Hi,
I started swimming a couple of months ago following a running injury. I can't run at the moment so I thought I would keep fit by swimming, but my problem is I don't know how to breathe... I can barely do 25 mt and then I have to stop and rest for 30-60 seconds. I have no problem running (I completed my first half marathon in March) so I can't understand why this is so difficult..
I'm working with a teacher to improve my freestyle crawl technique (which was quite poor as I hadn't had much practice in the last 20 years or so...) and she says the breathing will come naturally, but after 2 months swimming twice a week I can't see any improvement... still cannot swim continously for more than 25 metres. I can do *** stroke or back stroke without stopping, it's just the freestyle what gets me completely out of breath.
Is there anything I can do to improve my breathing technique?
Thanks
Skuj,
Back in the 1960s and 1970s, bilateral breathing was pushed as a way to balance your stroke and reduce the strain on the shoulder that can come from breathing always to one side. It is also a way to see where your competition is. I continue to breathe every 3 almost all the time in practice because it forces me to think about good hip and shoulder rotation even on the non-dominant side.
In more recent years, various techniques as well as a big increase in kicking intensity has seen the move to breathing to one side and more often as a way to get rid of the CO2 from the heavy-duty kicking. And, these swimmers have gotten very good at breathing without it disrupting their stroke.
An interesting sidebar - to support what Calvin S posted - is an article I read almost 20 years ago by, I think, Forbes Carlisle. Can't find the article anymore. In the article, he proposed that breathing to only one side resulted in better timing and a slightly higher tempo because this eliminate the inherent delay due to a bit more rotation to the opposite side every 3 strokes. I experimented with it personally as well as with my highschool and college sprinters. Indeed - it did seem to work.
The downside to breathing only to one side is loss of balance as well as losing the ability to comfortably breathe to the other side if you need to. In open water swimming, the wave patterns and other swimmers sometimes force you to breathe on the other side.
So, all personal preference really. Unless there is a reason not to, I encourage swimmers to breathe to both sides simply so they know how to. Having more options when you swim is always a good thing.
Skuj,
Back in the 1960s and 1970s, bilateral breathing was pushed as a way to balance your stroke and reduce the strain on the shoulder that can come from breathing always to one side. It is also a way to see where your competition is. I continue to breathe every 3 almost all the time in practice because it forces me to think about good hip and shoulder rotation even on the non-dominant side.
In more recent years, various techniques as well as a big increase in kicking intensity has seen the move to breathing to one side and more often as a way to get rid of the CO2 from the heavy-duty kicking. And, these swimmers have gotten very good at breathing without it disrupting their stroke.
An interesting sidebar - to support what Calvin S posted - is an article I read almost 20 years ago by, I think, Forbes Carlisle. Can't find the article anymore. In the article, he proposed that breathing to only one side resulted in better timing and a slightly higher tempo because this eliminate the inherent delay due to a bit more rotation to the opposite side every 3 strokes. I experimented with it personally as well as with my highschool and college sprinters. Indeed - it did seem to work.
The downside to breathing only to one side is loss of balance as well as losing the ability to comfortably breathe to the other side if you need to. In open water swimming, the wave patterns and other swimmers sometimes force you to breathe on the other side.
So, all personal preference really. Unless there is a reason not to, I encourage swimmers to breathe to both sides simply so they know how to. Having more options when you swim is always a good thing.
