This is a strange one so bear with me...
I have become addicted to swimming as a result of my son taking to the sport. So, I asked him a breathing question today and I found out that he exhales/inhales with his head out for *** and free, and inhales/exhales out on butterfly. His form is right on and I never would have known (I haven't had a chance to tell the coach yet).
On his *** - head comes out every stroke
On free - head out every 3rd (alternate breathing)
On fly - head out every other
ok...my questions are:
How can he be swimming faster consistently at each meet and maintaining his form (sprint and longer events) while breathing this way? He is one of the fastest on his year-round team in his age group. What is he losing by doing this? Or, the better question might be, what could he gain by learning the traditional breathing out under water method? He is very good at staying under water after the turn and can do a proper breakout and he doesn't typically look winded like the other kids.
And, if this were a drill, would there be any benefits?
Thanks!
From what I understand, this is more common than you might think. However, I've read that learning to breath properly will help to reduce the stress on the body and reduce the time needed to have the head above water to get both the inhale and exhale in. He may be getting faster simply because he's stronger, more fit, etc. I would, however, recommend discussing it with the coach so they can work on the proper breathing pattern.
From what I understand, this is more common than you might think. However, I've read that learning to breath properly will help to reduce the stress on the body and reduce the time needed to have the head above water to get both the inhale and exhale in. He may be getting faster simply because he's stronger, more fit, etc. I would, however, recommend discussing it with the coach so they can work on the proper breathing pattern.
