Are you being coached to breathe on both sides? I've heard people swear up and down that this is the best way to do it if you want to avoid stress injuries, but I've swam for 16+ years, some of it competitively, and I've only breathed on my right side. It feels unnatural to breathe left. I haven't had an injury yet. The point is that sometimes it's better to breathe comfortably and get into a rhythm.

Aside from that, all I can tell you is that maybe you are exhaling a little too hard as soon as your face gets in the water. It feels natural to want to exhale out your nose hard as soon as your face is in the water, but if you release it more slowly, you'll be better off. Remember: in through the mouth, out through the nose. It's backwards breathing.

Breathe on one side and see if that helps. Swimmers are naturally more comfortable breathing on their dominant side. For example, my dad, who is left handed, breathes left while I breathe right as a right hander. I breathe every stroke during my right arm recovery (that's when its coming out of the water and going through to extend forward for the next stroke). The only exception to this is when I'm sprinting, and then I breath every other stroke or even every third stroke. You may or may not be subject to repetitive stress injuries with one sided breathing. I haven't had it happen to me, and I've swam 113 miles in the last two and a half months with a good majority of that as freestyle. You might get harped on by your coach/teacher for breathing on one side, but try it out and see if it helps you get in a better rhythm.

Do you do yoga? That can screw with the breathing, because it's backwards.

I breathe under the raised arm on threes. It just works for me. Whatever works for you.

Are you being coached to breathe on both sides? I've heard people swear up and down that this is the best way to do it if you want to avoid stress injuries, but I've swam for 16+ years, some of it competitively, and I've only breathed on my right side. It feels unnatural to breathe left. I haven't had an injury yet. The point is that sometimes it's better to breathe comfortably and get into a rhythm.

Like you I spent most of my adult life breathing out of one side. Never competitive swimming though.
When I started swimming over a mile I found I needed to change my breathing to balance myself better. I am prone to degenerative osteoarthritis and already have it in one shoulder.
At first, the opposite side felt unnatural. It took about 100 miles of laps but it feels completely natural on both sides.

But breathing out of both sides is by no means required. Everyone finds a system that works for them. The leading gold medal swimmer only breaths out of one side. But he has massive lung capacity and breathes only every 4th stroke, if that frequently.

I've seen some swimmers work too hard lifting their head and shoulders out of the water to breathe. Strikes me as rather inefficient. But maybe they learn to swim in rough water.

Getting off the beta blocker definitely helped my breathing because the drug was limiting how fast my heart could beat and thus restricting O2 flow. Doing a lot better without it now.

I used to help teach an adults swim class. A lot of the students had a terrible fear of water. You don't seem to be, so already you are ahead of the game. One of the drills we would have them do is while hanging out at the shallow end ( or any where you can stand and have your head out of the water) is practice bobbing. Are you familiar with bobbing? I am a shortie so the very shallow end is good for me. While standing, take a deep breath, submerge your self-bending knees-as soon as your head, at about your lips or even chin, enters the water begin slowly blowing air out of your nose. Have enough air to continue blowing out your nose as you raise yourself (head) back out of the water. I still do this whenever I have a few moments or just before I finish my swimming my laps.

When you are comfortable with that then you can go into deeper and deeper water, until you are exhaling out your nose all the way to the bottom of the pool and back up again to take another breath and head on back to the bottom of the pool again.

At home on weekends, I would have them submerge their faces in a large bowl of water (large enough to accommodate their entire face) (which is sitting on a table low enough to bend at the waist). The student takes a deep breath, puts the face in the water while blowing out slowly from their nose. The swiveling the neck to turn the face some air can be inhaled through the mouth. Be sure to not lift your head. Swivel.

I think it is wonderful that you are a newbie, I expect you will have years of swimming enjoyment. Good luck to you.

I hope this was not too long and more important I hope you were able to understand, as I am a better demonstrator than I am a writer.

i tried breathing on two sides after 3 strokes last night.

1) i nearly didnt make the third stroke
2) i was so unco i barely got much breath in
3) i had to breath to the right again on the next stroke.

Hey Skye,

I think I am about the same level as you!
I have just joined an adult improvers swimming class at my local pool as I really want to learn front crawl.
I am struggling with breathing too. I think I'm concentrating so hard on everything else that I just forget to breath!
Anyway I got some advice from our instructor who suggested hanging on to the edge of the pool with your face in the water and doing the kick as usual. Then turn your head when you need to breath - and you can alternate sides if you want.
He then suggested using two floats - one under each arm and kicking along the pool taking one arm back when you need to turn your head and breath.
I'm going to try this!
Hope that makes sense!
Lx

LAURA
Relax, slow down, you will actualy swin faster.
Remember with each stroke you are holding a ball of water,
if you push too fast you shred the water and do not get the power from it.