If we are supposed to be, in the front crawl, always rolling from side to side, what are the advantages of not breathing every other stroke or breathing less and swimming straight? Or should we roll to the side even though not taking a breath? Or is is the fact that the moving of your head a little more to take the breath making more drag? I can see the not breathing an issue in fly because breathing breaks the natural porpoising of the body. The more I swim the fly without breathing the faster I go, so I have to dwell with that, but in freestyle what is the deal? Newbie questions again. billy fanstone
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Former Member
Lindsay, what's interesting is I am swimming lower in the water than I ever have now and the reason is the mileage, but even with being lower, if a swimmer is breathing only on one side, the opposite arm still has to support them while they breathe for if it didn't, they wouldn't be able to breathe because that support arm would already be on its downward cycle into the pull portion instead of catch portion.
I suppose there is one other alternative to this: breathe fast to reduce the amt of time the opposite arm has to support oneself. But then that moves us into more of sprinting which I don't and won't do anymore. So even though I can't bilateral breathe and swim comfortably, I wish I had incorporated this into my swimming when I was 9 years old.
This is a pretty good discussion; thanks for the dead horse LOL.
Lindsay, what's interesting is I am swimming lower in the water than I ever have now and the reason is the mileage, but even with being lower, if a swimmer is breathing only on one side, the opposite arm still has to support them while they breathe for if it didn't, they wouldn't be able to breathe because that support arm would already be on its downward cycle into the pull portion instead of catch portion.
I suppose there is one other alternative to this: breathe fast to reduce the amt of time the opposite arm has to support oneself. But then that moves us into more of sprinting which I don't and won't do anymore. So even though I can't bilateral breathe and swim comfortably, I wish I had incorporated this into my swimming when I was 9 years old.
This is a pretty good discussion; thanks for the dead horse LOL.
