Breathing

I was taught in High School to breathe every three strokes so that you are breathing on both sides. One thing that I notice is that no one seems to swim this way, not even at the Olympics. Is there any advantage to breathing every three strokes or should you be breathing to only one side?

If you are comfortable breathing every 3, then by all means keep doing it on meets. If you start blacking out from oxygen deprivation then go back to every 1 or 2. However, just because you see Olympians breathing every 2, doesn’t mean it’s right for everyone. These guys spend years improving their stroke to a point where breathing does not adversely impact their mechanics. This is not true for most swimmers. Also a lot of these guys are taking 10 to 15 meter underwater breakouts from each wall, which often necessitates a little more breathing when they finally come up, especially in short course pools. I personally feel like my lungs are ready to implode after about a 7 meter breakout in the middle of my races. Shannan, I’m a distance swimmer, or at least I try to be one, and I’ve experimented with a variety of breathing patters (2- all the way, 3-all the way, 2-2-3-2-2-3, 2-2-1-2-2-1, etc.) and kick patterns (2-beat, 6-beat). What works best for me, in pool events, is a strong 6 beat kick and breathing every 2 strokes. When I use a 2 beat kick I usually go to breathing every 3.

I prefer to breathe to my left, I am also a lefty so maybe that's why. I don't think it makes a difference except when you are sharing a lane and circling to the right, when you pass your lane partner and breathe left you run the risk of being drowned. Been there, done that. So you might want to consider breathing away from your lane partner!

I'm pretty much already dim. What I have experienced is a tingling in the hands and arms until the oxygen returns. I then become incapable of figuring out time or how far I just swam.

My bilateral breathing pattern is 2-3-2-3. I just do it while I'm training to avoid any problems with my shoulders. When I race I breath to the right because I feel more comfortable with my stroke that way. It just the way I've always done it and I'm right handed so maybe that has something to do with it.

I always feel like it's cheating , breathing more often than every three strokes during freestyle, and it's hard to find a good trade-off between a good speed and oxygenation. Usually I find if I'm trying to go fast in competition I need to breath every stroke or two on one side, or in practices I try to stay symmetrical breathing on the left twice, then right twice, etc. Symmetry is really important to me though, in practice. Going fast with imperfect form breathing lopsidely doesn't seem to pay off. Of course.

When I was learning to swim, my swim instructor always made us take breaths every three strokes. Then, as I got into competitive swimming, my coach would make us breath every three strokes on distance meets. I hated it then and still hate today. That's why it was comforting to see the Olympians NOT breathing every three strokes or breathing on both sides. That said, on sprints I try not to take my first breath until I have to and then breathe every 4 strokes because I think when I breathe on my left I screw up my stroke more than not breathing. In distance swims though, I breathe every two strokes.

Everyone has what can be called a "chocolate" side and that is the side that is most comfortable to balance on. In swimming, you can tell which is your chocolate side by kicking on your side with the underwater arm extended overhead. You will feel more balanced and comfortable on one side than on the other. My chocolate side is my right side, which is why I am more comfortable, or more naturally breathe to my left side. It's easier for me to roll to my right which makes taking the breath from the left easier. To learn to breathe on both sides, learn to swim on your sides! The more you roll, the easier it is to breathe. Breathing patterns are fluid! They can and should change as needs be.

Here is a question. I swim mostly distance events and according to Lindsay maybe I shouldn't be breathing every three in a meet. If I am used to breathing every three strokes is there an advatage to breathing on one side. I am not even sure I am comfortable doing it any different then the way I always have done it.

Originally posted by SWinkleblech Here is a question. I swim mostly distance events and according to Lindsay maybe I shouldn't be breathing every three in a meet. If I am used to breathing every three strokes is there an advatage to breathing on one side. I am not even sure I am comfortable doing it any different then the way I always have done it. The only advantage is that you get more air. I always breathe every third stroke when I'm doing a 50, but for longer distances I run short of air by the end if I only breathe every third stroke, so I adopt a more complex breathing pattern where I breathe more frequently but breathe an equal amount of the time on both sides.