How to improve your breathing technique for swimming

by Mihai Pinzariu on September 25, 2019

As a beginner swimmer, there are two important aspects that you need to develop when learning to breathe in the water:

1. Having your face underwater while you breathe,

2. Maintaining a proper rhythm to your breathing.

We’re here to guide you on both of these points so breathing in the water becomes an easy and achievable feat!

1. Breathing with your face underwater

It’s important that you learn to breathe while keeping your face underwater. This is because your hips and legs will invariably drop if you try to swim with your head or face out of the water (i.e. doggy paddling). This is why learning to swim with a snorkel mask on is always the best and easiest way to get started!

“But swimming with my head above water is easier!” You may think so, but the truth isn’t the case. Here’s why you shouldn’t swim with your head above the water:

When your head is above the surface, your hips are kept lower, which creates a drag while swimming,
This means you need to push harder to get through the same amount of surface area,
There’s also increased resistance, which will force you to take more rest breaks as your heart and muscles demand more oxygen.
There are lots of different tricks to learning to swim while keeping your face underwater:
Make sure you have comfortable goggles on, or even better, a full-face snorkel mask,
Keep your focus on the bottom of the pool, or the black line down the centre of your lane,
If you have anxiety about keeping your head underwater, make sure to take lots of rest breaks and not overdo it. Remember that when you’re in a pool, you’re never far away from the wall or the exit,
Practice makes perfect and don’t push yourself too hard. Be patient and know that learning this skill takes time.

2. Maintaining proper breathing rhythm

Once you’ve learned to be comfortable with having your head submerged in the water while you swim, you’ll have to learn when and how is the best time to breathe. The most important aspect of rhythmic breathing is to start exhaling as soon as you finish breathing in.

One of the biggest problems with beginner swimmers is that they try to hold their breath while their face is in the water, and then try to exhale and inhale quickly when they come up for air. This is actually incorrect breathing as it leads to shallow breath and a quick buildup of carbon dioxide in the lungs.

It’s vital that you learn to exhale while your face is in the water. When you turn to breathe, you want your lungs to be mostly empty and ready to take in a fresh load of oxygen. Create the proper rhythm by forcefully exhaling through your nose or mouth as soon as you’ve finished inhaling. There is no pause. It’s a constant rhythm between inhale and exhale.

The easiest way to learn how to swim is with a snorkel mask

When you’re trying to learn the proper movements and physical techniques for swimming, focusing on your breath can be a distraction that gets in the way. That’s why snorkels are the best tool you can have to help you work on your swimming strokes.

Here’s why learning to swim with a snorkel mask is the easiest and best method:

Wearing a snorkel lets you keep your head still so you don’t have to worry about how and when to breathe,
With your head straight, you’ll have less stroke imperfections that are usually caused by your head moving around a lot. This will help you swim straighter and perfect your alignment,
With a snorkel mask on you can keep your back and spine completely straight and avoid putting strain on your neck or lower back,
It also keeps your hips higher in the water so that there’s less resistance, making swimming easier to master,
Focusing on your body roll is easier when wearing a snorkel mask, giving you faster, stronger, and more powerful strokes,
You can also watch your hands as they move underwater, helping you generate more power, speed, and minimise the risk of injury.

And once you’ve mastered the strokes and can do them like second nature, then you can worry about how and when to breathe.

What kind of snorkel should I use when learning how to swim?

The best snorkel to use when learning to swim is a full-face snorkel mask that lets you breathe naturally, the same as you would above the water.

FAQ:

1. How can I improve my breathing technique for swimming?

As a beginner swimmer, there are two important aspects that you need to develop when learning to breathe in the water:

1. Having your face underwater while you breathe,

2. Maintaining a proper rhythm to your breathing.

2. Why I shouldn’t swim with my head above the water?

When your head is above the surface, your hips are kept lower, which creates a drag while swimming,

This means you need to push harder to get through the same amount of surface area,

There’s also increased resistance, which will force you to take more rest breaks as your heart and muscles demand more oxygen.

3. What are the tricks to learning to swim while keeping my face underwater?

Make sure you have comfortable goggles on, or even better, a full-face snorkel mask,

Keep your focus on the bottom of the pool, or the black line down the centre of your lane,

If you have anxiety about keeping your head underwater, make sure to take lots of rest breaks and not overdo it. Remember that when you’re in a pool, you’re never far away from the wall or the exit,

Practice makes perfect and don’t push yourself too hard. Be patient and know that learning this skill takes time.

4. How to Breathe Properly?

5. What is the easiest method to learn how to swim?

Wearing a snorkel lets you keep your head still so you don’t have to worry about how and when to breathe. With your head straight, you’ll have less stroke imperfections that are usually caused by your head moving around a lot. This will help you swim straighter and perfect your alignment.

How many people dream of snorkelling but don't feel comfortable wearing a snorkel mask?

The answer is: too many! Traditional snorkel masks can be uncomfortable and scary for many people, so the beauty of snorkelling goes undiscovered and unexperienced. Whether it's breathing difficulties, choking on sea water, or foggy goggles, there's a lot that prevents people from enjoying the wonderful sport of snorkelling. And that thought makes us sad.

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Amazing

The best snorkel and mask combination. No going back now! I could snorkel for over an hour easily. So glad I made this purchase

Mermaid

While travelling in Timor leste l met a fellow snorkeller. We snorkelled for 10 days together the food was shit but the water was stunning. The friend was using Ninja Shark fins and mask mine were steaming up, letting in water and heavy. On arriving back in Australia l ordered straight away.
I was a little bit anxious on receiving my order as the mask was quite different to my old one and the fins were short and adjustable ( l wanted them to be my size ! ) well to my luck the weather was beautiful ( yes mid winter in Mackay ) and perfect for boating so off we scooted to Cockermouth ( don't laugh it's a real place ) jumping in and WOW I'm now a mermaid 🧜‍♀️ the mask and fins felt like part of me. I actually cried as not only was the equipment allowing me to explore as l wanted but the reef was STUNNING. So lm indepted to Ninja Shark for making me the mermaid l always aspired to be 🧜‍♀️

Took it to Tahiti

I wasn’t quite sure about getting a full face mask but bought mine (Electra package) before a trip to Tahiti which we got home from yesterday - absolutely LOVED it!!! I’ll be getting one for my wife before our next trip to a similar destination. BTW I make LOTS of crazy videos with lots of toys.

Life changing

I do love my full face snorkel.. the freedom of nose breathing under the water.. the meditative and relaxative effect of this snorkeling is unexpected and great. Fits so well.. comfy to wear for long time.. highly recommend

Package : Air Adults (Mask + Fins + Bag)

Super quality & fit

So happy we got Ninja shark, perfect for Great barrier reef snorkel day.
Flippers, mask, dry wallet, carry bag (good quality bag), anti fog spray, happy days.

Ninja Shark Kids Mask

We recently brought the Ninja Shark Kids 3-11 Mask + Fins + Bag package for our 7 year old who absolutely loves it! Will be buying three more for the rest of the family. 😊

Package: Longer Tube (Mask + Fins + Bag) 3-11 Years

Even better than expected!

I saw the kids full face snorkel masks online, and thought they looked pretty cool. I ordered two for Christmas, for my 3 and 6 year olds. Wow, did they have a great time with them!

I wasn't sure how the 3 year old would go with it, but he was comfortable in it almost immediately, and spent hours swimming around and seeing a whole new world of underwater scenery.

They were easy to fit, zero issues with them staying on. No leaks or fog.

They can't wait to get back to the water!

Highly recommend this product :)

Longer Tube Full Face Snorkel Mask for Kids (3-11 Years)

mask swimming

The mask did exactly what was stated. I was very happy and will get another mask for my daughter.

Great way to swim

I have NEVER been able to snorkel but love swimming. These full face snorkels are an absolute game changer in my life. Now I try to swim around 5 kms a week in the local pool. The Ninja mask makes it easy to do laps. I’ve been using the Ninja Shark for a quite few years and find the new Electra the best full face mask ever. No leaks, no fog and really easy to use and great quality. I’ve noticed my regular chats with other swimmers at the pool have encouraged many of them to purchase one of their own. I’ve given my older models to my grandkids and they love them too.

Fabulous

I got one for the 3 year old and one for the 5 year old, I thought maybe the 3 year old would get the hang of it eventually but they both loved it and mastered it pretty quickly. We’ve only used in the swimming pool, excited to go snorkeling in the ocean soon. Great product.

Love it!

Amazing product ! Have the electra package, kids love it. So easy to use. Highly recommend

Love it

Bought these for myself and my husband after getting the full face masks for the kids, and they were so good we’re getting them for the rest of the extended family for Xmas. The fact u can dive down and not get water down ur snorkel is a brilliant bonus! Makes our family holidays much easier and better without snorkel dramas!

This made our holiday

The product itself was amazing, but the service we received allowed us to get our 2 sets of masks for our cruise. We took them with us and used them multiple times for snorkelling on our cruise to Nouméa and New Caledonia. It was amazing snorkelling and being able to breathe easily, and the fins were the most comfortable I've ever used. I've got size 13 feet, and not only were they completely adjustable, but they were THE most comfortable fins ever invented. A massive shoutout to Colleen Zamora from your support staff who helped me out and made it possible to take our gear on holidays! Thanks Colleen!
The photo is us snorkelling off Amadee Island looking for turtles!

Package: Equaliser PRO (Mask + Fins + Bag)

<3 em

So, I had the old type standard snorkle set I saw the add on tiktok thought I would give it a go. ONG I love them!!! They are so comfortable easy to get on and off and very very good to snorkle with I can see perfect clear thru them and doesn’t fill up with water! A very happy camper

Equaliser PRO Full Face Snorkel Mask for Adults

My kids love them

I’ve got three of these masks for my younger kids, however the oldest wants one too as the young ones rave about how good the are.

Summer Family Fun

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Lifetime warranty

Glad I have but haven’t needed to use .. yet

Great Mask

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awsome

we used our new masks over the weekend. they were amazing, my daughter barely had her head out of the water all day.

life warranty

This is great! More stores should do it!

Fantastic snorkel!

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Kids snorkel

It is a lot easier for the younger children to have fun and snorkel without worrying about their nose breathing. My 6 year old swims confidently and happily.

Air Kids - Full Face Snorkel Mask for Kids

Good clear vision

The first time I tried the mask, I felt I’d made a mistake to buy one!
But with a bit more trial and error and a few more readjustments, I managed to settle into using it.
Each time I went for a snorkel, there was always the need to readjust because you don’t necessarily get the mask on in exactly the same position as it was in the last use. The mask always kept water from entering the eye area, but at times I couldn’t completely seal the mouth area and small amounts of water would seep in, but not stop me from breathing! I never managed to breath with my nose, only with my mouth.
On a big plus, I never had issues with fogging up and you get good clear area of vision. I also wear multi focal glasses, so to solve the problem of poor vision in a snorkel mask, I bought very cheap and ugly pair of glasses with large lenses! I then took the arms off the glasses and carefully placed them inside the eye area of the mask and kept them in place with a piece of blu tac!! 😆 It worked beautifully for my distance vision which is is used the most when snorkelling! I might try an old pair of prescription lenses next time, and then I might be able to read the underwater camera settings as well!
The mask can be a bit fiddly at times, and awkward to get into the right place, but with some patience it did really well, and I never resorted to going back to use my ‘normal’ mask and snorkel. We snorkelled in both calm and choppy water successfully. 🤓🐠🐟🐡🦀🐙
Thanks Ninja Shark!

Kids loved them!

We bought two long tube masks for the girls as a Xmas present, they first tested them in the bath!! The next trip was the beach, they spent hours in the water, my 3yr old son wanted to use the masks too. He loved it as well, he'll be getting one for his birthday. 😊

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