One of the major differences between swimming and other sports is that learning how to breathe under water is a skill on its own. Having good breathing technique is one of the biggest challenges for every novice swimmer. Because breathing is instinctual, it comes naturally to all of us without conscious thought so little emphasis is placed on studying it. In swimming, having a rhythm to your breathing is critical. Problems with breathing can result in improper stroke techniques such as bad body positioning and lob-sided swimming. When swimming the freestyle, a common mistake is to turn your head either too soon or too late which ends up causing your body position to go out of alignment. When you feel that your lungs are almost empty continue to breathe out and start turning your head when you see your hand under your body in the pulling phase of the following stroke. As the arms recover over water, take a quick breath and return your head to the starting position again. Don't worry that your lungs won't fill up entirely, due to the empty lungs and the diaphragm muscle there will be plenty of pull created. Make sure to turn your head sideways and not to lift your entire head out of the water. Lifting it out of the water is counter-productive as it will cause your hips to sink and make it even harder to take a breath. Don't hold your breath while swimming. Instead, exhale underwater. This makes it easier to take a quick inhale on your next breath instead of trying to exhale and inhale when your head is out of the water. #swimmingskills #swimtraining #swimstagram #swimminglove #speedousa #markusmarthaler #waterlover #swimmingtechnique #tri #swim #swimdrills #swimmingdrills #swimtip #swimvideo #triathlonswim #swimmer #swimming - @markus_marthaler