All,
I am relatively new to swimming and have trouble exhaling underwater. Has anyone found it benefitial to use a nose clip (basically relying on your mouth to exhale and inhale to achieve better control).
I’ve been using a nose clip for about a month and, while I do find it helps me relax in the water, I find that I get exhausted…perhaps I’m not able to inhale efficiently and become oxygen deprived. Any thoughts/tips on this? Thanks in advance.
SF
I am certainly no swimming expert, but I think most people suggest exhaling through your nose to really exhale fully and completely. Sometimes I will open my mouth and breathe out of my mouth if I am very relaxed in the water, but mostly it is through my nose.
The benefit is you say it helps you relax. You shouldn’t need it but if it helps, what’s the harm?
I don’t know that I inhale through my nose while I swim. Hmmmmm I’ll have to pay attention to that.
I do have a friend that had problems with water going up his nose while swimming and his swim instructor had him hum as he exhaled to force air to go out both his nose and mouth. This seemed to fix his nasal swim problems. Of course he still gets sea sick when it’s choppy but he’s learned to puke and swim at the same time. 
Harm comes if it’s knocked off by a wave or another competitor on race day, and you have problems without it.
For some people, especially those with sinus issues, it’s a useful tool. But I’d make sure I was also reasonably comfortable and competent without it so that the useful tool doesn’t turn into a crutch.
I wear a nose clip for training because of the chlorine giving me nasal problems and since I have grown used to wearing the nose clip, I use it in open water swims and races even tho I probably don’t need it. It has come off and been lost during a couple of races and i find it doesn’t bother me to be without it.
I use a nose clip for all my swim training and racing (Speedo Competition nose clip). I can swim without it but I’ve always had an issue with water in my sinus passages and this stops it.
An extra step that doesn’t do much for looks or sex appeal that I take in case it gets knocked off during a race…I use a short lenght of fishing line, tying one end to the nose clip and the other to the side or strap of the goggle.
Martin
I’d learn to swim without it. It’s just one more thing to worry about.
When your face is in the water you should be exhaling through your nose. Just get used to it. Otherwise that clip will become a crutch you can’t get rid of. It may take a little getting used to but you’ll be glad you did.
Get rid of it.
I was in the same boat as you last year. New swimmer, couldn’t figure out how to breathe correctly, seemed to exhale out of my mouth, got water in my nose a lot, etc. SO I bought a nose-clip and used it for a few weeks and HATED IT. Fixed the water-in nose problem, but got LESS air and always felt out of breathe. Then a swimming-coach friend of mine said it was a bad idea. So I ditched it. One of the best things I ever did for my swimming.
A better way to get comfortable in the water, IMO, although probably not supported by the ‘swimmers’ here - would be to do the following:
Swim in open water moreStart all of your swim workouts with an underwater distance swim - no nose-clip - swim as far as you can, under water breast stroke, without a breath. When you can make it 25m, you’ll be stoked. Keep doing it everytime, and you might make 50m. If you know you can do that, you won’t be as uncomfortable in the water.(Might require a partner - and warn the lifeguard what you’re doing) - find a diving well that’s not being used, put on your goggles, and bobble up and down. No swimming and no treading water. Just take a breathe and let yourself sink. If you can touch bottom, push yourself back to the top and breathe again. If you float, then dolphin to the top and breathe. Start with 5 minutes MAX, then slowly increase each session. Eventually you’ll be able to do this forever.These are variations of what they do in SEAL BUD/S to “drownproof” you and eliminate fear (although they will bind your hands and feet, weight you down with gear, rip off your mask, and a few other “nasties”)
How are your breathing mechanics? Do you breathe explosively or do you let air trickle out of you nose/mouth in between inhalations?
It sounds like you may not be breathing properly if you feel oxygen deprived. Solving this may negate the noseclip option.
I had the same issue when I started swimming. I kept getting water up my nose and freaking out, so I used a nose clip that still allowed a little exhaling from the nose, which relaxed me considerably. But as others have said, it was one more thing to worry about and eventually I lost the thing while on vacation, so decided to wean myself off of it. I did “breathing drills” where I took a kick board, put my face in the water and practiced exhaling into the water until I felt comfortable doing it. It took a little while before it felt normal, but I’m so glad not to have to deal with the nose clip. Being able to breathe properly into the water will help your swimming so much, I’d recommend trying to swim without it as soon as you can.