Most adults who come to us don’t have a fitness problem. They have an air problem. Good freestyle breathing technique comes down to three moves: exhale steadily underwater (Swim England calls this trickle breathing), rotate your head with your shoulders so it stays low and turns to the side, then take one quick, small sip of air from the pocket that your bow wave creates beside your mouth. Hold your breath at any point and the whole stroke falls apart.

That’s the entire method. The rest of this guide shows you how each piece works, why you keep swallowing water, which breathing pattern fits you, and the exact drills we use in our lessons in Amsterdam-Noord.

Quick answer: exhale the whole time your face is in the water, finish with a short clearing puff, turn (don’t lift) your head as your body rolls, sip air with one goggle still in the water, and put your face back before your arm finishes recovering.

What good freestyle breathing technique looks like

Start releasing air the moment your face returns to the water. Keep it gentle, through the nose or mouth, then give one short clearing puff just before you turn to breathe. This steady release prevents carbon dioxide from building up, and CO2, not lack of oxygen, is what triggers that panicky “I need air NOW” feeling.

Then turn your head with your body roll, never separately from it. Keep one eye near the surface and one eye still underwater. That position puts your mouth exactly next to the air pocket your forward motion creates (the bow wave trough). You sip air from that pocket without pausing the stroke.

U.S. Masters Swimming sums up the goal well: your stroke while breathing should look as similar as possible to your stroke when you’re not breathing. Small breath, fast breath, low breath.

How to stop swallowing water when swimming

This is the most common complaint in our beginner lanes, and it has a mechanical cause every time. You swallow water when your mouth opens too early, too long, or too low. Here’s the fix, in order:

1. Exhale until the turn. If you’re still exhaling when your mouth clears the water, water can’t come in. Swimmers who hold their breath open their mouth early and gulp.
2. Finish with a clearing puff. A short, sharp exhale right before you turn blows the water off your lips and clears the small cascade running over your face.
3. Rotate to the pocket. Turn your chin toward your shoulder as the body rolls. Your mouth ends up in the bow wave trough, above the waterline, even though half your face is still wet.
4. Sip, don’t gulp. A big desperate inhale takes too long and sucks in spray. A small, quick sip gets you enough air and keeps the timing intact.
5. Face back in early. Return your head before your recovering arm passes your head. Wait longer and your balance tips, the lead arm sinks, and the next breath gets rushed.

Practice these five steps standing still first (see the bobs drill below), then at easy pace. Most of our students stop swallowing water within two or three sessions once the exhale is continuous.

Breathing patterns: every 2, 3 or 4 strokes

Choose the pattern that keeps your rhythm smooth and your body line long. There is no rule that says you must breathe bilaterally.

Pattern	Air supply	Best for	Watch out for
Every 2 strokes (same side)	Maximum	Learning, hard efforts, low stroke rates	One-sided stroke can develop imbalances
Every 3 strokes (bilateral)	Moderate	Symmetry, technique work, open water options	Feels air-hungry at first; build up gradually
Every 4+ strokes	Minimal	Short fast efforts, sprint work	Not for learning; CO2 builds fast

Bilateral breathing in freestyle (every 3 strokes, alternating sides) is worth practicing because it evens out your rotation and gives you options in waves or crowded lanes. But plenty of strong swimmers train bilaterally and race breathing every 2 to their preferred side. Comfort and rhythm beat dogma.

Coach’s tip: if your stroke rate is slow, breathe more often. Four strokes between breaths at a leisurely pace is a long time without air.

Why you feel out of breath: it’s the exhale

Swimmers who feel gassed after one length almost never have a fitness problem. They hold their breath. Held air does two bad things: CO2 accumulates and triggers panic, and the exhale-plus-inhale then has to happen in the tiny window when the mouth is out of the water, which is impossible to do calmly.

There’s a bonus most swimmers miss: air in your lungs is buoyancy. Exhale everything explosively and your chest sinks; manage the air steadily and your body position stays high. Breathing technique and body position are the same skill wearing two swimsuits. If your legs sink no matter what you do, that’s usually a balance issue, and we’ve covered the fix in stop sinking legs: the beginner balance fix.

Short drills you can do in any pool

1. Bobs (sink downs). Stand in the shallow end. Sink, exhale steadily underwater, surface, take one quick sip of air, repeat for 30 to 60 seconds. This single drill fixes breath holding, and it’s the first thing we teach.
2. Stroke and roll. Swim easy freestyle and let the body roll carry your mouth to the air. When you breathe, roll a little further onto your side, take the breath calmly, roll back. Do it on both sides.
3. Snorkel toggles. One length with a center-mount snorkel, one length without. The snorkel length shows you what an undisturbed stroke feels like; your job on the non-snorkel length is to copy that feeling with a small side breath.
4. One goggle check. Swim easy and check on every breath: is one goggle still underwater? If both goggles come out, you’re lifting, and your hips are paying for it.

A simple session you can swim tonight

Block	What to do	Focus
Warm up	200 to 300 m easy, 6 bobs at the wall between lengths	Continuous exhale
Skill set	6 x 50 m: 25 m stroke and roll + 25 m normal	Breathe every 3 on the last 4 reps
Control set	4 x 50 m: 15 m snorkel on, 35 m off	Match the same low, quick breath
Cool down	100 m easy	One goggle in the water on every breath

How we coach freestyle breathing technique in Amsterdam

Breathing is the first thing we assess in our adult swimming lessons in Amsterdam. I still remember a marathon runner who joined us in Amsterdam-Noord convinced she “had no lungs for swimming”. She could run 42 km but not swim 25 m. Two lessons of bobs and stroke and roll later, she swam 100 m without stopping. Her lungs were never the problem; her held breath was.

If you’re starting from zero, begin with our beginner swimming lessons, where water confidence and exhaling come before any stroke work. If you can already swim but breathing still breaks your stroke, our intermediate lessons rebuild the timing directly. For the full overview of options and prices in the city, see our adult swimming lessons Amsterdam guide. For public pool locations and lane-swim hours, the city keeps an English page at Amsterdam.nl.

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FAQ

How do you breathe when swimming freestyle? Exhale steadily underwater the whole time your face is in the water, finish with a short clearing puff, then rotate your head with your body roll and take one small, quick sip of air from the pocket beside your mouth. The inhale happens in a fraction of a second; the exhale takes the rest of the stroke cycle.

How do I stop swallowing water when swimming freestyle? Keep exhaling until the moment your mouth clears the water, give a final clearing puff, and rotate your chin toward your shoulder instead of lifting your head. Take a small sip of air rather than a big gulp, and return your face to the water early.

Do I have to breathe on both sides in freestyle? No. Bilateral breathing helps stroke symmetry and gives options in open water, and many strong swimmers still breathe to one preferred side during hard efforts. Practice both sides in training, then use whatever pattern keeps your rhythm smooth.

Why do I get so out of breath swimming freestyle? Usually because you’re holding your breath between inhales. Held breath lets carbon dioxide build up, which creates the urgent need to breathe, and it forces the exhale and inhale into the short moment your mouth is above water. A continuous underwater exhale fixes both.

Should I exhale through my nose or mouth when swimming? Either works, and Swim England notes it can be a combination of both. Many swimmers prefer a gentle nose exhale while the face is in the water because it also keeps water out of the nose during the roll.

Breathing is the skill that makes every other swimming skill possible; give it two focused sessions and the water starts feeling like a place you belong.