Triathlon Swimming Q&A: How do I incorporate breathing into my freestyle stroke?

March 8 , 2010

Q: I have a really hard time incorporating breathing into my freestyle stroke. Any ideas?

A: Breathing is something that is very important to all of us.  You can live without food for weeks, water for hours, but you cannot last more than a few minutes without air.  Because of this, people tend to take every precaution to make sure they get air when they are worried about it.

In freestyle, this worry often convinces people to turn their head waaayy too far skyward.  I have seen people turn their head so their eyes are pointing to the ceiling.  It is like I am watching the Exorcist movie.

In reality, the air just above the surface of the water is just as good anywhere else.  Turn your head far enough to get your mouth clear of the water and no further.  Also, work on coordinating your breath to your shoulder rotation.  When your upper body is rotated, your neck has to twist very little to get your mouth above the water.   

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