Breathing?

Let me see if this helps. Look at your arm as it enters the water. follow your hand in front, below
and behind you with your sight. You will have to be turning your neck to do this. As the hand exits
the water behind you, your mouth should be at the point where you can take a breath.

From you description, it seems that you have your head too ddep under water. Try arching your back
and pushing your chest forward. This ought to give the same feeling that you get as with what Terry
calls "pushsing down your bouy". It should raise your legs, but also raise your chest and upper body
slightly. Good luck, and let me know if it worked,

Andres

Pete Dawson <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Hi,

I wonder if anyone can help?

I have been following the Total Immersion 'Triathlon Swimming Made Easy' book and am extremely
impressed by the whole system and my progress in terms of balance.

However I seem to be struggling with the transition from drilling to swimming.

Let me explain........I am breathing every two strokes, I am not pausing to breathe but I AM
rolling all the way to face the ceiling ('sweet spot' as in drills) before I breathe. At this pace
I am comfortable and there is no exaggerated pause while breathing. ie. I would say I am swimming
very slowly with an exaggerated roll to breathe.

I cannot see how you can increase stroke rate (thinking about getting faster) and still breathe
without an exaggerated pause. My mouth doesn't clear the water until I've rolled all the way. I am
trying not to lift or turn my head. Have I missed something??

Thanks Pete

Dude, your post is one of the funniest that I've read in a while. You have been smitten by TI with
the passion of a true believer.

My advice is: turn your #!?&*$ head and breath!

The TI books say to look at the bottom of the pool, head on a steal rod while you "roll your belly
button" to the air. (Never figured that one out)

However, nearly all the Olympic class swimmers on Donal Fagan's now defunct video site are looking
forward and turning their heads plenty to get air. So while you're learning to swim the TI way,
please don't drown 🙂

-Eric

Pete Dawson said:

I cannot see how you can increase stroke rate (thinking about getting faster) and still breathe
without an exaggerated pause. My mouth doesn't clear the water until I've rolled all the way.

In low speed drills, you do need to roll halfway on your back. As you swim faster, a little
wave forms ahead of you (the bow wave) and you can breathe in the trough of that wave without
rolling so much.

Maybe you should try it with fins, that will give you enough speed to generate that trough.

Quoted message said:

I am trying not to lift or turn my head. Have I missed something??

I think you're a bit stuck on that comfortable feeling of breathing on your back. There should be
later drills where you do turn (but do not lift) your head for air. My site is down, but I clipped a
still of Terry turning his head nearly ninety degrees during drill swimming with fins. His body is
sideways in the water but his head points to the sky.

Donal Fagan AIA Donal@DonalO'Fagan.com (Anglicise the name to reply by e-mail)

I saw two guys at my gym this morning doing the TI drills and they were literally staring at the
ceiling on both sides as they breathed. One guy looked really smooth and on top of the water while
the other was kind of awkward. I think the exaggerated roll is more for drill than intended for
normal use.

Donal Fagan wrote in message <[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Pete Dawson said:

I cannot see how you can increase stroke rate (thinking about getting faster) and still breathe
without an exaggerated pause. My mouth doesn't clear the water until I've rolled all the way.

In low speed drills, you do need to roll halfway on your back. As you swim faster, a little
wave forms ahead of you (the bow wave) and you can breathe in the trough of that wave without
rolling so much.

Maybe you should try it with fins, that will give you enough speed to generate that trough.

Quoted message said:

I am trying not to lift or turn my head. Have I missed something??

I think you're a bit stuck on that comfortable feeling of breathing on your back. There should be
later drills where you do turn (but do not lift) your head for air. My site is down, but I clipped
a still of Terry turning his head nearly ninety degrees during drill swimming with fins. His body
is sideways in the water but his head points to the sky.

Donal Fagan AIA Donal@DonalO'Fagan.com (Anglicise the name to reply by e-mail)

Thanks very much for that constructive advice.....I'll try the fins and not ne too rigid about not
turning my head.........

Pete

Donal Fagan said:

Pete Dawson said:

I cannot see how you can increase stroke rate (thinking about getting faster) and still breathe
without an exaggerated pause. My mouth doesn't clear the water until I've rolled all the way.

In low speed drills, you do need to roll halfway on your back. As you swim faster, a little wave
forms ahead of you (the bow wave) and you can breathe in the trough of that wave without rolling
so much.

Maybe you should try it with fins, that will give you enough speed to generate that trough.

Quoted message said:

I am trying not to lift or turn my head. Have I missed something??

I think you're a bit stuck on that comfortable feeling of breathing on your back. There should be
later drills where you do turn (but do not lift) your head for air. My site is down, but I clipped
a still of Terry turning his head nearly ninety degrees during drill swimming with fins. His body
is sideways in the water but his head points to the sky.

Donal Fagan AIA Donal@DonalO'Fagan.com (Anglicise the name to reply by e-mail)

(AndresMuro) said:

Good swimmers don't look at the ceilling when they take breaths.

They do in backstroke. ;- )

Donal Fagan AIA Donal@DonalO'Fagan.com (Anglicise the name to reply by e-mail)

There are strokes just ripe for perfecting, And I mean to practice a few, Gotta move, Cause time
is a wastin'

I got a lot of swimmin' to do.

- apologies to Conrad Birdie