1.5 First Attempts at Freestyle Breathing – how to Do It

Can’t manage to breathe in? There really is very little time for that breath, and quite often what happens is that you shorten that precious moment even more on your own — because you start turning your head to the side too late. So let’s take a closer look at how to do it right.
It’s important that when practicing breathing during the front crawl stroke, you’re fully aware of where your hand is and where your head is. The scenario is the same with all my beginner swimmers – the swimmer hits the water with their arm, the arm is already returning, and only then do they lift their head and start gasping for air. And they miss it. So I shout, “Earlier!” and on the next try, “Earlier again!”
And again and again, because they’re simply not starting to turn their head in time. Try yelling it at yourself now — really start turning your head for the breath the moment your fingers drop even a centimeter into the stroke.
Let’s break it down step by step.
The key is to realize: when my arm is in front, my face is facing the bottom and I exhale.
When my arm is behind, my face must already be out of the water and I inhale.
And in order to make it in time, you have to start turning your head right at the beginning of the arm pull. As soon as my fingers start to drop from the surface, that’s the first impulse to start rotating the torso and turning the head to the side toward the ceiling. It’s important to realize that once the arm reaches the thigh and your head is still pressed down, you’ll never make it in time for the breath.
Do your best to have your face out of the water at the moment when your stroking arm is at your thigh, and most importantly, to arrive there already having exhaled with room for new air.
So, let’s assume we’ve exhaled, the arm has reached the back and our face is out of the water in time.
Will we have a lot of time? No. For the inhale, we only have a quarter of the stroke – it’s a window that opens when the hand is at the thigh and closes when the hand passes the head. From the whole oval that the arm traces, we only have that quarter for the breath, nothing more, just a quick moment. That’s why the inhale must be fast and sharp – but it’s just a matter of practice. Soon you’ll get it and it will become automatic.
Try to memorize a few points that will make your life easier when you start trying your first crawl breaths:
– Before you start inhaling, you must exhale completely to make space in your lungs for new air.
– Do your best to start turning your head already during the stroke, so your face is out at the moment your stroking arm is at your thigh.
– The inhale is sharp and only through the mouth, not the nose.
With this exercise we’ve described in this chapter, you’ll create more time than is usual during a regular crawl stroke. It may seem like science fiction to you now, but that’s how it works. Once you get that breath in there, the window will naturally begin to shrink, and you’ll find your own rhythm that’s most comfortable for you. But I strongly recommend starting with what we showed you – meaning that your first breath attempts should already involve turning your head during the stroke.