Subject: RE: Swim Breathing Wow, breathing through the nose. I haven't heard of anyone intentionally inhaling through the nose. Just figured people didn't like the water getting in there by chance. That will probably be really hard for you to overcome. It is going to take a little while for you to transition to just the mouth. I would suggest taking your time and walking through the mechanics of it slowly. Maybe you will want to set some time aside and work on it after your swim. May as part of your "cool down", or stretch.
I would think that breathing from only the mouth is more efficient. First you only have one source to choke on accidental water intake. And if you intake water by mouth you usually can recover quicker than if by nose. Second, your volume of intake is far greater and quicker through the mouth.
As stated before, you should be exhaling while your face is in the water, all the way to the point when you face breaks the surface. If you have to, while inhaling on the stroke, lift your head a little higher out of the water, until you build up your efficiency. Also you mentioned breathing on every stoke. You should really try to alternate your breathing so that you are breathing after atleast 2 strokes. This will reduce your time a little. You might want to have a goal to breath after every 3rd stroke which means that you will need to practice breathing from both sides.
Now, after all that has been said. When it come to race time. Do what feels natural. Don't try to force something new during a race event. Hope I didn't babble too much. |