The most important thing when swimming is to exhale continuously

Learning swimmers rarely breathe out correctly in water. Almost all intermediate swimmers thought they were exhaling correctly—at least that's what they said when we asked them. Do they really do it? The answer is: very few! Even among some advanced swimmers, there are many who like to hold their breath while swimming underwater. Why is uninterrupted exhalation the most important thing when swimming? Check out the detailed answer given below.

Imagine you're going through a stressful day and someone tells you to take a deep breath - the time you feel better is not when you breathe in, but when you breathe out. Holding your breath can make you tense, which is bad for your swimming technique.

When you hold your breath you may feel like you need to huff and puff. The feeling you are feeling is not from lack of oxygen, but from accumulated carbon dioxide. By holding your breath, you are continuing to accumulate carbon dioxide in your blood vessels and lungs - the gas that makes you feel desperate.

You'll feel better if you keep exhaling as you swim - you're getting rid of the carbon dioxide and you're not so desperate for air anymore.

Having a lung full of air is not good for your body position - your chest is too buoyant. Since your body behaves as if it were centered around your center, it will cause your legs to sink in the water, creating additional drag.

Most swimmers try to exhale only when they turn their head to breathe - or worse, try to exhale and inhale in the short window of time when their mouth is above water.

Summary: Uninterrupted, continuous exhalation is the basis of good freestyle technique.