I warm up my ear no longer hurts
you should check with a doctor, I am no expert.
@@siddhantrahulpatil why did you answer then?
@@jerryyoung6494 What do you mean, "why did I answer"? I told him to check with a doctor instead of getting diagnosed by people on the internet, doesn't that make sense?
bold of you to assume it takes me 100m to be out of breath and not before.
I feel hopeless at this point. I do nothing right. My teacher tells me quote "You must feel the water, you are not feeling the water". I don't understand what that means exactly. To be relaxed? To not think that much, to not panic? All of these? Like I am trying as much as I can to be relaxed and I feel relaxed until the point when I need to breathe again. I am getting really frustrated, because it seems that I don't make any progress, that I can't "feel the water". Maybe I am not made for swimming even tho I have enormous desire to learn to swim and I am fascinated by this sport and its beauty. She (my teacher) tells me I am doing everything like a robot, that I am too fast, that I don't "pet the water". I feel like a piece of wood in the water, nothing is correct and nothing I try is leading me to at least a little bit of a progress. It has been 3 months since I started and I am starting to question my ability to learn to swim as an adult. I don't know why I am even writing this comment, maybe because I have a built-in frustration of my inability to learn, despite my efforts. Should I stop I wonder....
While I agree with the suggestions about breathing itself, the headline is deceptive because the video only addresses... well breathing. The simple fact of the matter is that exhaustion is a product of too little supply and too much demand, i.e. too little gas (oxygen) available to the motor/s (muscles). Okay muscles need other stuff too, but you do not eat while swimming and should avoid drinking. At any rate: supplying enough oxygen is only one part of the equation, to use your muscles effectively (meaning they do not use more than you can supply) is the other.
I suppose like many triathletes I overused my leg kick, probably because I am fairly good on the bike and rely on their strength. However the big leg muscles also demand huge amounts of oxygen while the smaller upper extremity musculature needs less. And unlike on the bike in the water you get much more forward progress from your arms. Someone taught me that and I stopped kicking like an ostrich, I was able to keep on swimming (to quote a world famous fish). So my experience is: breath properly and give those legs a rest, exhaustion comes much later.
Appreciate your channel!
Great information - thank you!
I always struggle with breathing until I found a solution by make a humming sound when you exhale. Imagine you sing your favorite song by humming. Keep humming until you turn your head to the side for the next breath.
For clarification, when you say two strokes do you regard this as a example: left arm stroke, then right arm stroke, then breathe on left side and repeat the same process? Or do you regard left arm stroke and right arm stroke as one unit and you do this unit two times? To me the later would be four strokes.
I want to trickle the air through my nose, but I get this sensation that I can’t hold back the air and I just want to blow it all out. I can blow some through my mouth to try and even it out and then I get that distressed feeling. Breathing every 3 strokes- it feels like a human respirator…the first 3 or 4 breaths are fine and then it slowly declines. On my way back from 25 yards, I start taking full breaths and that’s the beginning of the end.
Really helped. My case was the first one, even though I swim three times a week 😅👍
great vid!
I find that a cough a whole lot when I swim. I don’t take in any water, and I’ve been swimming for years. I also cough a lot when I run. Any idea why?
Check if you have asthma.
Out of breath after 20 meters… is it anything to do with lack of fitness? Gotta be surely. Is it not the same with running, cycling, etc.
If you break 55 seconds and you aren’t out of breath then I’ll be impressed
First one is definilty one of my problem aha I always think about doing sprints and how your supposed to breathe less, so I try and practice then I remind myself that I’ve done 50 out of 800 😂
Great help !! ty!
No problem!
It’s funny… but in another video by a different coach he stated that exhaling ALL the breath is the problem. He said breathe normally as you do in normal situations. I did this a couple of times and it made sense. For example sit or stand and take a breath in and breath out by forcing the lady bit of air out.. it’s totally unnatural. Am I wrong?
100m?? I'm dying after 20m 😂
I've noticed one thing to explain - the gliding phase - in the video above in all shots of the swimming persons have very short glide just before the catch of the water. Is it not a mistake? The arm that is extended uder water is working when the head still catching the breath. Shouldn't be waiting (the arm in front) for head to almost get back to the water?
It is a known fact that the body can't effectively deliver oxygen through the body in a highly exerted situation for the fist 30-40 minutes. I've been racing bikes for over 30 years and more recent with several triathlons under my belt. Biking wasn't much of an issue although very noticeable. The first 30 minutes can't catch my breath but after about 30 minutes, i can maintain high cadence and hold a conversation. However, swimming which is triathlon first event, is another story i am trying to find a way around it. After the fist 30 minutes, i can increase and continue swimming for miles without running out of breath. But the first 30 minutes, is a problem. I have to stop or slow down quite a bit. In my early years, this time was quite a bit smaller (maybe 15-20 minutes) but it has always been there. As i got older now in my late 40s, i noticed it takes longer to acclimate. Any advice? Yah, i know i could worm up or swim before but that is not always allowed or an option.
I'm out of breath after 25m. Beginner swimmer here!
I'm out of breathf after 20m swimming :(
Great information. Thanks.
I ve been exhaling primarily thru my mouth n secondary thru nose. Is it worse ?
A different video advised to hold your breath because it helps you float better. I tried it but it felt horrible.
I trained to breath every 2nd stroke this the same side. Hit the swim and the wind blew the water in my face it was a nightmare! Train both sides
I don't know if I'm out of breath after 100m but I can't continue swimming when swimming freestyle. If I swimming breatstrokes I can swim an hour without stopping?
I just thought it was the near 50sec time I was doing. Always had 2 breaths over a 100 race, lots of hypoxic training.