This is something that I got from my brother, and then developed my own idea of how it can be very effective for the swimmers. I first began using this as a way to demonstrate how long someone can swim while breathing out slowly. This worked very well especially with my high school swimmers who had never swam in their lives. They learned the basic fundamental skill of air exchange, which they probably learned when they were 5 or 6 when they took swim lessons. Too bad they never applied this skill they learned to swimming.
Although I still use this drill for this reason, it has also become a great way to get my swimmers to concentrate on controlling their exhale in the water, meaning that they would have to relax and swim at the same time. This is a skill I try to teach my groups each season.
The drill is simple, swim 25 yards and they must exhale during the entire lap. Try not to hold your breathe, but exhale very smooth and slowly as you swim across the pool. After a few 25's then I'll have them try to do fast kick, slow arms. This is a little bit tougher as they use oxygen with their kick, plus they have to concentrate on an extra skill.
I remember sprinting and just holding my breathe, but then I some how figured out that I could go longer if I let out small amounts of air. When my brother came home and told me about this drill, I thought it was great and have used it ever since. The benefits of it has evolved from when I first used it though.
Relaxation and going hard at the same time is hard, but it is what I try to teach my swimmers. This I believe helps concentrate and relax, similarly to meditation. Meditation is where I believe I figured out the slow exhale as I began a meditation routine as a sophomore in high school. This drill now can take that skill and try to apply it to swimming. Relaxation is a core concept of speed.
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