Swimming Breathing Techniques: How Coaches Teach Them and What to Practise

By Alvin · SSI Swim Teacher Instructor, AustSwim Assessor, Autism Swim Teacher · More than 10 years coaching · Last updated: 21 October 2026

Breathing correctly while swimming is the most commonly mistaught and most persistently problematic skill in recreational swimming. The fundamental issue is that most swimmers hold their breath during the stroke and exhale explosively when they turn to breathe — which means they spend the breath opportunity both exhaling and inhaling simultaneously, creating a rushed, inadequate breath and disrupting their stroke rhythm. The correct pattern is continuous exhalation underwater, so the breath window is used only for a quick inhale. This guide covers exactly how experienced coaches teach this progression, what they look for, and how to practise it correctly.

What Coaches Look For Before Teaching Breathing

An experienced swimming coach doesn’t start teaching breathing technique on the first day. Before any breathing instruction, a coach will look for:

• Water comfort. A swimmer who’s anxious in water will instinctively hold their breath from fear rather than technique. Breath control instruction before water comfort is established produces little lasting result.
• Basic body position. A swimmer with their head too high and hips too low will struggle with breathing regardless of technique, because the geometry of the breath is wrong — there’s no bow wave to breathe into.
• Kick mechanics. Erratic kick timing destabilises the hips, which disrupts rotation, which makes the breathing window unpredictable. Coaches often stabilise the kick before addressing breathing directly.

Only when these foundations are in place does specific breathing technique instruction produce reliable, lasting improvement.

The Progression Coaches Use: Step by Step

Step 1: Underwater Bubble Exhalation

Before any swimming movement, the coach establishes continuous, slow underwater exhalation through the nose and mouth. Learners blow a steady stream of bubbles with their face submerged, ideally holding the pool wall. The goal is that exhaling underwater feels natural and unhurried, not an emergency procedure to get out of the way. This single drill resolves most breathing panic in beginner swimmers once practised consistently.

Step 2: Bobbing Breathing Rhythm

Learners bob between standing in chest-deep water and submerging to exhale, then return to standing to inhale. The inhale is quick; the exhale is steady and long. Coaches watch for whether the learner is fully exhaling before they return to the surface, or whether they’re holding breath and exhaling only when they can see the air. The former is correct; the latter is the root cause of most breathing problems in swimming.

Step 3: Stationary Side Breathing at the Wall

With one arm extended on the pool gutter and the body horizontal, learners practise rotating the head to breathe while kicking. The face submerges, bubbles exhale, the head rotates with the body (not independently), and a quick inhale happens into the trough beside the cheek. Coaches correct: head lifting instead of rotating; inhaling through the nose (slower and less effective mid-swim); and breathing too late, after the body has already rotated back.

Step 4: Breathing Every Two or Three Strokes

Once the stationary drill is stable, the coach introduces breathing during actual freestyle swimming. Typically starting with breathing every two strokes (same side), then progressing to every three (bilateral). Coaches watch for a specific fault at this stage: the swimmer stroking normally, then breaking rhythm to “do” the breath — instead of the breath being integrated smoothly into the rotation already happening. When this fault appears, coaches return briefly to the wall drill to re-establish the isolated movement before reintegrating it.

Step 5: Bilateral Breathing Every Three Strokes

Breathing alternately to both sides is the standard target. Coaches introduce this after same-side breathing is stable, because bilateral breathing requires the learner to be comfortable with a slightly longer breath-hold cycle. Benefits: more symmetric muscle development; better stroke balance; and the ability to breathe away from choppy water or sun glare in open water. Coaches watch for the swimmer unconsciously shortening their pull on the non-preferred breathing side.

Common Breathing Faults and What Coaches Correct

Breathing Techniques by Stroke

Freestyle

Rotation-based breathing, as described above. The gold standard: bilateral every three strokes. Once established, coaches may introduce sprint breathing patterns (every two strokes) for faster swimming where oxygen demand is higher.

Breaststroke

Breathing happens at the peak of the pull when the head naturally lifts forward and the shoulders are above the waterline. The key mistake: holding the breath during the glide and exhaling only at the surface, leading to a rushed double inhale-exhale cycle. Coaches cue: exhale as you glide forward under the water, so the breath at the surface is only an inhale. Learners drill with arms-only swimming (pull buoy between legs) to isolate and establish this pattern.

Backstroke

Both ears remain in the water throughout; the face never submerges during regular backstroke. Coaches establish a consistent breathing rhythm (typically every two arm cycles) so breathing doesn’t happen randomly or hold the swimmer’s breath without awareness. The main fault: holding breath during backstroke out of habit from freestyle, leading to tension and poor rhythm.

Butterfly

Advanced stroke with a demanding breathing pattern: the breath is taken at the peak of the arm recovery, when the chest naturally lifts. Coaches teach butterfly breathing only after the stroke’s body undulation and arm timing are stable — trying to add breathing to an already unstable butterfly produces neither good butterfly nor good breathing.

Safety: Breath-Holding and Hypoxic Drills

Never practise extended breath-holding drills unsupervised. Shallow-water blackout — sudden loss of consciousness caused by oxygen depletion from hyperventilation and extended breath-holding — has caused drowning in swimmers of all ability levels, including competitive athletes. The risk is that you will not feel the onset; unconsciousness is sudden and without warning. A qualified coach does not include hyperventilation or maximal breath-hold distance drills in recreational or beginner programmes. If you’re attending a programme that does, ask why and what the supervision protocol is.

How Long Does It Take to Develop Correct Breathing?

For most learners without significant water anxiety, comfortable bilateral breathing integrated into a reasonable freestyle stroke typically develops within 20–40 consistent lessons. The variability is large because water comfort — the prerequisite — varies enormously between learners. Swimmers who arrived with body position and kick mechanics already established may progress in far fewer sessions. Swimmers who are correcting deeply ingrained bad habits from years of self-taught swimming may take longer.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does my face get wet every time I breathe, even after months of practice?

Almost always, this means you’re lifting your head rather than rotating it. The bow wave beside your cheek already creates a low spot above the waterline — you don’t need to lift to breathe; you need to rotate. Return to the wall drill and feel the difference between rotating the head (correct) and lifting it (incorrect) in isolation.

Is it okay to always breathe to the same side?

For casual recreational swimming, yes — it works. For anyone wanting to improve their stroke balance, swim longer distances, or transition to open water, bilateral breathing is worth the effort of learning. One-sided breathing creates noticeably asymmetric stroke mechanics over time.

Should I breathe through my nose or mouth underwater?

Exhale through both nose and mouth; inhale through the mouth only. Nose-only inhalation is too slow for swimming breathing windows.

Why do I swallow water when I breathe?

Usually one of three causes: breathing too late (head still rotating when body returns forward); inhaling before the face has fully cleared the water; or waves or turbulence from nearby swimmers closing the breathing pocket. The first two are technique issues; the third is environmental.

Can I learn bilateral breathing if I’ve breathed to one side for years?

Yes, though it takes deliberate, sustained practice. Expect three to four weeks of awkward, conscious effort before it starts feeling natural. Don’t give up after two sessions — this is a rewiring process, not a quick fix.

When should I work with a coach rather than practise independently?

When your breathing hasn’t improved after four to six weeks of regular independent practice. Most persistent breathing problems are technique faults that feel invisible to the swimmer but are immediately obvious to an observer. A coach can diagnose and correct in one session what self-directed practice may not resolve in months.

Book a Swimming Lesson

SwimmingCoach.sg connects Singapore swimmers with certified coaches for private and small-group lessons focused on technique, stroke correction, and breathing mechanics. If you’ve been struggling with breathing for months, a few targeted sessions often resolve what feels like an intractable problem. Contact us to get started.