last swim session i did i made a concious effort to do more strokes than my normal 3...bilatteral(forgive my spelling im not a native usa...i'm british:)
i ended up getting very used to breathing every 4 strokes...i think it improved my speed though by the time i got used to it was nearer the end of the session.hope to prove this speed increase next swim session....anyone else trying out new breathing patterns?
Former Member
Breathing every 4 strokes has always been the way I breathe. I just find it easier than every stroke and every 3. It just seems when I breathe every three that I'm weaving all over the lane and get side tracked real easy. Just always seemed like too much effort to me. Why change what you have done good for all those years? Though the coach never liked it much at meets cause there would be one length where I wasn't even looking at him when I breathed, and he would be trying to get me to change it up so he could communicate what he wanted me to do, as far as speed up, slow down my splits. So it was an ongoing battle. I won. hehe.
For me, depends on the event. 50/100 fr. I'll breath every 4-5. 200 fr. I'll usually go a 3/2/3/2 pattern. 500+ I'll breath every 2. Also in the 50 & 100 I'll change my stroke to a shorter stroke.
i tried timing myself on 1500m doing breathing every 4th stroke and it seems no faster ..my time is usually between 32 and 34 mins depending on certain factors and my time for breathing every 4th stroke(free)was 32mins18secs...i know im not too fast anyway but i was hoping that the breathing would help me get my times to below 30 mins(i did flip turns as much as i could...ie not every lenghth)maybe a few more sessions will do it if i stick at the 4th stroke breathing..i do find it more comfortable..any ideas?
