Continuing the discussion on exhalation in continuous breathing techniques, let’s explore the differences between exhaling through the mouth versus exhaling through the nose.

•4 min read
Continuing the discussion on exhalation in continuous breathing techniques, let’s explore the differences between exhaling through the mouth versus exhaling through the nose.
This article follows the previous one.A versatile breathing technique that adapts to all scenarios—compatible with freestyle, breaststroke, and butterfly, perfect for distances ranging from 100 meters to 1 kilometer or even 10 kilometers., continuing to discuss continuous ventilation technology.
Generally speaking, as long as you master exhaling properly, inhaling after opening your mouth won’t be a problem. In fact, the key to efficient breathing lies in perfecting your exhalation. So, how exactly do you execute the exhale technique in continuous breathing?

1. Remember one principle: Relax your nose and allow the breath to flow naturally through it.
When exhaling, don’t consciously control the speed of your breath—slowing it down or speeding it up both feel unnatural. After all, things that involve artificial intervention rarely produce results as effortless and effective as those that happen naturally.
Think about how a naturally aspirated car engine works: by keeping the air passages open, air flows in naturally—without any need for special control over how much or how fast it enters. Similarly, when your nose is relaxed, exhaling happens naturally as well. The volume and speed of your breath are entirely determined by your lungs—driven by the pressure they generate. As your lungs release air, your nose effortlessly relaxes, allowing the exhalation to occur smoothly and naturally, without any conscious effort to regulate it.

2. From proactive intervention to self-control
When you first start practicing, it might not be easy to keep your nose relaxed—your breath tends to slip into an unconscious, intentional pattern as you exhale. But that’s okay! Using deliberate control over your exhalation can actually serve as a helpful starting point for your practice. For example, when pushing the water forward, speed up the rate of your nasal breathing; think of it as if you’re forcefully blowing your nose. Meanwhile, during the arm recovery phase, you can slow down your exhalation to maintain a smooth, controlled rhythm.
Until the nose relaxes, instinctively reacting with the optimal exhalation speed on its own. Visually, the bubble-blowing slows down, and the bubbles themselves become much smaller—indicating a longer, more sustained exhale.
3. The Advantage of Exhaling Through the Nose Versus the Mouth
Some swimmers may be more accustomed to exhaling through their mouths—after all, a mouth is much larger than nostrils. Even with just a slight opening, exhaling through the mouth happens significantly faster than through the nose, often leading to the lungs emptying of air very quickly. Additionally, if both exhalation and inhalation occur exclusively through the mouth, the mouth can act like a wind tunnel, making it easier for oral dryness to develop. Of course, this isn’t the primary reason, though.

From the perspective of continuous breathing techniques, exhaling through the mouth makes it difficult to synchronize with lung pressure, making natural exhalation more challenging. Moreover, considering humans' habitual breathing patterns, most people are already accustomed to breathing out through their noses—and for many, this nasal exhalation actually feels more comfortable in the lungs.
If you really prefer using your mouth to exhale, you can try a workaround: keep your mouth slightly open and gently blow air underwater. However, when surfacing, switch back to breathing through your nose—this way, you’ll rely on lung pressure to return to your natural breathing pattern.
Under continuous breathing technique, the nose remains in a constant exhalation state—except when water enters through the mouth, at which point no exhalation occurs. Some swimmers might worry: if they keep exhaling continuously, will they run out of breath too soon, or fail to exhale completely before surfacing for a fresh intake of air?
In fact, this is precisely the biggest advantage of continuous breathing technique—once you’ve relaxed your nose, how much or how quickly you exhale becomes a natural response to the pressure in your lungs. At all times, your lungs remain comfortable, your muscles are well-oxygenated, and your upper body maintains stable buoyancy.

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