我从学员那里得到的最常见的请求是：“我只是希望能够轻松呼吸”。这是有充分理由的，因为很明显，如果你转动呼吸并吸入比空气更多的水，这将完全打断你的划水，焦虑和挫折会阻止游泳者前进。关键是将轻松的呼吸融入您的动作 – 不需要打断节奏并改变身体姿势以吸入空气。
毕竟我们是人类，我们在陆地呼吸的时候头顶要高于下巴。把我们放在水中，抬起头部和更多的旋转是人类如何在水中呼吸的本能。旋转的越多，身体越不稳定并开始下沉。头部抬起越高，臀部（和下巴）下沉的越多。这不是秘密，只是物理学。
抬头和更多的转动呼吸会触发引导臂向下划水并且双腿会分开以保持稳定。一旦吸完气并且脸部回到水中，身体位置就不像自由泳，而是看起来更像飞行意大利面怪物（FSM）。两划一呼吸你也可能像一个自由式意大利面怪物 -阻力成倍增加，需要更多的力量和空气。
为了轻松呼吸，头部和脊柱必须对齐，身体需要水平 – 或者更精确地用TI表示，“平衡”第一。这是违反直觉的，非本能地保持低头并且较少的转动来轻松吸到空气，这两者都是无缝呼吸的核心。
时机也很重要。如果呼吸延迟和/或过长，人类FSM本能将接管。让肩膀来决定时机。滚动呼吸时，下巴应该跟着肩膀来吸气。当滚动呼吸时清空肺部，以便在鼻子和嘴巴突破水面时立即吸气。如果你在嘴巴出水后呼气并吸气，呼吸周期会过长，你会吸入比空气更多的水。此外，如果呼吸迟到或身体滚动有轻微的犹豫（即，下巴不跟随肩部到空气），类似于“长呼吸”，您将只能找到比空气更多的水。
波谷中呼吸
当滚动呼吸时，保持低头并与脊柱对齐，头部前方的水会在下巴附近变得越来越低。我将其称为下巴附近的“口袋”或“找到口袋”，这样可以轻松呼吸。
通过手掌创造弓形波进行实验，以获得良好的视觉效果。站在游泳池的浅水端，伸出手臂，手掌向前（拇指向上） – 现在向前扫圆弧形。注意手前（手掌侧）的水较高 – 手的后部或关节侧的水较低。低水区是下巴旁边的口袋，让您轻松呼吸。不用抬头，改变动作，节奏或身体姿势就可以吸气。只需在波谷快速吸气即可。
在插图中，注意游泳者：1.稳定，足够的转动以获得空气，2。头部和脊柱对齐，头部低，有一个泳镜在水中，一个露出来，3。移臂出水的时候，下巴跟随肩部在波谷中充分呼吸（吸气）4。引导臂固定在前面，在呼吸时保持静止 – 不需要划水。这位游泳者没有改变动作，节奏或身体姿势来呼吸 – 从而保持平衡，低阻力状态和前进动量。
“轻松呼吸”的简单步骤：
1.先不要呼吸，首先将一个泳镜抬到水面上方，练习时机。做一些长划水，然后当准备好/稳定时，下巴跟着肩，直到一个泳镜露出水面。在TI中，这被称为“鲸鱼眼”。一旦你看到空气（用一个泳镜！），将头部恢复到中立位置 – “泳镜向下”。在水面上方用一个泳镜偷看可以让您感觉头部和脊柱对齐，头部不需要抬起来看空气。在浅水区中，在两个或每隔一个划水偷看一下。当你需要呼吸时停止，站起来呼吸并重复“鲸鱼眼”过程。
2.一旦你通过一个泳镜偷看时感到自信和舒适，头部和脊柱对齐（没有抬起头部），下面就是呼气时机。当下巴跟着肩膀露出一个泳镜时，不断呼气并迅速排空肺部。如果做得正确的话，你会感觉呼气时最后一阵气流结束会留出吸气的空间，当嘴巴出水时不吸气。停止站起来吸气，重复泳镜窥视和呼气时机。
3.现在整合新的头部位置和脊柱对齐，呼气时机并尝试吸气。但首先，开始用三到四个划水动作保持头部中立（泳镜/鼻子向下），然后在下一个划水用一个泳镜偷看（没有呼吸），在泳镜窥视后的下一次划水，当下巴跟着肩膀呼气，当嘴巴突破水面时迅速吸气（在波谷处）。但是- 如果你在尝试吸气时发现水比空气多，不用管它，并尝试在下一次划水时再次呼吸。如果没有成功吸到气，停止，站立和呼吸 – 重复“先偷看然后再呼吸”过程。你的任务是打破抬头的本能，转动过大的呼吸习惯，发现容易呼吸的波谷。空气在水面上方五英寸处与在水面处是相同的。
呼吸和浮力
呼吸的一个重要部分是肺部的空气量。我经常听到和看到，特别是对铁人三项运动员的建议，是当脸部进入水中时立即开始清空肺部空气。虽然这个建议的精神和意图是好的，但你的身体姿势可能会下降几英寸或更多，并且由于缺乏浮力（肺部空气不足）而永远找不到“口袋”。你不要屏住呼吸，而是在面部进入水时缓慢控制呼气 – 只在下巴跟着肩膀转动到空气时迅速呼气，清空肺部。请参阅教练Mandy McDougal的“自由泳呼吸”视频。她通过肺部充满空气和过早排空肺部来证明身体姿势的不同：建议：在自由泳中舒适地呼吸
自由泳的呼吸真的被高估了。只有我们人类才会增加本能的动作和复杂性，使呼吸变得更加困难和过度沮丧。呼吸不在我们的额头上，抬起头部不会给我们带来更多空气，只会降低水面下方的下巴，使呼吸更加困难。一旦我们的人类，基于陆地的呼吸本能被消除，那么你将在弓波的波谷中找到稳定，轻松的呼吸。无论是在平静的游泳池游泳还是在汹涌的开阔水域中游泳，呼吸位置和过程都保持不变。学会在自由泳中轻松呼吸需要时间，需要耐心并信任这个过程。
空气是免费的，随便吸。
The most frequent request I get from swimmers is: “I just want to be able to breathe easy”. This is for good reason, since clearly if you rotate to breathe and inhale more water than air this will completely interrupt your stroke, anxiety and frustration sets in preventing the swimmer from progressing. The key is to integrate an easy breath into your stroke – not interrupt rhythm and change body position to gasp for air.
We are humans after all, we breathe with the top of our head higher than our chin 99% of the time. Put us horizontal in water and the instinct to lift the head and rotate more is how a human is driven to breathe in an aquatic environment. The more we rotate the less stable the body is and begins to sink. The higher the head lifts, the more the hips (and chin) sink. That’s no secret, just physics.
Lifting head and rotating more to breathe instinctively triggers the lead arm to push down and legs to splay wide to maintain stability. Once air is found and face is back in the water, body position resembles nothing like freestyle and looks more like the Flying Spaghetti Monster (FSM). Breathing like this on two’s (every other stroke) you may as well be a Freestyle Spaghetti Monster – drag profile increases exponentially, effort and the need for a lot more air.
In order to breathe easily, head and spine must be in alignment, body needs to be level – or more precisely characterized in TI and is priority #1 – “Balance”. It’s counterintuitive, really counter-instinctive to keep head low and rotate less to easily find air, and both are central to seamless breathing.
Timing is critical too. If breath is late and/or long, human FSM instincts will take over. Allow the shoulders to do the timing. When rolling to breathe, chin should follow shoulder to air. Empty the lungs when rolling to breathe to allow for immediate inhale when nose and mouth breach surface. If you exhale and inhale after mouth breaches surface, the breathing cycle is too long and you will be sucking on more water than air. Also, if breath is late or has slight hesitation on body roll (i.e, chin doesn’t follow shoulder to air), similar to the “long breath” you will only find more water than air.
Breathing in the Bow Wave: When rolling to breathe, keeping head low and aligned with spine the water in front of your head will be higher and lower near your chin. I refer to this as “the pocket” or “finding the pocket” near chin which allows for an easy breath. A more scientific definition of the “bow wave”, select this link: Bow Wave Physics.
Experiment by creating a bow wave with the palm of your hand so you have a good visual. Stand in the shallow end of pool, extend arm out, palm facing forward (thumb up) – now sweep hand forward in circular arc. Notice the water in front of hand (palm side) is higher – and water lower at the back or knuckle side of hand. The low water zone is the pocket next to chin that allows you to breathe easy. No lifting of head, altering stroke, rhythm, or body position to gasp for air. Just get your air quickly in the low pocket. See illustration below
In the illustration, notice swimmer is: 1. Stable, rotated just enough to get air, 2. head and spine are in alignment, head is low with one goggle in and one out, 3. chin follows shoulder getting a full breath (inhale) early in low pocket as recovery arm exits water, and 4. lead arm is anchored in front holding clean edge at breath – pulling not required. This swimmer is not altering stroke, rhythm or body position to breathe – thus maintaining balance, a low drag profile and forward momentum.
Simple steps to “Breathe Easy”:
1. Remove the breathing component and practice the timing first by lifting one goggle above the surface. Take a few long strokes, then when ready/stable, chin follows shoulder until one goggle breaches the surface. In TI this is called the “Whale Eye”. Once you see air (with one goggle!), return head back to neutral position – “goggles down”. Peeking one goggle above the surface allows you to feel the head and spine in alignment, head doesn’t need to lift to to see air. In shallow lanes, take a few strokes peeking on two’s or every other stroke. When you need air stop, stand up and breathe and repeat the “Whale Eye” process.
2. Once you feel confident and comfortable peeking one goggle above surface, head and spine in alignment (no lifting of head), now bring in the timing of exhale. As chin follows shoulder to peek one goggle above the surface, exhale continuously and quickly emptying lungs. Done correctly, you will feel the ending last burst of air on exhale clearing the way when mouth breaches surface and return head to goggles down without inhaling air. Stop stand up get a full tank of air, repeat the goggle peek and timing of exhale.
3. Now integrate the new position head and spine alignment, timing of exhale and try to take a breath in. But first, start off with three to four strokes keeping head neutral (goggles/nose down), then on next stroke peek one goggle (no breathing), on the next stroke after goggle peek, exhale as chin follows shoulder to air and quickly inhale (in low pocket) when mouth breaches the surface. However – if you find more water than air when trying to inhale, LET IT GO and try to breathe again on the next stroke. If no success getting air on either stroke, stop, stand up and breathe – repeat the “peek first then breathe second” process. Your mission is to break the instinct of lifting head, rotating more to breathe and discover the low pocket where easy breathing happens. The air is the same five inches above the surface as it is at the surface.
Breathing and Buoyancy: One important part of breathing is the amount of air in your lungs. A common message I hear and read frequently, especially advice given to triathletes, is to start emptying lungs of air immediately when face enters water. Although the spirit and intentions of this advice are good, your body position can drop a couple of inches or more and never find “the pocket” due to lack of buoyancy (not enough air in the lungs). You don’t want to hold your breath, but rather have a slow controlled exhale as face enters water – only exhale quickly and empty lungs as chin follows shoulder to air. See this ‘breathing in freestyle’ video from Coach Mandy McDougal. She demonstrates body position with air in the lungs and emptying lungs too early: SwimVICE: Breathing Comfortably in Freestyle
Breathing in freestyle really is overrated. It’s only us humans adding instinctive movements and complexity that make breathing much more difficult and overly frustrating. Our mouths are not located on our foreheads, lifting the head will not get us more air, only lowers the chin below surface making it more difficult to breathe. Once our human, land based instincts to breathe have been removed is when you will find that stable, easy breath in the low pressure pocket of the bow wave. Whether swimming in calm pool or in lumpy open water conditions, the breathing position and process remains the same. Learning to breathe easy in freestyle takes time, be patient and trust the process. The air is free, take all you need.
by CoachStuartMcDougal 翻译来自全浸游泳大熊
