Bilateral Breathing - Again

I had the same problem a couple of years ago. Now if my right side is 100, my left side (weak) is 90. How did I manage this? Doing the drills in 'fitness swimming' of Emmett Hines for 4 months, 3 times a week. FB (front balance), BB (back balance), SGB (side glide balance), SGBB (side glide balance breathing), SGF (side glide freestyle) drills will make your weak side nearly perfect. You just need some patience. Good luck :bouncing:

My problem is I run out of breath if I swim very far bilateral breathing.

I've had a similar experience. I have been bilateral breathing for about six months. When I tire toward the end of a tough set it becomes difficult, and I switch back. It has improved my stroke (I've seen video) and helped with shoulder issues. I don't know if it will ever feel completely natural, but it's getting easier, especially during warmup and moderate intensity sets. I keep getting spasms in my rhomboid muscles on my "strong" side. My massage therapist said there is appreciable difference in the muscle development on two sides. Apparently I've been swimming lopsided for awhile. My hope is that bilateral breathing will not only help take some pressure off my strong side, but will improve my overall stroke as well. It's been really encouraging to hear from all you experienced swimmers that this switch is as hard to make as I'm finding it.

I've been reading past posts and threads on breathing bilaterally. We have a wealth of information here on the pros and cons. I've decided I want to breathe to both sides, but am having some problems getting there. When I'm fresh, I think I'm doing ok. I feel like I'm rolling enough that I'm not turning my head too much and grabbing a nice breath, weak and strong side alike. When I begin to tire, my weak side breathing falls apart. I feel like I'm sinking - I know I am, because I'm lifting my head up to catch a quick unsatisfying breath that's half water. I can feel that my arm is dropping as I'm pushing my head out of the water. I know my hips are sinking too: I noticed when I did a short set with a pull-bouy today after tiring, I felt like I had all the time in the world to breath on my weak side. I would like your thoughts on (1) what is breaking down on me, where the weaknesses are and (2) other than keeping at it with the hopes of getting stronger, is there anything specifically I can attend to or any drills to help me isolate the problems. Even if you just tell me that the struglle is all part of the process, I'll be grateful for any feedback you can provide. Many thanks - Barb Barb, this is so normal. I am a one-side breather and have tried for years to bi-lateral. I can do it really well. My problem is: it doesn't feel natural because it isn't yet. It is my weak side and I have not spent enough time working with it to make it feel natural. And, sadly, I have spent 2 years working on this. I can do it really well and it looks terrific I've been told, but it FEELS terrible. My problem is my body position is just fine throughout, none of the problems you have but I can't get a deep enough breath. And because it feels terrible, I don't do it. Two years was long enough for me. One other problem I discovered is my head won't turn to the left like it does to the right, even when out of the pool so by breathing for 50 years on the right, my neck is really limber in that direction. To the left, it is stiff (still).

Barb - Do a set of 5 x 200 1. swim how you are comfortable 2. swim breathing only on your weak side 3. swim breathing only on your strong side 4. swim lengths 1,3,5,7 breathing strong side and lengths 2,4,6,8 breathing weak side 5. swim bi-lateral breathing every 3-5 strokes Good luck and just keep practicing. You will get it and it will become second nature.

Thanks to everyone. It just helps knowing that what I'm experiencing is a normal part of learning to do this. I will keep at it. B

I've had a similar experience. I have been bilateral breathing for about six months. When I tire toward the end of a tough set it becomes difficult, and I switch back. It has improved my stroke (I've seen video) and helped with shoulder issues. I don't know if it will ever feel completely natural, but it's getting easier, especially during warmup and moderate intensity sets.

Barb, It took me forever to learn to breathe to both sides. I had the same problems that you describe. It was much easier for me if I used a pull buoy. I did lots of swims with pull buoys, until breathing every third stroke was the norm. I then tried to do more and more swimming (no buoys) while breathing every third stroke. It helped that at the time I lived in a small community that didn't have a Masters group, so the age-group coach let me swim with his kids. He yelled at me every time I lapsed back into one-sided breathing! Anna Lea

It's been really encouraging to hear from all you experienced swimmers that this switch is as hard to make as I'm finding it. Here's a less experienced's :2cents:: I can breathe every third for a while if I'm really relaxed, but I'm converging on a 4 left - 4 right scheme. With the air supply taken care of and with a 2-beat maintenance kick, I can direct my attention to various flaws in technique, such as dropped elb:confused:w and cr:shakeshead:ssing midline, and focus more on streamlining. :drink: Here's to you, Barb/Ensignada.

Here's a less experienced's :2cents:: I can breathe every third for a while if I'm really relaxed, but I'm converging on a 4 left - 4 right scheme. With the air supply taken care of and with a 2-beat maintenance kick, I can direct my attention to various flaws in technique, such as dropped elb:confused:w and cr:shakeshead:ssing midline, and focus more on streamlining. :drink: Here's to you, Barb/Ensignada. 25m breading one side, 25m to the other, best way to do more intensive sets :bow: