Poor front crawl breathing

Lifts the head forwards to breathe, holds the breath or stops swimming to breathe.

Activities that help

• Breathe with the Pull – Timing drill: the head starts to turn as that arm begins to push back, and returns as the arm recovers.
• Bubble Trails – Swimmers leave a continuous trail of bubbles behind them as they travel – breathing out while moving, not just standing still.
• Bubble, Bubble, Breathe – A breathing rhythm of every third stroke, so swimmers breathe out steadily and learn to breathe to both sides.
• Kick and Breathe Sideways – Kicking with a float, swimmers turn the head to the side to breathe instead of lifting it – the first step to front crawl breathing.
• One Goggle In – Holding the wall, swimmers turn to breathe with one goggle staying in the water – fixes lifting the head forwards.
• Side Kick Breathing – Kicking on the side with one arm extended; the face rolls down and back to the side – the easiest way to learn to breathe without lifting.
• Slow Leak – Swimmers let air out slowly through the nose underwater, like a slow puncture – the exhale they will need for strokes.
• Spy on the Side – Swimmers 'spy' on the teacher walking alongside by turning to breathe – a game that fixes lifting the head forwards.
• Travelling Bobs – Swimmers bob across the pool – under to breathe out, up to breathe in – building a breathing rhythm for swimming.