**Common Breaststroke Mistakes and How to Fix Them**
**Mistake #6:  Breathing Mistakes**

**The problem: breathing too early**
**The fix: mirrors and holding the breath**

One fix for breathing too early is to have the swimmer swim over a mirror. Instruct them to start their pull and wait until they SEE the body in a “Y” position before lifting for a breath.

Another fix is swimming breaststroke while holding the breath.  Instruct the swimmer to see her hands scoop inward and upward toward the eyes before shooting the hands to extension.  

The next step is to instruct her to breathe when the forearms are scooping inward and upward and creating a natural lift of the body.

The timing is to stay down when the arms sweep out and rise as a unit when the arms sweep in.

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The problem: breathing too early