Swim Underwater Without Holding Your Nose
Swimming underwater without holding your nose opens up a world of new possibilities for aquatic recreation and fun. Whether you are looking to do a flip turn, start swimming competitively, or even just do a handstand underwater, learning to swim without holding your nose is essential. Here are some simple ways that you can learn how to swim without holding your nose.
Contents
Steps
Getting Acclimated to Being Underwater
- Get into the water and stand by the edge of the pool.
- Standing by the edge of the pool will ensure that you feel secure while you go through the following steps.
- It is a good idea to stand waist- or chest-deep in the pool, whichever you are more comfortable with.
- Slowly dunk your head underwater while blowing air out through your nose. Exhaling through your nose is the main way to be sure that water doesn't get into it. Try to exhale slowly after you dunk your head into the water so that you can stay underwater longer.
- Repeat the previous step until you feel comfortable being underwater without holding your nose.
Building Your Confidence
- Now that you are getting used to being underwater without holding your nose, try it out while swimming. Swim along the shorter length of the pool near the edge while you follow the steps below. Using a shorter distance and the edge as a guide will allow you to build up to bigger challenges.
- Start by going underwater and pushing off of the edge of the pool.
- Try this a few times before actually swimming all the way across.
- If you find that water is going up your nose after you kick off, repeat the process.
- Make sure that you are exhaling through your nose while you push off of the side of the pool.
- Start swimming! Once you have gotten used to pushing off of the edge of the pool without holding your nose, start swimming across the pool.
- While using strokes such as Freestyle, Froggy, or Butterfly, where you are swimming "horizontally," keep your head facing down towards the bottom of the pool.
- As always, make sure that you are blowing air out through your nose while your head is submerged.
- Come up for air after 1-3 "strokes" or as needed, then dip your head back into the water, exhaling through your nose.
- Keep swimming the shorter length of the pool until you feel comfortable.
Swimming without Holding Your Nose
- Start by taking a huge breath and putting your head underwater. Without overthinking it, begin swimming across the pool. Using all of the steps above, you should now be able to swim the entire length of the pool without holding your nose!
- Be confident in yourself and your ability as a swimmer, but don't forget that your comfort and feeling of safety while swimming is the most important thing. Use the edge of the pool as needed until you feel that you can swim the entire length of the pool without using it.
- As you swim more, you will find it easier to go farther without feeling that you need to hold your nose. Your body will acclimate to this process over time.
- Also, as you begin swimming faster, water will be less likely to go into your nose.
- Swim a lap without holding your nose. Once you can swim an entire lap without holding your nose, you have achieved your goal!
Tips
- Practice blowing air through your nose slower and slower. Eventually, instead of a study stream of bubbles, you will have just enough air pressure in your nose to prevent water from going in.
- Remember that at first, you will probably need to come up for air a lot. Practice coming up for air at different stroke intervals--after one, two, or three stokes and so on until you figure out what interval is best for you.
- If this technique doesn't work, consider buying a nose plug.
- Try singing a song in your head whilst you are swimming to distract yourself and take away the fear of having your nose under.
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