Swim breathing
Bynxy
Posts: 7
in General Chat
Has anyone got any good tips for better breathing and technice for crawl as I am struggling I have always done Brest stroke and can do that all day long
0
Bynxy
Posts: 7
Bynxy
Posts: 7
Comments
Where are you based? May get some good coach recommendations posted.
HarryD
I went from being a breaststroking(!) swimmer to now being able to easily swim 2km open water, granted, not fast by any means but comfortable and enjoyable.
It took a while but basically I stopped doing breaststroke and only did crawl. I focused on doing one length well, then rest, then another length, at each session I looked to reduce the rest time in between lengths.
The big thing for me was working out which breathing worked, same side, bi-lateral, every 3rd, 4th or 5th stroke etc. I think this is key. I found that I swam in a more relaxed way if just breathing to one side every left stroke. Everybody is different and you have to find the breathing pattern that is most comfortable for you. Once you find the right method you'll soon relax and start to improve. BUT, like everyone said, it does take time and practice, plenty of practice.
One last thing to add. I know that many natural swimmers and some swim coaches don't like it when you breathe on only one side, but in my opinion, if it works for you and your relaxed then it's probably best for you.
TC
also there is a site called Swim Smooth that give really good tips about technique and all that
Good luck!
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The ZFive
A Triathlon Inspired Brand
What you need to do is to focus on relaxed, continuous exhalation when your head is in the water - you can practice this without swimming and in a standing position, then progress to 'sinking' into the water then finally when you are swimming.
Simply inhale and then as soon as you put your head into the water (standing, sinking, swimming), exhale in a relaxed manner - through nose or mouth or both - until you feel like you naturally need to take a breathe - then lift your head, come up or rotate and inhale. Note that you will probably not have fully exhaled in many of your early attempts at this - but try to relax and exhale until your lungs feel naturally empty and ready for a breathe.
Practice this many times and you should start to feel comfortable and much more relaxed - and you should be surprised at how easy swimming then feels whilst continuously exhaling. Note also that if you want to contact a CERTIFIED Swim Smooth Coach, see: http://www.swimsmooth.com/certifiedcoaches.html
That's right I'm not a certified swim smooth coach and have never promoted myself as such. I have however completed the swim smooth coaches CPD with Paul and Adam (early last year) and have been coaching the swim smooth way prior to this for four years or so now. I'm also an active member of the swim smooth forum (http://www.swimsmoothforum.com/) helping people out with their swim technique pretty much on a daily basis if I can.
Nothing stopping anyone going to a certified coach however as I know a few of them myself personally and they are all excellent coaches and have worked hard for the privelidge of becoming swim smooth coaches I am simply offering my own services here (as someone who has coached the swim smooth way for a number of years) the swim smooth way as opposed to ASA, Total Immersion, or any other option out there. My apologies if I have mislead anyone in any way.
I`m not in a position to work with a coach or Tri team as I work in Ghana, so any useful sites or tips would be greatly appreciated.
2 - 3 km isn't a problem as I can complete this easily doing breast stroke, but need to work on my crawl if I want to improve my Tri times.
Any help as I said would be great.
* Do you find it hard to pull your arms out of the water at the end of the stroke?
* Do your legs sink when swimming?
* Are you kicking hard or not at all when doing front crawl?
If you are in a position to post some video to the swimsmooth forum then I or some others on the forum will be able to help you out as much as we can.