is it ok to breath every 4 strokes when doing laps?
Former Member
It's been about 8 days since i got back to swimming, it's still hard for me to get good momentum and i feel the most comfortable when i breath every 4 strokes. When i try to breath every 2 or 3 strokes i completely lose the momentum and find it much harder to swim smoothly. Is that alright? how do i improve my swimming flow?
Thanks.
Former Member
I would say if breathing every 4 strokes works for you then that's fine.
As for flow, I guess my question to you is how long has it been since you've gotten back into swimming? If it's been awhile, You may want to concentrate on endurance and working on a good strokes. Make small reachable goals at first, then go from there.
I agree with Concho Pearl. What works for one person may not work for another. If your body is comfortable with this breathing pattern, then do it. I guess my only question is does there come a time when you need more oxygen?
Proabably to the chagrin of people here, I breathe every single stroke from a 200 yards and up especially if I am pushing myself. I have a need for oxygen and if I can get it, then I can swim fast for longer. But this is me. I am sure others will disagree. But I do anything I can to prevent going into any form of oxygen debt to my body for then I start to suffer performance wise.
If this works for you, this is the right breathing pattern even though I don't know how many lengths of the pool you are doing with this pattern.
Happy swimming !!!
Donna
Thanks for the replies. Since i'm just getting back to it (been to the pool 8 times last week.. crazy) I'm trying to take it really easy and the pool in my gym is only 25M's so of course its doable.. anything over 50M and i breath every other stroke or so.
I'm trying to get good technique and i'm having difficulty maintaining a good flow when breathing... maybe i should get the total immersion DVD?
Dare we suggest a DVD without selling a product, There are several out there, The good TI, Swimsmooth, GoSwim and I really like the TriSwimCoach online ebook, 37 dollars, download it watch it within five minutes, also lots of free stuff. I have TI, Swimsmooth, Goswim, DVDs and the TriSwimCoach ebook, I only have them so I know what they are talking about. Better than a DVD get to a swim instructor for personal or group lessons or join a masters group.
here is a list of other sources swimming.about.com/.../
