Swimming: Breath through mouth or nose?

I do exhale through my nose to keep that water out - but just a little bit when my face goes in the water. The big exhale goes out my mouth. I can't breath out of my nose too much with a mask or goggles on my face. Force of habit I guess.

-Frank

I dont think I have ever thought about it but I blow a little of of my nose when face down and exhale the rest through my mouth as I come up for breath and inhale through my mouth. I could not imagine breathing in through your nose without choking.



Edited by satchmo72 2004-10-04 3:38 PM

Mouth!
It doesn't matter much how you exhale, but the best way to get a breath is through your mouth. Many people have trouble at first breathing to the side. But it will pay off big time if you can learn to go to the side rather than looking straight up as you breathe.
There's just no way you can get enough air into your lungs through your nose in the short time you are rolling to the side for air.

I breathe on my side through my mouth and out through my nose. It gives me the oxygen I need and I don't lift my head up at all.

I have been rotary breathing as long as I can remember...but I breathe in through mouth and out any way it wants to get out...the thing is there is a magical point when turning to the side to breathe that offically your mouth is below the plane of the surface of the water, but your nose and turning your head causes a dip in the water so you can breathe in through your mouth when the water is like that without your head turning to far and without lifting your head out of the water...I tend to breathe evey 4 to 6 stokes on my right side as I said in through my mouth and out through where ever it wants :-) ...I can't get out of the habit of only breathing on my right side...I try to alternate between left and right, but it is 24+ year habit that I am trying to break. If you are just learning how to rotary breathe you might think about trying to learn to do it on both sides because it gives you the ablity to check out where people are on both sides.

Thanks for the great replies folks! I'll give it a shot, in through the mouth, when I'm back in the pool on Wed. As I say, I really didn't feel like I was getting enough in through the nose.

Thanks again.

Rob