Hi all,
I've been following the USMS forums for a while now and just registered. I swam USMS in grad school as a 24 year old and now swim masters (age group B!) in South America. I love swimming down here but most coaches are about 10 years behind in technique/innovation, so I basically rely on friends who are coaches in the US and swim sites to stay up to date.
It's pretty obvious that elite mid and long-distance swimmers breathe every cycle now, but have any of you forced yourselves to break a 3-5 habit and start to breathe every 2? I was taught to ALWAYS breathe every 3-5 and after 20-some years of that, I'm wondering if it's worth it in a race (specifically 200, 400/500). FWIW, I have major rotator cuff problems (who doesn't?!) with my right shoulder and seem to extend less with my right side than my left and am concerned breathing every cycle in practice would make that worse.
breathe on the side that is best for your shoulder.
We are humans we need air. It's best to breathe every 2 on longer events.
It's totally stupid to limit your breathing on mid distance and distance races,
putting 3 to 5 strokes between breaths on 200's & up is idiotic.
I'd like the coach who recommended that to race an 800 or 1500 & show me how he breathes every 5 & I'll get his splits.
Ande, everything is relative and depends mostly upon how you train. I think we need to be careful about how we label other individuals' training or race decisions, even if we disagree with them. It is perfectly fine to critique or offer opinions, but you can probably rephrase your thoughts to ensure that no one feels let down or discouraged. There may be plenty of swimmers who have raced and trained this way all their lives, and had success with it. To each his own, but let's keep a positive tone on the forum.
breathe on the side that is best for your shoulder.
We are humans we need air. It's best to breathe every 2 on longer events.
It's totally stupid to limit your breathing on mid distance and distance races,
putting 3 to 5 strokes between breaths on 200's & up is idiotic.
I'd like the coach who recommended that to race an 800 or 1500 & show me how he breathes every 5 & I'll get his splits.
Ande, everything is relative and depends mostly upon how you train. I think we need to be careful about how we label other individuals' training or race decisions, even if we disagree with them. It is perfectly fine to critique or offer opinions, but you can probably rephrase your thoughts to ensure that no one feels let down or discouraged. There may be plenty of swimmers who have raced and trained this way all their lives, and had success with it. To each his own, but let's keep a positive tone on the forum.
