I just started doing this this week and have already felt an improvement in my stroke. So I was just curious to know if anyone else breathes to the side on fly?
If you do, do you keep your head to the side, or do you flip back and forth between front and side? What advatages to you notice to side breathing as compared to front? How to you make adjustments for the arm you can't see?
If you don't, have you ever considered trying it? What advantages to you see in breathing to the front as compared to the side?
Just thought it would be interesting to find out about different peoples swimming styles.
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Originally posted by Conniekat8
That rotation seems to be very dependent on their side breathing skills. Some people do have a tendency to tweak their whole body, others have learned not to. This side-tweaking I've seen mainly with beginners who are yet to get little more skilled in the finer points of keeping your body balancd and coordinated while swimming.
Another thing that I noticed that for people who tend to have slightly forward rounded shoulders, they have to lift their head out of the water less to side breathe. Seems like it's mainky because their rounded posture makes it for a longer way out of the water to forward breathe. It's not just the matter of lifting your head out of the water, but you have to straighten your back and shoulders during the stroke phase where it's more natural for them to be moving down and forward. For someone with more rounded shoulders, this (lifting up) is not onky the longer path of travel, but it takes mroe efforts, not just moving your head bit extra work for your arms and shoulders.
If your shoulders aren't naturally rounded forward, then it may be shorter and easier to just tilt your head up a bit to get air, since it's most likely already closer to the surface when compared to someone with rounded shouders.
Those are just things I've observed happening in the clinics we teach, where I have been noticing that people with more forward rounded shoulders gave easier time breathing on the side.
I think like a lot of little things in swimming, it boils down to one's body style.
People who have forward rounded shoulders should do everything they can to develop the muscles that are causing them to be rounded. Always if a swimmer has rounded shoulders it is besause hteire pecs are pulling their shoulders forward because they all over-developed or becasue their back muclesare over-developed and pushing the shoulders forward. this is not a natural outcome. It should be avoided.
Side breathing is silly and really a waste of energy and time! Peole who promote it are doing a disservice to those they are telling to do it.
Originally posted by Conniekat8
That rotation seems to be very dependent on their side breathing skills. Some people do have a tendency to tweak their whole body, others have learned not to. This side-tweaking I've seen mainly with beginners who are yet to get little more skilled in the finer points of keeping your body balancd and coordinated while swimming.
Another thing that I noticed that for people who tend to have slightly forward rounded shoulders, they have to lift their head out of the water less to side breathe. Seems like it's mainky because their rounded posture makes it for a longer way out of the water to forward breathe. It's not just the matter of lifting your head out of the water, but you have to straighten your back and shoulders during the stroke phase where it's more natural for them to be moving down and forward. For someone with more rounded shoulders, this (lifting up) is not onky the longer path of travel, but it takes mroe efforts, not just moving your head bit extra work for your arms and shoulders.
If your shoulders aren't naturally rounded forward, then it may be shorter and easier to just tilt your head up a bit to get air, since it's most likely already closer to the surface when compared to someone with rounded shouders.
Those are just things I've observed happening in the clinics we teach, where I have been noticing that people with more forward rounded shoulders gave easier time breathing on the side.
I think like a lot of little things in swimming, it boils down to one's body style.
People who have forward rounded shoulders should do everything they can to develop the muscles that are causing them to be rounded. Always if a swimmer has rounded shoulders it is besause hteire pecs are pulling their shoulders forward because they all over-developed or becasue their back muclesare over-developed and pushing the shoulders forward. this is not a natural outcome. It should be avoided.
Side breathing is silly and really a waste of energy and time! Peole who promote it are doing a disservice to those they are telling to do it.
