Bubble, Bubble, Breathe
A breathing rhythm of every third stroke, so swimmers breathe out steadily and learn to breathe to both sides.
- Stages
- Stage 5, Stage 6, Stage 7
- Difficulty
- Developing
- Skills
- Front Crawl Breathing, Stroke Timing
- Equipment
- None
- Age
- 7–99 years
- Group size
- 1–16 swimmers
- Time
- About 5 minutes
- In a lesson
- Introduction / Warm-up, Skill Development 1, Skill Development 2
- Shared by
- SwimShare Resource
Safety notes
- Never set breath-holding challenges; swimmers breathe whenever they need to.
What it develops
- Front crawl with breathing timed to the arm action
- Swim with fewer, longer strokes
- Efficient front crawl with rotation and rhythmic breathing
- Improve stroke efficiency on all strokes
- Efficient front crawl over distance
- Keep technique and stroke count as distance increases
How to run it
- Swim front crawl saying in your head: 'bubble, bubble, breathe'.
- Breathe out steadily through the nose and mouth on the 'bubbles'.
- Breathe in on 'breathe' – the side swaps each time.
- If three is too far, breathe every two and swap sides each width.
Teaching cues
- Blow out all the way.
- Bubble, bubble, breathe.
- Turn, don't lift.
- Both sides.
Make it easier
- Breathe every two strokes, left on the way there, right on the way back.
- Practise the rhythm standing, face in.
Make it harder
- Hold the rhythm for a whole length.
- Every three for one width, every five for a short burst – only if relaxed.
Common faults
- Holding the breath then puffing out and in at once.
- Always breathing to the same side.
- Lifting the head to 'catch' a breath.
Corrections
- Trickle out through the nose (hum) so the lungs are nearly empty.
- Start on the weaker side at the wall with One Goggle In.
- Shorten the distance so the rhythm stays calm.
Assistant / L1 role
- Stand at the turning end and tell each swimmer which side they breathed on most – one piece of feedback.