The Washington times., 1922-07-08
RIGHT bREATHS
FOR SWIMMERS
\ AREEXPLk|NED
st. Louis Athletic Association
Director Tells Of Proper
- Methods.

Director Tells OF Proper
= Methods.
This is the final story giving
amateur Swimmers pointers on
proper breathing t0hile IN the
tOdter-essential to good st0tns-
ming.
DIR. KARL C. BAUER.
Director OF Athletics, Missouri Athletic
Association. y
Copyright. 1922. by Cosmopolitan News
Service)
ST. LOUIS, Mo-. July Sit II
very widely taught today that the
proper manner Of breathing while
in swimming is to inhale through
the mouth and to exhale through
the nose. 1t is my belief that ex-
Mailing through the nose is I'M
proper, not only according to the
theory of saving as much OF the
energy of the lungs as possible, but
also from the standpoint of safety
first" and l shall herewith attempt
to explain my viewpoint on the
matter.
The big argument is that regard.
ing the matter of expelling the air
through the nose. Almost every
expert. agrees to the correctness Of
inhaling through the mouth, simply
because the mouth enables an
easier and quicker draw than the
nose. However, there still re-
mains to be explained away the
fixed idea about inhaling through
the nose.
Nostrils Purify Air.
The real purpose Of the nose IL to
purify or to free from dust the air
inhaled air before II reaches the
lungs. In almost every branch OF
athletics, especially in running. the
athlete generally has his mouth
wide open, with the natural result
Of breathing in the minute particles
of dust which go along with the air.
In this respect the swimmer has the
advantage over his brother athletes,
inasmuch as he has the air thor
oughly cleansed for him before TAX
ing 1t into his lungs. ! shall en-
deavor to explain this. A fairly
good swimmer raises his mouth out
of the water not more than an inch,
and a good swimmer not more than
half inch. The air is cleaned by the
water, the ordinary waves OF which
raise to a height of five or six
inches. From this you can see that
in some ways the water is fitted for
human being to live in. even
though man may not be SO well
equipped as a fish.
One OF the greatest arguments
Of proper breathing is that Of
safety first" Naturally when one
breathes through the nose 1t is
necessary for him to draw his
breath harder than II he drew
through his mouth, as the nose
channels are smaller than those Of
the mouth. This hard draw quite
often results in the swimmer suck
ing up the water along with the
air. From the nose the water is
very liable to become lodged in the
lungs. which, 1t is needless to cay,
is very dangerous.
The mouth has the preference,
not only because of the easier draw.
but also because Of the fact that
when a person happens to take
some water along with his air he
can spit out or swallow Il. It Is
not essential that one should drown
simply because he has q little wa
manner. you go through the same
actions when inhaling through the
mouth as you do when drinking.
This may seem a trifle strange to
some, but while drinking you un-
consciously inhale air, the air find
ing its way down the larynx, or
windpipe, and the water down the
esophagus, or food pipe. The very
same principle is applied when
swimming.
Danger Of Choking Remote.
The water can be swallowed with
practically no danger OF being car
ried to the windpipe. surely with
less danger than when breathing
through the nose.
Expelling the air through the
nose. while swimming is quite as
dangerous as inhaling through the
nose. The nose openings are di.
rected rather downward TO the sur
face, while the mouth opening is
more parallel to the surface Of the
water. In addition, since the nose
openings are small and canal-like,
II requires more effort to expel the
air. 1t Is this extra pressure which
Is very apt to cause trouble. No
matter how carefully and no matter
how easily you exhale. there is al
ways a slight drawback Of air and,
with the nose openings directed
downward to the surface, small
drops Of water are very likely to
be drawn up into the nose, creating
a disturbance in the breathing, es.
pecially in the case Of a person