What are the benefits of swimmers’ snorkel and how to get used to it?

Swimmers’ snorkel is an accessory that contributes to improving the flow line and body stability during swimming. Therefore, this type snorkel is used extensively in WEST swimming technique in order to protect the neck and lower back.

Its main advantage is that the snorkel protrudes from the center of the face, and therefore maintains symmetry, and does not cause tension or pressure on one side of the head like a simple snorkel does.

A normal diving snorkel pulls, in effect, the head to one side, and can produce unhealthy pressure on the neck vertebrae.

How, then, should the swimmers’ snorkel be used correctly, so that we do not lose its benefits?

In the first step

We need to adjust the snorkel. The snorkel actually consists of two parts that must be connected by threading the snorkel tube in the appropriate loop, coming out of the forehead strap.

After connecting the tube to the strap, we must make sure that the height of the strap relative to the snorkel matches the length of the face. The strap should be worn around the head below the hairline, meaning that the top of the strap, which is wrapped around the forehead, is located slightly below the hairline.

In the second step

We will accustom ourselves to breathing exclusively through the mouth. The best way to do this is to first plug the nose with your hand and inhale and exhale through the mouth through the snorkel, and after a certain adjustment time put your head underwater and try to breathe through the snorkel and see if you can do it without water entering the nose.

If you have difficulty getting used to breathing through your mouth and still take on water through your nose (or get water in your mouth), it is advisable to use a nose clip for swimmers. It is a small clip that you put on your nose and it keeps it closed, thus preventing inhalation through the nose and water penetration. This is a comfortable accessory that also encourages the habit to breathe through the mouth underwater.

In the third step

The purpose is to get us used to keeping our head straight during swimming. We will perform a swimming exercise with fins without any arm movements, keeping the harms close to the body, or with one hand plugging the nose so as not to breathe through it. This exercise will work on our body balance and help us maintain head stability at the right angle and depth. If we go too deep, water will flow through the snorkel, so we can also practice blowing the water out of the snorkel by blowing hard into the tube.

In the fourth step

We should try to swim freestyle with fins, while maintaining stroke accuracy and balancing the head in the water. The practice is designed to prevent us from sinking while swimming or putting our head too deep into the water. Many times, automatically, we submerge while swimming, and one of the benefits of the swimmers’ snorkel, and the skill we gain with it, is the development of the habit of keeping a straight head – a habit that is important for both swimming efficiency and maintaining the neck and back vertebrae.

After practicing swimming freestyle with fins and stabilizing the head, you should perform the exercise again – this time without fins. The fins help us to float a bit and keep the body close to the water line, and in the absence of fins, additional practice is required to maintain a constant depth while swimming.

In the last step

We will push off from the wall underwater, with the entire snorkel tube underwater and rising up to the height of the water line. When performing the exercise, the snorkel will fill with water, and after we ascend to the height of the water line and the end of the snorkel comes out, we must exhale hard through the mouth to blow out the water in the snorkel and continue to breathe through the mouth. This exercise helps us improve our ability to exhale water and return to breathing with the snorkel, without stopping swimming. It is important to inhale a lot of air before performing it each time so that we have enough air to exhale to get the water out.

It is very important to perform all the exercises with a smile. After all, the swimmers’ snorkel is one of the best accessories for competitive swimming and of course for WEST swimming and hydrotherapy.

What to do if we still breathe water and have a hard time using the swimmers’ snorkel?

It is important to understand that what prevents us from breathing easily with a snorkel is the stress we get into as a result of water penetrating into the nose.

Therefore, if you have not been able to adapt, you need a few more steps to practice your breathing.

1. Breathe for a minute with a snorkel out of the water
2. With the snorkel out of the water, hold your breath for 10 seconds and then exhale for 2 seconds, inhale for 2 seconds and then hold your breath again for 10 seconds. Repeat for one minute. It is an excellent exercise to develop the lungs regardless of using swimmers’ snorkel.
3. Put your head in the water with the snorkel and for a minute plug your nose with your hand, inhale and exhale slowly through your mouth.

Swim with the snorkel a short distance of approximately 10m, without breathing, to the wall, and only inhale when you touch the wall. Practicing hypoxia with the swimmers’ snorkel is very relaxing because the element of panic does not exist. It is important to practice several times, and only when you can swim freestyle with a snorkel in your mouth and without breathing, you can move on to step 5

1. Swim a short distance with the swimmers’ snorkel – hold your breath for a few strokes (apx. 10 m), exhale for 2 seconds and immediately inhale. In most cases, because there is no air left to exhale, the body inhales air very precisely, and only from the mouth.
2. Swim 25 m with a snorkel. Just before you run out of of the air, inhale once, and continue to hold your breath until the end of the pool (if you don’t run out of air, start breathing at 18 m).
3. Swim 25 m with the swimmers’ snorkel, hold your breath for 10 m and then breathe normally from the mouth to the end of the pool.
4. Try to swim 25 * 8 freestyle with a snorkel, when each time at the beginning of the lap hold your breath for five seconds.

** Swimmers’ snorkel is one of the best accessories for water rehabilitation and neck and shoulder relaxation. If you have not succeeded, you should schedule up to 4 snorkeling lessons, with one of the top water world trainers. We do not recommend giving up the use of such an amazing swimming accessory as the swimmers’ snorkel.