6 Reasons Why You're Out Of Breath When You Swim!

[@HRoss22]

1) I'm hella out of shape

[@Tyler-durden2]

Us bro ,any update now? Are you in shape now?

[@MichaelDavis-uu9zh]

And is there a 2) ?

[@NoNo-qg6fx]

*submarine shape

[@yuurishibuya4797]

Round, spherical are shapes too!

[@Beaver8080]

2) I have too much shape 🐳

[@jadem.7227]

1) poor body position 2) not rotating well 3) holding your breath 4) rushing your breath 5) kicking too hard 6) swimming too fast

[@JimmyJamesonJnr]

7) being a land whale.

[@zammich3649]

I just started swimming for exercise for the first time in my life (just for fun before), and one of the first things causing me a lot of problems is breathing. This video and others have given me a lot of good tips that answer many of my questions, and I can't wait to give it a go again tomorrow and hopefully be able to make it 25m consistently without having to stop and restart in the middle. (I'll probably be back here later to remind myself of everything again until it's down pat)

[@gtn]

Really hope this video has helped! Let us know how your next swim goes! 🙌

[@zammich3649]

@@gtn it went MUCH MUCH better!!! i made it across the 25m pool multiple times without having to stop in the middle to catch up with my breath. although i still need to improve A LOT! i had to breath almost every stroke and my movements are terribly inefficient.

[@BonaFideWildLife]

As a female that loathes weight training, my swimming breath work got better once I started strength training my upper body! It's like it opened up my chest and allowed me to swim faster with more endurance. I hit a new PR with that one change.

[@SBoots29]

Yes I found I improved my breathing by slowing down, relax, and stay calm. Good points. I intend to make my Triathlon experience better by improving my weakest sport which is swimming. Cheers

[@leslie7922]

Thanks I'll try this also

[@lemondrop8203]

Do you breath out in the water?

[@leslie7922]

@@lemondrop8203 yes, I constantly exhale to clear CO2 build up

[@lemondrop8203]

@@leslie7922 I thought the water would make it hard to breath out underwater

[@leslie7922]

@@lemondrop8203 what? Not at all it's easy as. Do you swim?

[@patfiddles]

Excellent video- I've found part of my problem is exhaling too hard and fast in the water as opposed to a slow, rhythmic exhale- I've also had success pausing a split second on the inhale to let the water roll down the front of my face- I get less water in my mouth which lets me take a softer breath in without thinking I'm "taking water in" and gasping. I'm certainly going to look into this abdominal breathing mentioned below. I think that will be very helpful too.

[@NancyWhite-hv8lo]

Back to swimming after 11 years....now 69 years old.. so happy to see KZbin videos on form and breathing, because I really want to improve both. Only able to do a lap after going halfway and stopping to breathe. I was instructed in years past to rotate my head but not rotate my body when taking a breath, so this rotating my body is new to me, and I will try it. Thank you for the easy content!

[@pezza3146]

I always do a couple of sink downs before I set off. Nicely breathing out and relaxing my breath and getting used to to the different environment that is being in water. Then a steady warm up even if my fellow club members decide to shoot off fast in my lane, I know that a good warm up is essential to the rest of the swim session and how not exerting your breath straight away will lead to a far better swim when you start to implement your drills and then moving in to your main set.

[@wellness.drpankaj]

10 days on the routine and my body responded miraculously to those undesired and intractacble pain. Thank you strengthside

[@wit2pz]

These are exactly what I've been looking for! New swimmer here; not in life, but new to swimming for exercise. The hardest part has been unlearning old, bad techniques. Filling my lungs/ mouth with air and puffing out my cheeks was something I learned to do when I was 4-5 years old; I'm 48 now. I've done it up until about 6 weeks ago when I decided I want to swim for exercise and build stamina, so that when I go visit my girlfriend's family home in Croatia, where they don't have a shoreline, I won't have to look like a goofball wearing water wings and floaties while everyone else swims like it's nothing! Lol! Learning to overcome the reflex of swallowing when water reaches my chin was a project in focus, and I've become better at exhaling through my nose while my face is under water. I've improved incrementally, but losing my breath and becoming fatigued quickly still gives me fits, especially after the first 50 meters of swimming. I take a break at the end of every 25 meters because I need it! I'm going to try and implement the things mentioned in this video when I go swimming tomorrow during my work day. My last session, which was Monday, was the first time I video recorded myself. That video made me aware of another list of issues, among which is that I have to continue strengthening exercises for my left rotator cuff. My left arm hardly comes above the water line, but rather pushes forward just beneath the surface. That tells me that I need to focus more on rotation. I'm going to like and subscribe so I can replay this video before my session tomorrow. Cheers!

[@Weederslo]

Did you already had your trip to Croatia - were you a goofball or a fish in the water? :) After reading your comment I got invested in your journey and would be interested to know how your training is coming along!

[@wit2pz]

@@Weederslo THANK YOU for asking! I have not made it to Croatia yet, but we're planning to go next year. My swimming is coming along; I was able to reach my goal of swimming 1000 meters before my 49th birthday! I still get fatigued, but my form has improved over time. I was given some real helpful advice by a swimmer in the next lane to use the flippers and paddles, as it would make it easier to work on breathing and technique. I'll share videos of my progress on my channel, if you're interested to see how it started vs how it's going! I'm honored and very appreciative of your comment and interest! Best to you! Mike

[@melav9951]

how you overcame the reflex of swallowing every time i get water in my mouth i panic

[@wit2pz]

@melav 99, I used the technique of standing in front of the wall in the shallow end. Take a breath in through your mouth. Bend forward, put your head under water, looking at the floor of the pool, and force yourself to exhale through your nose. Lift your head back up, inhale through your mouth, and bend forward and put your head under the water and exhale through your nose again. Do it as many times as you can, until you can feel more comfortable. It’s okay to get water in your mouth, just make sure you push it out when you exhale. After you get the basics down, you’ll learn to turn your head to the side and inhale through your mouth that way. Practice inhaling through your mouth, and exhaling through your nose. Be patient with yourself. It took me about 3 weeks before I could feel comfortable doing it. I’m happy to answer any other questions you may have!

[@patfiddles]

The more things you think about, the more tense you get, and then you'll find your legs starting to sink. Breathing was a big hurdle for me to overcome. Spend a session just relaxing you arms and breathing. Try to see how lightly you can exhale under water and inhale lightly as well. If you get that strained feeling in your gut that makes you want to gasp, just stop, relax, and try again.

[@davidporter2828]

I've been swimming for 1 year and 1 day! I made virtually no progress at all until getting a pullbouy, then neoprene shorts and eventually a wetsuit. Now I can do a decent job without any of those aids. I was so busy fighting to stay flat in the water that I could never work on technique. Once I got a sense of better body position I was able to relax and make steady progress - also with help from your videos 😀✅ Cheers!

[@leslie7922]

Shit, awesome for you but I'm now worried because I want to swim better and only have 11 months to swim 2km non stop 😢 rip

[@davidporter2828]

I should clarify that before I started swimming I spent about 18 months splashing around getting absolutely nowhere and being really frustrated and annoyed with it! Once I got started with the pullbouy etc. the rate of improvement was pretty miraculous. In January last year I could barely do 100m in the pool without being totally gassed, by September I was up to 3K (open water in a wetsuit). So keep going, good luck.

[@leslie7922]

@@davidporter2828 awesome thank you 🙇 🙇 and nice gains!

[@sampearce4595]

What are neoprene shorts and how did they help

[@davidporter2828]

@@sampearce4595 basically, they are shorts made out of the same material as a wetsuit, they give you more buoyancy around the upper thighs+hips and stop your legs sinking. Often referred to as buoyancy shorts.

[@2Missundastood]

This is superb! As a brand new front crawler this summer (breast stroke all my life with no face ever in the water) Im trying hard to improve my sea swimming skills - every single one of these tips are absolutely spot on! Many thanks, you guys are awesome :-)

[@gtn]

Thanks! It's really great to hear that our content has been so helpful 😊 Is there anything you'd like to see from us in the future? 👀

[@griffyangel1060]

E post lunch X men h db in

[@maschasmit1867]

I actually found my breathing improved significantly after I realized my breathing was too high up, chest-breading. Focussing on abdominal breathing was the trick... and improved body position...

[@AGeeez]

What is abdominal breathing?

[@VrigeHD]

@@AGeeez u breathe into ur "stomach" and not ur chest if that makes sense

[@AGeeez]

@@VrigeHD yea it makes sense I will try it thank you

[@KaiColloquoun-gt7kw]

I found the opposite. Abdominal breathing resulted in loss off shape

[@TryRickPayton]

I starting swimming last year. I been out of commission going on due to a shoulder injury. All of these tips was a fact, going to fast and getting out of breath. Also not rotating my body while I am doing my strokes in the water. Thank you much for these tips. I can't wait to get my surgery over so I can't wait to get back into the water.

[@SingaporeGmaxFeb2012]

this is wonderful input. I've always been scared of water (38 yrs) and started learning swimming a couple of days ago. I see that I am doing everything wrong here, including panicking when under water. I am really unaware of how i can get rid of that fear, because i get a strong feeling that I'd drown, even in 4 feet of water!

[@arjit83]

That last tip was the best to me! I can go on forever in a breast stroke as I've nailed the slow and relaxed pace, but am always getting tired half way the length of a pool with freestyle as I do move quite fast. Will try to slow it down and see if I can do it better!

[@ak47surve]

I am in the same boat! Can go endlessly in breathstroke and can’t comfortable do 25m in freestyle 🤭 Any additional tips?

[@krishnamoorthyiyer8805]

Thank You for this list of possible reasons why we are out of breath while swimming less than 25 m. I think I am OK with 1) body position, and 2) rotation 3) holding my breath. (Feedback from lifeguard/instructor at the pool). I shall pay closer attention to whether I am 4) rushing my breath and 5) kicking too hard and possibly 6) swimming too fast. I think 4 is definitely a possibe issue.

[@EricT43]

Actually swimming too slowly caused me problems too…long time between breaths!

[@bigcatlove5192]

A lot of videos about holding or not holding your breath are contradicting. My coach told me to hold my breath until I’m ready to get some air again. Doing this also makes me float better in the water. What is really the right way to do it?

[@ddaviddgguetaa]

It is true that there are lots of contradicting messages around this specific topic you’re mentioning. It definitely is true that we have better buoyancy when our lungs are filled, which allows us to swim with a better body position and more relaxed movements. So in my personal opinion and from all the comments regarding this situation, I believe it’s okay to hold it until the moment you’re about to breathe, just a little before your head gets out the water you blow a little strongly with both your nose and mouth so you can breathe without any water in the middle of the way. That allows you to let out the carbon dioxide and get rid of the water that could enter! :D So it works greatly. Send you hugs and my best wishes in your swimming endeavors ☺️

[@Livemindfully247]

This is by far one of the best video on this topic. I am working on my breathing and this is very helpful!!

[@michelle_pw]

I’m new at this and found this very helpful. Thank you.

[@maddisont3524]

Ugh man. Hubs and I started swimming again today and it made me realize how long it’s been since a proper swim 👀 these videos are great. I know I’m hella out of shape but I caught myself breathing ALL kinds of wrong for our first day back in the pool today, making me feel even more pathetically out of shape haha. Like I’m 27 and haven’t swam proper laps in over 12 years and you really do have to retrain technique to have a good swim and train your lungs. Thanks for these!

[@TheRiveners]

I have been scared to swim outside of a pool i can stand up in since I was a kid. I had swimming lessons from when I was 5 until 10 and stayed in the minnow class the whole time, while my friends were in whale. I just figures it isn't for me. No one really listened to me when I said my legs sank, I couldn't breath while trying to swim foward, and just overall struggled. These videos of yours are the only times in my life with insight into things I experienced. Thank you Minnie Driver and friend.

[@Zeckellin]

Excellent advice, especially regarding the information regarding propulsion and the legs. I certainly will apply and adapt.

[@miaseh1]

this is perfect and exactly what I need after 4 beginner classes. thank you!!! Im definitely not rotating well - need to practice that. I'm not breathing out while head is in the water which is rushing breath as well - will practice trickle breathing

[@sarahcartier3393]

I'm new to swimming and find it hard to concentrate on technique as well as breathing. So I appreciate your input and tips, let's hope I can put it into practice sooner rather than later.

[@anthonyraj26]

I'm new to swimming, I was trying to head up and breath but my head is not comes up.. after your points I found out, yea I am not rotating well, fast swimming and holding the breath.. thanks for all the points.. This will defiantly help me out .. Thanks a lot!

[@ianlongden1449]

Good practical tips! I had to convert to front crawl after having both knees replaced - not realising that the breaststroke I had been doing all my life had contributed to the demise of the old ones. This video will definitely help! Thanks!

[@jonathand3842]

"calmly taking your breath" me who's literally dying....

[@yuriojou]

Thanks so much for these! It gave me a new perspective. I'm going to apply them later when I practice!

[@financetips]

Off to the pool now. I need to take 10 to 30 seconds between each length. Sort of knew what the issues were, this video just summarized the points perfectly! Here is for a slower and better technique with calm breathing 🙏

[@AbiyeKetema]

Yes, definitely all of them relate to me and I am working on it. Thanks for the advice!!!

[@TheGruntski]

I was one of those all too common swimmers who never went more than 20 meters off the dock and back, as out of breath as everybody else. What really changed that was swimming really hard 200 meter sets in the pool during the winter. Then in open water you just back off a little and suddenly feel like you have all the air you'd ever need. The folks over at Skills N' Talents advise holding your breath which I like. Why dump air early and float less. It's easier to just gently hold for a stroke than try and meter out the air trickling while concentrating on other things.

[@levih.2158]

Heres my six reasons: 1. I'm out of shape 2. I'm out of shape 3. I'm out of shape 4. I'm out of shape 5. I'm out of shape 6. I'm out of shape

[@MuhammadAtteia]

I've been swimming for over 3 months now and I'm still struggling to fix my breathing technique. It's frustrating really.

[@kitstanleychik4157]

This is an excellent video for breathing...i keep on correcting my breathing techniques in these few month...this video points out exactly what I do wrong...thanks for the video indeed!

[@claudial.gonzalez4268]

Can you give us the same pointers for the other swimming styles????? Also during the kicking, how can we control our kicking without creating a too wide angle between the legs? And how much out of the water should the legs be. Because we can’t see ourselves, it has o be done without looking just FEELING the kicking. Can you give us a point of reference….??? Especially if we are trying to correct and not necessarily learning how to swim. Thank you!!

[@veganjotaro]

Thank you so much beautiful people! I know for sure that if (and I will) I follow these techniques it's going to benefit me a lot and help this sensation of helplessness when trying to swim freestyle.

[@Ashwin58]

Thats great advice. I will definately take up all the points on board and keep practising. Thanks a bunch.

[@Roman-nm7qt]

Thank you GTN, I really enjoy every video you make on swimming. The way you deliver the subject (be it breathing or sinking legs) makes it easier to break up one big impossible problem into smaller ones, that are doable .... Thank you.

[@partunc1]

Thanks a lot this video is amazing, now I can realize better that I do almost all of these mistakes :)

[@phyllisgranahan150]

Good practical points to make free style more enjoyable. Looking forward to trying these tips. 😊

[@lelouchlamperouge3077]

But A-Aron said, it's better to hold some breath, keep about 60% of breat inside the lungs. Which the better one ?

[@gijoraj623]

Thank you so much for these useful tips.

[@apassionforpool7800]

Great help thank you, I look to swim a mile every other day, is this too much or could I do more? I am 61 I used to do this everyday then stopped for various reasons and had a stroke 6 weeks ago and my DR told ne I need to exercise more. I love swimming, I swim in a 60 metre pool in Thailand and do 60 lengths alternating between front crawl and breast stroke, I usually do it in around 45 - 50 minutes, Any tips you can give me guys would be appreciated

[@Wordsworthy11]

Thanks. Like hearing these comments to improve my swimming. Having a 72-year old belly, weighs me down, but I can still imagine I look Tarzan-sleek, which helps me grin in the water.

[@mikelalberdi3380]

You are the best my friends!! Always so helpful. Thanks!!

[@robohippy]

Well, one thing not mentioned is how often should you breath? Watching Olympic level swimmers, all of the men breath on an every other arm stroke or once per arm cycle. The women tend to vary from the once per cycle to a 2, 2, 3 or 4 pattern. The thing is that if you are not breathing often enough, you end up having an oxygen debt. I guess part of the thing also would be timing the cadence of your arm stroke to fit what is the best breathing cycle for you. Some will need faster, some can go slower. Of course, efficient mechanics can prevent you from working harder than you need to. This would apply to all 3 aspects of triathlon.

[@Queenfisher444]

All professional swimmers practise breathing both sides. What you decide to do in a race is a personal decision not a technical one.

[@robohippy]

Well, kind of. All elite swimmers do know how to breath on both sides. All who breath on every other stroke do 'know' how to breath on the other side, but they have their favored side, and will spend most of their work outs breathing on that side. It used to be taught that you breath every third arm stroke in freestyle. but that went out a long time ago. The idea of breathing on both sides is more important for pool swimming, primarily for getting a last breath before your flip turn, and is totally irrelevant to open water swimming.

[@Queenfisher444]

@@robohippy you’ve got no idea what you’re talking about dude. Anyone who separates pool swimming and open water swimming knows nothing about swimming.

[@robohippy]

Gee, what would I know about swimming? I have only been swimming for 65+ years. I still put in 8+ miles a week. There are huge differences between pool and open water swimming, even the GTN people have pointed that out.

[@Queenfisher444]

@@robohippy cool story bro. You clearly aren’t swimming very fast. Maybe a little less arrogance and little more willingness to learn would get you up above beginner speeds.

[@Rocklaz]

all of them relate! thank you!

[@christos1936]

thank you , very useful

[@vamsiharati3206]

Great tips !! Thanks

[@DRASHOKPRASADULA]

You people nailed ieven the minute details of it

[@mrdaredevil781]

Hi Guys Well done for the channel. Very insightful videos and a very friendly team as well 😊 Do you guys run a real tri training camp and if so where please? Thanks and keep on with the good job.

[@allouchelynda5431]

Thank you very much. I like your swimming pool👌

[@zerozs]

Thanks for the video, I'm comfortable in the water, but I can't seem to get the breathing right. I think I need to work on my rotation. I think I'm craning my neck too much.

[@jeanettehortystenrjl7914]

Those were great tips - thanks a lot 😄👍🏻

[@PROTOTYPE-ISH]

Thanks for this! Much needed.

[@gtn]

Any time!

[@overdrammtic04]

Man!!! good tips!! I am definately guilty of taking big gups of air, using to much legs, and I think also going to fast, I''ll be using these right away!!

[@gtn]

Glad you found this video useful! Have you seen our video on improving your swimming? 👉 kzbin.info/www/bejne/jHbFY6GCo9-mrc0

[@natef2029]

I simply appreciate these tips!

[@TarekTawfik]

Thank you.

[@julianabarbosa7785]

Tks for the video

[@hoangmaianh745]

Glad I’ve found this video.

[@nicolealbright1612]

#6 is me. It’s so hard to slow down. Even though it wears me out lol

[@rubyjane8116]

Same here

[@seemaali4780]

Thankyou useful video

[@jemand8462]

these reasons are really good, I actually find myself doing exactly all 6 of them.

[@Alexandrino5]

Great lessons, I learn a lot.

[@raymondloa5490]

Thanks for the tip....

[@roneet2]

I've been having problems running out of breath, especially after doing just half a lap, and also starting to breathe in water because I run out of air fast and can't get my head out of the water soon enough to breathe. I seemed to be experiencing most of the problems described. I can't swim slowly and relaxed...otherwise it felt like my legs were sinking.

[@stephaniecole6677]

i need to slooooooww down, thank you - I liked the log analogy.

[@DoutaOfZion]

Thanks

[@peaoat3608]

Reason 7: fear of drowning.

[@iroh5379]

thanks for the tips and tricks guys! ill be sure to implement this next time I swim (tomorrow (I'm a keen bean))

[@kniLchMilch]

Nice to know i make all this mistakes at once 😅🙀

[@skiboy1970]

Thanks.👍

[@davidwaldron5312]

I concur, great tips🤙🏻

[@goodmorningprester3936]

I always get tired very fast. I kick hard but once I try to do the catch my legs start sinking. I figured out that something is wrong with my rotation. Is there any drill I can do to improve my rotation and balance. Do I need to kick really hard to be on the surface of the water?

[@dr.s.p.]

Really great advice.

[@elizabethsabit3883]

When do i ixhale? Before i take my breath or when i submerged my face in the water?

[@ManojVenkat-y9q]

Would like to know should we have our head up for breathing is it the right technique

[@jtlai9508]

Thanks. I seem to have those problems you mentioned. At the start, still able to balance, after a while, leg tired and then sinking leg, shoulder starts aching and running out of breath. If swim slowly, I have this feeling I am not moving or no momentum. Subconsciously also holding breath. I feel those able to balance well with better position is able to swim easily, right?

[@abdullahkesici5267]

Teşekkürler. Sağlıcakla kalın.👍👍👍

[@sarahcregan8239]

I've been taking lessons for ages now and I just cant get the breathing down at all 😢😢 iIm ready to give up, ive spent so much money on lessons I cant get enough air in or out and turning my head to get air is so hard, fine for maybe 6 strokes then spluttering for air, i was hoping the habit would kick in soon but it hasn't, all suggestions needed

[@4-SeasonNature]

1. Your body's position is wrong. 2. Your body is not rotating well. 3. You hold your breath. Breathe out when in water and breathe in as soon as you head is partially out of water. Trickle breathing. 4. Relaxed breathing. Don't take a big breath. 5. You kick too hard, which requires more oxygen. 6. You swim too hard or fast. Do it slowly and control your body.

[@stevennah9370]

Once you take a breath, it will be better to hold the rotation as the swimmer glides while swimming freestyle

[@borisp9163]

I am learning kraul few days already, I made progres from swim like few meters to 100 meters but still struggling with maintain relaxed, and I have also problem that I swim in the curve to the right which is side where I am breathing, I swim in muddy open water so I cannot see dirrection ass you can see in pool based on line on the bottom, I makeing some mistake, probably with left arm going beyond center line while breathing 🤔 I must give more attention to this

[@mynaturalrainsound]

Nice video!Good Job ! 💕👍Thank you! Big like !

[@michaeltootikian4402]

nice video really helpful

[@AntonioFerreira-fb5dr]

Thank you for tip, say hi from brazil

[@suvarnajoshi9252]

I am taking coaching of swimming from one month but I am not able to put up my hips upto water level what is the reason. Is floater is the reason behind it

[@brucerogers3253]

How are you supposed to gulp air And filter out the water ?

[@JoelZieve]

Thanks for another great video! #gtncoachscorner - I've only been swimming a year. I've come a long way with my HUGE fear of water to start out. My current challenge is my kick just sucks. Specifically, my knees bend way too much. I can see it on video, but I just can't feel it. It honestly feels like my knees are barely (or not at all) bending. Do you have any cues I can focus on to help me straighten my legs/knees when they already feel straight? Thanks!

[@Queenfisher444]

You need to spend enough time in the gym to understand hip extension. No swimming movement effectively trains posterior chain connection and it’s better done in a gym. In terms of proprioception in the pool I would suggest trying to kick with your bum not your knees, good kick is in the hips.

[@eduardleahu9052]

You can also try short fins, they not only corrects the position but also help build muscle

[@silverpassion3588]

do you breath out thru the mouth or nose? I may hv missed out

[@lordvaris5003]

do you breathe out through the nose while under water i always get water in my mout even when closed

[@VictoriaTheBoss-dz5wk]

❤❤❤❤❤ love it

[@guilhermeandraschko]

nice tips

[@timmyg7236]

I often wonder “Why my out of breath?” 😊

[@timmyg7236]

(They fixed the thumbnail that originally said ‘Why your out of breath’ - just being cheeky. Great content, as always)

[@emmynoether9540]

Thanks for those tips! I am getting out of breath when swimming dolphin (is that the proper name in English?). I will look out for those signs, hope this helps. I really enjoy this swimming tips series!

[@79devo]

Dolphin ? Don’t know what that stroke is ….

[@emmynoether9540]

@@79devo it's butterfly, I loooked it up. For some reason we named it Delphin (dolphin) in German.

[@STargaryan]

I'm still scared...The momemt I break my streamline I'm sinking😢

[@cheachyang3502]

Hi it is when in water exhale all ?

[@JB-afc71]

Liked and subscribed, great tips, guilty of a few of those in some sessions especially going to hard and gasing. Will work on that in the morning. Great vid 👍