Hey guys,
I have been a swimmer and a musician for years and I thought I could share some of my knowledge on breathing with everyone.

First of all, let me debunk a few myths.

1) Your lungs can get bigger.
a) No, your lungs are the same size. However, over time they get mucus built up and it takes up valuable space that could be used for air.

2) My lung capacity is so small because I am short
a) Wrong! Your lung capacity is actually much larger than you think it is. Just because you need to breathe more often doesn't mean you have smaller lungs, they just aren't very efficient yet.

In order to increase the amount of air your lungs can hold, you have to get rid of that junk called mucus. It's nasty fluid that builds up over time. I am 5'7" and my lung capacity is over 5 Liters. It seems crazy but it's true!

The first exercise you can do to increase lung capacity is taking in as much air as possible (while staying relaxed) and then suspending it. Once you have it there, take in 'sips', which are smaller breaths that allow more air to come in. The first few weeks you do this, you will probably cough a lot. Don't worry, that is a good thing! Coughing means that you are expanding your capacity by getting rid of mucus!

The second exercise is to learn your limits of how far you can blow your air. Be careful, as this exercise is known to make people pass out on rare occasions. Do the exercise above, and when you are completely full, start letting your air out. When you get to about halfway empty, start making a hissing sound. Let your air out and when you are almost empty, push. Keep on forcing the air out, and try and go for another 20 seconds of hissing past your emptiness. Before you pass out, take in a deep breath and make a large sigh. Make sure to take a break before doing it again.

That's all for now, I will make some more breathing exercise guides later!

~SwimmingMonkey

Nice tutorial, thank you

Thank you for sharing this information.
In the initial times, when I started swimming I had problem with my breathing as I was not able to breathe well while swimming but as time passed my lungs got used to these practice.
Today I am a good swimmer.

I followed your tutorial for many days & now I have no problem in lungs while swimming.
At first I used to feel some different feelings in my body when breathing in pools.
But now the problems solved.Thanks.

Wow, impressed that this works! It sounds pretty scary to me. Have you ever used this as part of a training regimen for competitive swimming? Or do they get the same effect from all the laps they swim?

(Jan 4, 2010 5:15pm)SwimCoachTools Wrote:  Wow, impressed that this works! It sounds pretty scary to me. Have you ever used this as part of a training regimen for competitive swimming? Or do they get the same effect from all the laps they swim?

This is something that I may actually consider, but it's those type of exercises that you can do at home while watching TV or relaxing.

"Oxygen Management" - one of the biggest factors in swimming! Nice post.