Swimming blog - BREATHING and freestyle Best breathing hacks to swim calmy

Most swimmers want to work on their technique, their speed, or their fitness. But in this episode coach Johan starts somewhere else: breathing. Because everything else falls apart when your breathing is off.

In this episode of SwimGym Breakdown, we spent time in the water with Hari, a busy chef who's been swimming with SwimGym for years. He swims to relax. And that's exactly the right mindset to start from.

The problem most swimmers don't notice

The moment your face goes in the water, something happens automatically: you hold your breath. You don't decide to do it. Your body just does. It's a survival reflex, and it gets in the way of almost everything: your rhythm, your relaxation, your technique.

The fix starts with making a sound. Hum. Sing. Exhale through your nose, through your mouth. Coach Johan calls it "singing in the water." It sounds unusual, but it works immediately. If you can hear yourself exhaling, you know you're not holding your breath. Small bubbles rising to the surface are a good sign. No bubbles means you're still holding on.

Exhale when you're underwater, exhale when you above water

You're never holding, you're always releasing. The breath you take  should be light and natural, not a desperate gasp. If you're gasping, it usually means you held your breath for too long underneath.

The float exercise: surrendering to the water

The first exercise Johan uses is floating. You take a light breath, not too deep, put your face in the water, pull your knees up to your chest and just float. Eyes closed if you can manage it. Count slowly to fifteen. The point isn't to hold your breath as long as possible. It's to feel comfortable with your face underwater without rushing.

Most people panic on the first attempt. That's completely normal. Hari did too. The key insight Johan gives is a simple one: humans can go without air for two minutes. Fifteen seconds is nothing. The panic comes from the mind, not from the body actually needing air. Knowing that makes it easier to stay calm.

Sinking to the bottom

The second exercise goes further. You float the same way, but this time you exhale everything, every last bit of air, while underwater. Making a sound helps. A deep sigh. Squeeze it all out. When your lungs are empty, your body stops floating and slowly sinks. You let it happen. No controlling, no fighting it. Once you touch the bottom, count to five, then come up slowly.

It sounds intense. It is, the first few times. But it teaches you something important: you always know where your next breath is. It's right above you. You're always in control. That knowledge is what turns a stressed swimmer into a calm one.

Why this matters before anything else

Coach Johan makes a point that sticks: if your breathing is heavy from the very first lap of warm-up, your mind will not be ready to learn anything. No technique improvement, no drill work, nothing. You have to settle your breathing first — and the good news is, it doesn't take long once you know what to do.

Swimming is physical. It's technical. But it's also deeply mindful. The breath is where those three things come together.

Try it yourself at the pool

Below you'll find our tutorials for each of the exercises covered in this episode, so you can try them yourself the next time you're in the pool.