How to fix it: Focus on keeping your head down, with the chin tucked into your neck, says Corbin. Often that’ll mean forcing your hips lower into the water, which is the opposite of what you want, making your straight swim more of a zig-zag, says Linsey Corbin, CLIF triathlete and five-time Ironman champion. If you pop your head up each time you need to take a breath, you throw your body’s alignment out of whack. How are you supposed to actually breathe if you don’t lift your head out of the water? Let us clarify: It’s more about keeping your head in the water, while lifting your face out. Mistake #2: You take your head out of the water to breathe. After you take your breath and have your face in the water, work on slowly exhaling - again, through your nose - and then lift your face out of the water when it’s naturally time to do so. “If you hum while you breathe out of your nose, it’ll help you maintain a proper pace - you’re forced to do it slowly rather than rush through it,” he says. Take a deep breath in through your mouth and start to slowly exhale through your nose. How to fix it: First, practice on dry land. “But you’re burning oxygen for fuel when you do that.” Think about it - if you’re out running a 5K, are you going to hold your breath and run? No, because it deprives your muscles of much-needed oxygen. Masters Swimming and an ASCA Level 5 certified Masters swim coach. “When we’re little or first learning how to swim, a lot of us are taught to take a deep breath, hold it, and put our faces in the water,” says Scott Bay, coaches committee chair for U.S. RELATED: 6 Tips to Improve Your Swimming Right Now 8 Beginner Swimming Mistakes (and How to Swim Like a Pro!) Put these pros’ tips into practice and soon you’ll be swimming laps with the best of ‘em. Whether you’re a total beginner or are looking to brush up on your skills, there are a few common swimming mistakes we’re all guilty of. To reap the head-to-toe benefits, though, you’ll need to know proper form and technique. Not only could you burn upwards of 400 calories in an hour, but you’ll also stoke your metabolism and firm up your entire body without putting tons of stress on your joints (or melting into a puddle of sweat). Heading to the pool might not be the first thing that comes to mind when it’s time to shape up - but it should be.