How (and Why) to Breathe Like a Champion Swimmer

It's a good idea for mere mortals too – and easy to do on land

The Olympics are still happening, along with my minor obsession and a big dose of irony. 

The world’s best athletes get to show off their superior skills on the world stage… while the rest of us are losing a bit of fitness because we’re glued to our TVs, watching them. 

Potato chip, anyone?

One of my favorite sports to watch this year was swimming. I was in awe of those athletes slicing through the water like sleek, human torpedoes. 

The drama is fun too.

Katie Ledecky making Olympic history as the most celebrated female swimmer and #5 for overall medal count, ever! 

Leon Marchand winning four gold medals in his home country! 

Team USA beating Australia in the competition for overall gold medals – a competition which I didn’t know even existed until I saw an elaborate on-screen graphic about the “duel in the pool”!

Anyway, you know what these swimmers all have in common besides their Olympic glory?

The biggest lat muscles this side of the Hulk, hair that perpetually smells of chlorine… and of course, suuuuuuper strong lungs.

And I know you’re probably thinking: "Lungs, schmungs. I'm not aiming to end up on a box of Wheaties! I'm just need to stay afloat day to day.” 

Here's the thing, though – whether you're competing for gold or conquering your to-do list, mastering your breath is your secret weapon.

Maybe you’re not racing against one of the GOATs like Michael Phelps. But imagine being able to do things like:

• Lower your heart rate and blood pressure (your doctor will love you)

• Decrease your cortisol (stress hormone) levels (your nervous system will thank you)

• Reduce your odds of muscle injury (did your bones and joints just actually sigh with relief?)

And imagine being able to do it all through breathing. 

It sounds crazy, but it’s absolutely possible. And you don't even need a pool to practice.

How to Breathe Like a Swimming Pro… and Why You Want To

Focus on the exhale. 

Lots of people tend to find swimming especially exhausting. It’s not just that swimming is a full-body workout. The reason this happens is that the composition of chemicals in their blood is changing the more time that goes by. 

They’re taking in a lot of oxygen, and as their body uses it for fuel, they start producing carbon dioxide that needs to be released. If it doesn’t get released, that’s what produces feelings of windedness. And in the pool – much more than on land – people often don’t release it fully before starting to take their next breath.

To avoid that whole “holy-crap-am-I-gonna-die?” freakout, you want to focus on emptying your lungs completely. There are exercises you can do in the water to help with this, where you go underwater and continuously exhale as you try to sink deeper.

If you think that sounds slightly terrifying (yeah, hi, me too 🙋‍♀️), guess what?

This whole “empty your lungs until they’re deflated like a sad old party balloon” is a great idea on land as well. 

Most people breathe too quickly and shallowly. We keep our breath in our chest, which puts us on an express train to Panic City. But by focusing on exhaling completely, we automatically slow down our breathing rate and bring the breath down lower into the abdomen. 

The result? You’ll feel physically better… and mentally, so. much. calmer. 

Hold your breath.

Swimmers often hold their breath for short bursts, especially during turns. While I'm not suggesting you stop breathing altogether (that would be bad), controlled breath holds can improve your lung function, which can have some surprising benefits. 

Studies have shown that increasing your breath hold time can decrease inflammation, which is responsible for oh-so-many medical conditions that I’d need to write you a whole separate newsletter about it (if not an entire book). 

It also is associated with increased lifespan and the preservation of stem cells.

Sound good?

Then try this. A few times a day, exhale, and then hold your breath for about 10 seconds. Then breathe normally again. 

Every week, try to increase the hold time over the prior week – for example, 10 seconds for all breath holds during Week 1, 15 seconds during Week 2, 20 seconds during Week 3, etc. 

NOTE: Don’t let this become too much of a struggle. If It gets uncomfortable beyond a 7 out of 10, it’s time to inhale again. The goal here isn’t to pass out. 

Be smart and listen to your body. Like many activities in life, there are some contraindications. If you have any health concerns about breath holds, talk to your doctor.

Practice diaphragmatic breathing.

Your diaphragm is your body’s most efficient breathing muscle, and using it is the ideal way to breathe. It’s how your body was built.

This can take some practice, because most people aren’t used to it – as explained above ^^^.

Your core muscles may get a little sore. To that I say, suck it up, buttercup. Diaphragmatic breathing gets easier and more automatic over time.  

Laying Down

It’s easiest to start doing this exercise laying down, so you can really see and feel the muscles that are in play here.

1. Lay down on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the surface below you. 

2. Put one hand on your upper chest, and the other on your abdomen just below your rib cage.

3. Inhale slowly and steadily through your nose so your stomach pushes out and causes your lower hand to rise. Keep your hand on your chest as still as possible - the idea is to limit movement in this area.

4. Exhale through pursed lips so that you feel your stomach moving in, causing the hand under your ribs lower. Again, keep your chest as still as possible (so the upper hand doesn’t move).

Sitting Up

You put your right foot in, you take your right foot out, you put your right foot in and you shake it all about…

Never mind. Let’s not overly complicate things. 

You’re gonna do this exercise exactly the same way I talked about above, but sitting up in a chair that has decent back support. So instead of your abdomen moving up and down while you work your diaphragm, it will move in and out. 

It might be a little more difficult to model this one at first. Hence practicing on the floor, so you can start to really notice and isolate your breathing muscles. 

Mental Shortcut: Visualization 

Olympic swimmers don't just train their bodies – they train their minds too. A lot of them visualize what they’re about to do - the push off, the kicking, the turn...

And you can too!

Have you ever watched a baby sleeping, or maybe a household pet?

That’s what diaphragmatic breathing should look like. Full-bodied, slow, even, blissfully unbothered. 

So as you start getting used to this move, it may help to picture the snoozing piles of cuteness you’ve had in your life (or ask Google for some inspiration).

Do It Like a Boss

Breathwork has cumulative effects. A little bit can have a lot of impact… but the more you do it, the better the results you’ll get.

So if you want to become a chill, efficient breather with lower blood pressure, heart rate, and stress hormones, then you might want to spend a little time at it. 

Start off with 5 minutes at a time, three times a day. How do you feel? 

If you’re digging it, add a fourth session, or start adding minutes, or both. Over time, as you get used to it, you might start doing it outside of these sessions. 🙌

Now, on the off chance that you ARE scheduled to race a swimmer like Michael Phelps… let’s be realistic.

He’ll beat you. Unless Even if he has a broken leg.

But knowing these techniques, you’ll impress the hell out of him… and you’ll improve how you feel every day. 

And that’s still a win too, dammit.

Last Gasp

Did you know that some Olympic swimmers can hold their breath for up to 2 minutes? I don't recommend trying this at home without training up to that point, but there’s a bit of trivia for your next pool party.

"Persistence can change failure into extraordinary achievement." – Matt Biondi, swimmer & 11-time Olympic medalist

Any thoughts on this newsletter? What would you like to see more of? Let me know in the comments!