Learning to swim, need specific advice on breathing

July 26, 2023 7:06 AM

I've been going to classes for a month now. I have been practicing front stroke with the aid of a float, but I'm hitting a wall as I'm struggling with the breathing aspect and I can't figure it out. The instructor isn't being much help so I'm getting a bit desperate, hence this post.

This is the specific problem:

I put my head in the water and blow bubbles out of my mouth. I have also recently tried blowing out of my mouth and nose at the same time, but the same thing happens next regardless.

I blow bubbles right up until the point that I turn my head to the side, clear out of the water and breathe in through my mouth.

At this point, residual water goes right up my nose and down the back of my throat every single time- painful.

The instructor confirmed I am turning my face sideways clear out of the water. She said I must be inhaling water just before I turn my head - but I swear I'm not - I'm blowing out until my face is clear out of the water. It feels like residual water in my nostrils.

I've watched others in the class turn their heads and breathe in through their mouth and water doesn't seem to go up their nasal passage. What am I doing wrong?

I have tried everything and I've now just started using a nose peg out of desperation.

posted by Sunflower88 to Health & Fitness (20 answers total)

Huh. When I swim, I breathe in through my mouth only. I keep my nose closed, the same way I would if I were somewhere really stinky and trying to avoid smelling while still breathing.
posted by Ausamor at 7:37 AM on July 26, 2023 [4 favorites]

There are nose clips specifically designed for use when swimming, that keep your nose closed so the only way you can breathe is through your mouth. Maybe those would help?
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:43 AM on July 26, 2023 [9 favorites]

former swimming instructor here. I would recommend doing A LOT of bobs (sink to the bottom while exhaling fully through nose or nose/mouth, then bounce off the bottom, pop up for the inhale, then back under for the exhale) until you feel comfortable with that breathing pattern. Try sets of 5, then 10, then slowly increase. I think once this feels natural to you you'll have an easier time doing it while swimming.

It's also weird to me your instructor isn't having you bob already, but I did mostly teach little kids and I've been out of the game for a while so maybe bobs are out of style?
posted by justjess at 7:44 AM on July 26, 2023 [7 favorites]

Response by poster: Sorry- to clarify. I am absolutely fine with my breathing when going under water and coming straight up with my head straight and facing forwards. I have practiced this many times.

To be clear, this is specifically an issue when practicing front crawl and having to turn my head sideways, face upwards to breathe. That's when water goes up my nose.
posted by Sunflower88 at 8:04 AM on July 26, 2023

2nding the nose clip.
posted by koahiatamadl at 8:06 AM on July 26, 2023

Another thing you can try is to blow a tiny bit of air out during the stroke (one way to control this is to hum while you swim!) and then JUST before you turn your head to take a breath, really blow a LOT out only, or at least primarily, from your nose. You may not actually be blowing much air out of your nose when you're swimming, which may be allowing water to circulate back up in to it, which will then allow it to travel further in to your head as you turn to breathe.
posted by saladin at 8:10 AM on July 26, 2023 [4 favorites]

Something that gets glossed over in sports is how different bodies really do behave differently in the same set of conditions. You might just have a nose that lets water in in a way that is different than the other swimmers or instructor in your class. Some people can "close their nose", some people use their upper lip to plug their nostrils. Some of us deal with the searing pain of water in their nasal cavities and it kills the joy of swimming. So get some noseplugs for front crawl. I like this style.

Once you are really comfortable with the stroke (in a couple of years?) you can wean yourself off the noseplugs. But yah, there is nothing worse than trying to swim with the searing pain of water in your nasal cavity. No fun at all.
posted by Sauter Vaguely at 8:12 AM on July 26, 2023 [11 favorites]

I just wanted to clarify that "wean yourself off the the noseplugs" would be done exactly how saladin is describing it: little dribbles of air through the nose continuously, up until the exact moment of breathing. But it can be mastered once you are comfortable with the timing of the stroke and muscle memory that reassures you that you will not run out of air.
posted by Sauter Vaguely at 8:16 AM on July 26, 2023 [4 favorites]

Try practicing the entire process reeeeally slowly with a kickboard.

Hold the kickboard way out with the hand/side you don’t breathe on.

Kick and do a super slow stroke and head turn with the other side of your body. Pay attention to your pattern of how far your head is out of the water when you do your final exhale and then inhale. Adjust the degree of head turn and inhalation as needed. A few laps like that and muscle memory kicks in.

And I also don’t use my nose at all when I swim. I keep my nose “plugged” or closed up internally and only use my mouth for inhaling and exhaling.
posted by Silvery Fish at 8:35 AM on July 26, 2023 [1 favorite]

I’m an ex-competitive swimmer and was a long time swim instructor. TBH I’m a bit stumped since this is something I do on auto-pilot.

Best I can come up with is that this isn’t a swimming technique problem per-se it’s a breathing technique issue. There’s almost no way to keep your nose completely free of water when swimming. The trick is really just not inhaling with your nose so that water that gets in your nose doesn’t go further down.

I have no idea how to practice this but get the feeling that nose plugs are probably the best solution short term.
posted by bitdamaged at 9:04 AM on July 26, 2023 [2 favorites]

At this point, residual water goes right up my nose and down the back of my throat every single time- painful.

This sounds quite similar to a problem lots of swimmers run into when trying somersaults and flip-turns. In that case the problem is getting used to the moment when your head is facing upwards in the water- which can cause water to into your the and throat with painful results. The solution there is to practice breathing out through your nose at the crucial moment- so the water does not get in. People say the best way of achieving this is hum when your head is in that part of the cycle. If this is the issue you are facing then maybe you should also look at not turning your head quite so far to breathe.
posted by rongorongo at 9:11 AM on July 26, 2023

I’m not sure that this is the correct way, but I’ll still tell you how I do it as a former lifeguard and swimming instructor. While I swim laps my mouth is honestly just kind of open while my face is in the water and I’m sure I’m letting out air, but I’m not necessarily intentionally blowing bubbles, as I turn my head out of the water I’m actually holding my breath for just a brief moment and then as I turn my face completely out of the water I left out the tiniest puff of air and then breath in again (through my mouth). I don’t think I ever really use my nose at all while swimming. I’m not saying this is right, but if you’re just a recreational swimmer, this might be worth at least trying
posted by raccoon409 at 9:13 AM on July 26, 2023

For a long time, when swimming crawl, which I learned on my own, I would give a little push with my hands to lift myself out of the water to breathe, and then in college, I took a swimming class with a terrible instructor, but was able to figure it out correctly.

Maybe watch some videos. You are really persistent, impressive.
posted by theora55 at 9:26 AM on July 26, 2023 [1 favorite]

Yes, I think those who are saying you need to blow out of your nose are right. This phrase:

I blow bubbles right up until the point that I turn my head to the side, clear out of the water and breathe in through my mouth.

makes me think that you are stopping blowing out too soon. I think that I breathe out of my nose as it comes out of the water, not just before coming out of the water. Try to really exaggerate breathing out the nose long after your face comes out of the water.
posted by pjenks at 9:52 AM on July 26, 2023 [3 favorites]

I watched a youtube video years ago that described using the depression in the water produced by the wake around your head to get a breath, rather than trying to get your face farther up out of the water. You have to kind of move your entire mouth to one side of your face in an exaggerated grimace (imagine you're a gangster in an old-timey comic book).
posted by nanny's striped stocking at 11:29 AM on July 26, 2023

I'm currently taking adult swimming lessons with the local Masters team, and they are excellent instructors. What they told me is to practice bobs, and during my stroke to exhale out through my nose and mouth as much as I can, and then I turn to the side and breath, with one eye in the water so I am not lifting my head up. The key part is that breathing needs to be rhythmic and you find your own rhythm, but it is a series of continuous motions. In the masters team, the qualification is being able to do at least 10 bobs without stopping, which helps with creating the rhythm.

While breathing, the grimace face is ideal, but regular mouth breathing is fine too. Water goes up my nose when I haven't exhaled enough through my nose during the face down portion.
posted by yueliang at 11:53 AM on July 26, 2023

I struggled with swimming in general, and especially with the front crawl for different reasons - mostly I was always desperate to have more of my head above water than necessary.
The reason I mention this is because when I learned to swim better, the main thing that helped me might help you: doing things very slowly.

I would just float (not swim) face down in the water and... be okay. Then I would slowly roll my whole body until I could breathe, but I really learned to take my time feeling what was okay and what wasn't. I did get lots of painful water down my sinuses while figuring this out. If I got in trouble, I could just complete the roll and go onto my back to recover.

When I started actually swimming, I would also move very slowly to feel things out, and that included doing one stroke and just gliding in a breathing position for as long as I liked. I wouldn't win any races that way but I learned that swimming didn't have to be a sprint or a struggle.

The flutterboard (or I guess using the edge of the pool) technique above would help.
I'm definitely going to try some techniques from this thread, too!

Nose plugs are a valid choice, though. Why not have them available as a backup or even a first choice?
posted by Acari at 2:14 PM on July 26, 2023

Longtime swimmer and certified lifeguard here. When you turn your head to take a breath, make sure to keep one eye in the water - you shouldn't turn your head so far that your entire face comes out of the water. When it is time to rotate your head to breathe, there will be some water in your nose, so right before you turn your head to breathe, exhale through your nose first, then finish exhaling through your mouth, and after that turn your head to breathe. No shame in using nose plugs, either. :)
posted by SageTrail at 2:38 PM on July 26, 2023 [1 favorite]

When I was learning this, it was hard for me too - and I found that the trick for me was to not just turn my head sideways but also tuck my chin a tiny bit. This way the top of my head is blocking some of the water flow from my forward momentum, making a little “hollow” in the water that gives me space for my breath and directing water away from my nose.

I’m not a professional or even really a fervent hobbyist, so I can’t speak to how proper that is mechanically - but I wanted to know how to swim “right” after years of just swimming with my head above water all the time. This was the only way I could really manage it.
posted by invincible summer at 7:07 PM on July 26, 2023

I read that its partially genetic (based on your nose structure) whether or not you can close your nose when swimming. It might not be possible for you, you might need to use nose plugs.
posted by meepmeow at 1:52 PM on July 27, 2023