Swimming with a SNORKLE

Superdub2

Howdi,

Ive been looking to do lenghts of the pool on a regular basis as a form or cardio exercise and have been hindered by the fact that i cant seem to get my breathing right. due to this i cant do two laps without being out of breath and can barely make two. So therefore i need to stop for a bit between almost every lenght. i am a relatively fit person and have been doing this for a few months and dont seem to be able to get the breathin right at all.

So i had an idea...
How about using a snorkle (without the huge goggles) in a swimming pool so i can do as many lenghts as i want and will only be restricted by my physical fitness rather than my breathing. I was wondering what people thought of this??

Stark

Sounds like it would be fairly awkward. Have you tried getting lessons to help with your breathing? Breathing can be tough for many people to master (including myself), but there are plenty of tips that you can get to help with it.

Superdub2

RArkward, really? Would it not be just simple enough to have it sticking up out of the wate and you swim with the head dow, less arkward than sticking ur head up for breathing?

And where abouts can i find all these tips!

hunnymonster

you don't stick your head up to breathe in freestyle, you should rotate it around to the side... this could be where you are going wrong? If you stick your head up, you will push your legs down, lose momentum and destabilise yourself. Think of your body as a long arrow. rotating around the long axis is not going to slow the arrow down much, dipping the tail will.

You didn't answer if you had tried lessons?

Google "swimming tips" and plenty will come up.

Clseeper

Doesn’t using a snorkel not defeat the purpose your doing it for, a cardio workout? One of the things about frontcrawl is that you have to hold your breath with exercising, aquatic sport are some of the only ones I can think of that you have to do this for. This is one of the reasons that they’re so good as a work out. It forces your body to adapt to handle your oxygen better and also increase lung capacity.

I suggest what hunnymonster says and get yourself a few lessons to correct the breathing. It isn’t a particularly easy thing to do and requires a good bit of practice and coordination.

If you’re really dead set on avoiding it, I’ve seen a few specially designed snorkels around as a training aid for competitive swimmers. I can’t see a massive advantage in them unless you’re limiting the airway and forcing the swimmer to work hard on less air. I think the reasoning is to allow the swimmers more time to concentrate on their strokes.

DolphinMasters

Superdub2

Try drills to help you with your breathing. Get a kick board (normally your local pool will have one that you can borrow, failing that you can pick one up easily enough at a good sports store) and hold on to it with one hand while swimming Frontcrawl. So you will be doing your length with one hand pulling and one hand on the board. You will have your head down all the time and every time you want to breathe (get into a pattern of breathing on a count of 3 strokes) instead of lifting your head up just turn your head to the side, enough to clear your mouth of the water and take a quick breath. You don't need to take a huge gulp of air in your lungs, as you will be breathing every 3 strokes. Alternate hands as you do your practice - best to start out doing this in 25's and then build it up to 50's etc. Once you have the hang of it with one hand you could try branching out and trying it two hands doing the pull, still breathing every three strokes. This is what we call bi-lateral breathing and will help to maintain an even body roll and stroke. Make sure that all the while you are doing this that you keep your legs kicking, very important! Otherwise your arms are going to get very tired if they are overworked!

axer

I have/had the same problem myself and it is only now I have started to learn to breath properly. I used to hold my breath whilst swimming only to breath out just before I took my next breath. I was always tired after 2 lengths then.

I have now started breathing out slowly once my head goes back into the water after taking a breath. It seems I can last longer now but im still only practicing.

I think you should try and get your breathing right instead of going for a snorkel. There are plenty of tutorials on the internet including youtube.

Canis Lupus

It took me a couple of months of swimming 30-45mins a DAY to break the 4 length barrier and I was pulling my hair out in frustration. My advice:

If you're tearing up the pool kicking your legs like mad and causing a tidal wave through the pool you'll run out of gas QUICK. You need to slow right down and I mean RIGHT down, forget the fact that breast stroking grannies (that sounds wrong) are overtaking you. Speed comes later as technique improves. Remember the most time you see swimming is on tv with the athletes. They're covering a short distance as fast as possible whereas you just want distance right now. Watch other good swimmers in the pool. See how measured and relaxed their movement is? Try to copy it.

Your legs are used to keep you in a more horizontal position. Use them sparingly/gently because your arms/shoulders do the most work. Having the benefit of watching mates now trying to learn shows me their legs going like the clappers, in mad big movements and they're also going in all different directions. I was doing the same when I started.

3 stroke breathing is crucial and like Hunny said rotate the head. If you aren't doing that properly then forget the rest and NAIL the breathing. Also take good deep breaths and whilst alot of people trickle the air out I usually blow out on each stroke (hand hits water, breathe out, hand hits water breath out, hand hits water and rotate whilst breathing all out completely then breathe in and back to it) pushing all the air on as my head is coming clear of the water. This is also VERY important as you only have limited clear air time and you can't be wasting it. When your mouth clears the water you should be on the verge of sucking in.


Finally this video helped me heaps and it's great like it says to watch it before swimming and visualise it when in the pool. http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=7dJs0ToB_z4

If all else fails. Grab lessons