How to Swim Backstroke and Avoid Breathing Issues

When you swim backstroke, it can be difficult to avoid getting water in the nose or mouth, and especially so if you are a beginner. This article will give you some tips to improve your breathing technique and avoid such issues.

Breathing and Balance

Breathing while swimming backstroke is easy if you have mastered balance on your back. This means that you know how to position your body so that it stays horizontal in the water. In that case in won't be difficult for you to keep your face and consequently your nose and mouth above water, and you can then breathe with ease.

However, if your balance is bad, it will be difficult for you to keep your face above the water surface. Water can then get into your nose and mouth. In that case, you can should balance by practicing the head-lead supine balance drill.

Generally, while practicing swimming drills or swimming backstroke, you can use a nose clip to prevent water getting into your nose. You then only need to prevent getting water into your mouth. You can get rid of the nose clip later once you can swim backstroke.

Dealing with Splashing Water

An additional problem in backstroke is that your arms may splash water in your face during the recovery, water that you then might inhale. A good strategy to prevent this is to time your breathing so that you exhale at the exact moment water gets projected into your face. This takes some practice but works rather well.

A quick inhale through the mouth followed by a long exhale through the nose while keeping the mouth shut also helps to keep your mouth and nose clear of water.

Breathing Rhythms

While swimming backstroke, a common breathing rhythm is to inhale during the recovery of one arm and to exhale during the recovery of the other arm. This breathing rhythm is simple and efficient.

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