Article: A good policy is to breathe in as one arm leaves the water, then breathe out as the other leaves the water. Repeat this pattern with deep breaths to keep your breath steady. Deep, steady breathing is important even though the backstroke allows you to breathe whenever you want. Breathing at a regular pace allows you to keep your backstroke up (with good form) for as long as possible. As you approach a wall, turn over on to your front so you can see where you're going. Make sure to get a stroke count (the number of backstroke strokes it takes you to get from the flags to the wall), as it will help greatly with your flip turn. When finding your stroke count, count from the flags all the way until you hit the wall. Try taking one stroke off of your stroke count when you do your flip turn. Experiment a little bit, and see what works and is the most comfortable for you. Once you've figured your stroke count, as you take your last stroke on your back, gradually flip your body over, and simultaneously take one freestyle stroke, and use the stroke to pull yourself into the wall. This motion might feel a bit awkward at first, but keep practising it, and it will soon feel natural. Then, somersault forward underwater, then stretch your legs out to plant your feet on the wall. Kick off with your legs as you squeeze your arms to your ears and make a "point" with your hands. Stay in a tight streamline until you resurface. Keep up a streamline kick until you break the surface, then start your stroke again. It can take a little practice to learn when exactly to turn over onto your front. Ideally, you want to do it when you're just a stroke or two from the edge of the pool. When you're swimming in an indoor pool, you can use the ceiling to make sure you don't veer off-course. Look for a line or pattern in the ceiling material. As you swim, keep your eyes open and focused on the ceiling. Keep this pattern oriented the same way as you swim to keep yourself travelling in a straight line. If you're swimming outside, you have fewer options. If there are clouds out, you can keep the clouds oriented the same way to travel in a straight line. If not, try keeping the sun on the same side of your body. Keeping your bearings when it's overcast is difficult since you have few visible reference points.
What is a summary of what this article is about?
Breathe once per arm cycle. Use flip turns to turn around quickly. If indoors, use the ceiling to keep yourself straight.