Home Chat General Chat

Swim - Breathing out through nose?

Hi Folks



Hope the training is going well! I wanted to ask you all about breathing out through your nose when swimming (FC). I noticed while watching a swimming video (Becoming a faster swimmer - Tom Jager) that Tom breaths out through his nose, i did try this yesterday but ended up getting a lung full of water!



Who does? Who doesn't? And why?



I look forward to hearing from you....... ;)

Comments

  • Swimming is my weakest discipline and I'm no expert but I can't expel the air quick enough through my nose so I'm a mouth only FC'er. (I generally breath every stroke on the same side so I've less time to complete the breathing process than others)



    I think it's one of those things that you should do what suits you rather than aspiring to a pro swimmer.



    I've a great clip of Grant Hackett in full flow but I still swim more like Jim Hackett regardless of the time I spend studying it[:(]
  • agent_tiagent_ti Posts: 306
    The main reason for breathing out through your nose is so that your lungs are empty when you come to take a breath, and you dont spend the first part when you should be breathing in, getting rid of used air in your lungs, so you can inhale more oxygen. It is well worth trying to practise this and get it right, because you will find you will be able to take more air in an so be able to swim harder. Just remember to breath in when your mouth is out of the water!
  • hi gary

    i tend to vary between breating out of my nose and mouth underwater so that when i surface i just have to take a quick breath in...



    though thats how everyone breathes??
  • woodywoody Posts: 52
    great video by Tom, but I feel it's a little out dated for teaching now, but he breathing out through the nose is something i can do, but don't very often. It seems more comfortable to just keep my mouth open, and breath out slowly but continuously while under the water. I recall reading on another forum, that your mouth should be like a goldfish, always open and roundish, seems to work. But as posted above, do what works, and is most comfortable for you. Tom only breaths once or twice on each 50m length, but then he only needs to swim 100 or 200m and thats it, but at speed, we need to be able to keep swimming longer, and if doing a tri, get out and still be able to ride the bike afterwards.
  • BritspinBritspin Posts: 1,655
    Practice, practice, practice a couple of years ago 220 did a winter drills sequence that had breathing drills in. One was bouncing up & down in the deep end in a head under, head out way, to get a rhythm going & to feel how the rib cage auotmatically pushes air out of you & recoils to allow it back in.

    If I recall it was small breaths in thru mouth, drop under water (you are upright BTW) let the air out with a little force thru your nose, bounce back up out of water & your ribcage expands enough with no real effort, to pull air into your lungs thru mouth again.

    Other than that float on the surface, with a float or not if you can manage, deep breath in to fill lungs & blow it all out thru your nose, get used to it, then try with a stroke to get the rhythm..add another etc.
  • RockieRockie Posts: 40
    I can't breathe through the nose, I get nosebleeds.
  • BopomofoBopomofo Posts: 980
    Never really understood why you should have any restriction in getting the air out of your lungs. Surely just breathing out through your nose means you have to put more efort into exhaling?



    In bi-lateral breathing I puff a little out on the pull of the first stroke, then blow it all out on the second. On the big exhalation I use mouth, nose, ears [:)], wherever I can get the air out. If I could flip open the top of my head I'd give it a go.



    Doesn that make sense? Breathing out through nostrils has got to be slower and need more effort than blowing out of your mouth.
  • BritspinBritspin Posts: 1,655
    I always took it (nose breathing) to be a way of slowing down the exhale to stop the grabbing of air in & the gasping out..if you like smoothing the breathing pattern, but exhaling thru pursed lips would have the same effect. Basically tho' I try to avoid having my mouth open in the water for the reasons of swallowing what may be therein contained...
  • bennybenny Posts: 1,314
    Doesn't the nose breathing technique limit it's productive use to yoga and meditaion techniques, cause I think that's the only benefit one can get out of it: calming down, control breathing( which seems impossibleto me if you yust went 'all out'!?).

  • BlinkybazBlinkybaz Posts: 1,144
    I was struggling with breathing out through my nose underwater and now do a bit of nose and mouth to stop any water inhale action.
  • BopomofoBopomofo Posts: 980
    britspin... I still need to get the air out, and it doesn't all fit out of my nose. So long as there's positive pressure (i.e. I'm blowing) then none of the chlorine, sweat, plasters, swan poo, diesel, aviation fuel and rat pee* can get into my mouth.



    Whatever works for you, though.



    *Depending on location.
  • BritspinBritspin Posts: 1,655
    I fully understand & agree about the +ve pressure, so long as its all leaving & not arriving all is good. I did read somewhere that there is a tendncy to grab too much air in, which leaves you with too much air to get out, so one tends to end up gasping & grabbing at air, which I think may be the point of the 'bobbing' drill I mentioned before, teaches you that you need less air than you think.
Sign In or Register to comment.