Why You're Out Of Breath After 100m Swimming! | How To Master Freestyle Swim Breathing

Freestyle swim breathing, who really has it nailed? How many of you feel out of breath after simply 100m, maybe less? Perhaps you’re fine initially and then it builds up with time. Well trust us, you’re certainly not alone, and today we’re going to help to explain why that’s happening, and how to fix it!

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[taylormit]

Thanks for the tips. Also waiting for the “out of breath after 50m” video.

[sahumullasaud]

Who else is in the "out of breath by 25m" club..?

[aroundandround]

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.

[rossmckechnie]

This video was made for me, I'm that guy who breaststroked his way round his first triathlon

[berniefynn]

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.

[moonbeam]

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

[tecmalo]

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 😂

[guapamt]

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!

[komoste]

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...

[donmann]

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.

[LewisHorsley]

Exactly what I struggle with in swimming! Anyone else counting down the days before getting back in the pool because of lockdown? 🥴

[Wolves]

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!

[RobManser]

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.

[gadjoemi]

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!

[sameersaroha]

if you rip out your lungs you don't need to breath in the first place

[jedisentinel]

So much technique and timing involved. I’m still lightheaded when I’m done with my laps. Finding that sweet spot is tough

[KaanSoral]

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

[canolista]

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.

[ancliuin]

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!

[Badrsta]

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