alternate breathing

RE: alternate breathing

pwolf66 — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 09:14:08 GMT

Based on Phelps and Crocker it seems breathing should occur during the finish of the pull. No? The breath should be taken as the hands start the recovery, yes. But the head should be lifting from the water as the hands enter the press portion of the pull and the head should be settling into the water as the hands come forward. There is a definate movement sequence that a proper breathing patern must follow in Fly but just saying breathing is at the finish of the pull is a little misleading. Paul

RE: alternate breathing

Former Member — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 16:45:26 GMT

This video of Michael Phelps ... made me wonder whether his asymmetric stroke had more to with his submerged style of swimming than having a weak side. He is totally submerged for a good part of the stroke. I was also struck that he breathed very early, almost in the end of the pull and very early part of the recovery, like in fly. I think this is a very cool vid. In the fishbowl shot he does seem to lope through the water, in an almost fly-like fashion. Thanks for pointing out the timing of his breath there. Hummmmmm....

RE: alternate breathing

Former Member — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 14:40:35 GMT

We can all watch these great videos of swimmers. We can all try to emulate these swimmers but without supervision of a coach you will not necessarily become a good swimmer. Someone must point out your flaws.

RE: alternate breathing

Former Member — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 13:57:22 GMT

This video of Michael Phelps was posted on another thread. It made me wonder whether his asymmetric stroke had more to with his submerged style of swimming than having a weak side. He is totally submerged for a good part of the stroke. I was also struck that he breathed very early, almost in the end of the pull and very early part of the recovery, like in fly. Here is another video showing how unsual Phelp's freestyle stroke is. Chris Thompson's stroke seems to be elegant, smooth; Phelp's asymetrical, powerful and jerky almost struggling. Top view camera shows his breathing style to be indeed similar to one-arm butterfly. I admire Phelp's power and speed, however, i would not suggest for somebody to follow mechanics of his freestyle stroke. youtube.com/watch For freestyle stroke mechanics, I would also recommend "smooth swimming" youtube.com/watch From my experience, as a recreational master swimmer that relies solely on the internet for swimming technique tips, in bilateral breathing it is important to pay attention to long and short axis body balance. This balance feel very natural on the dominant side, however, it is akward or missing on the other side - kicking can help to maintain balance and smoothness.

RE: alternate breathing

Former Member — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 16:52:16 GMT

I breathe on one side. I would like to start training myself to alternate breathing-any drills to suggest? One simple solution is to always look to the same side of the pool... for at least part of your practice. It is going to seem REALLY awkward at first, but eventually you will get it. Pay careful attention to what works on the "good' side, and try to translate that to the "new" side. Stay focused on streamlining and balance and you'll do great! Regardless of how you breathe in competition I believe it is a really good idea to learn to routinely, and at will, be able to breathe on either side in front crawl. If you don't you will get some imbalance in your stroke, and your body too if you swim enough. Have Fun!

RE: alternate breathing

Former Member — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 14:56:00 GMT

Lindsay it seems to me this is a very misleading video. I would rather view a video of him racing at speed. The video shows him swimming at what I would call a very relaxed pace. It is fast but not at the speed he would do a 100 or 200. He certainly looks great in this video. But it is not what I would liketo see.

RE: alternate breathing

Former Member — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 14:44:22 GMT

RE: alternate breathing

MAC swimmer — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 07:03:07 GMT

My coach yells at me all the time to bilaterally breath. When I am winded I take two breaths on one side and the two breaths on the other etc. Then when I am really tired, I breath on one side (every stroke) for one length and then the other side for the other length--that is bilateral breathing. Just whisper it, "Coming home in the 400 and 200 Im, Phelps does not bilaterally breath...neither does Grant Hackett on the 1500." Yes, I have a strong and weak side.

RE: alternate breathing

smontanaro — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 06:46:25 GMT

I think there are a number of reasons we unilateral breathers have "weak" sides when breathing: our head motion (the path it takes when breathing) is different. I'm pretty sure I have a strong tendency to lift my head when breathing on my weak side. If I focus on not doing that and peak back toward my left shoulder and elbow I do a bit better. we are probably flatter in the water (don't roll as well) to the weak side. the extension of our opposite arm when breathing is different (much weaker catch). I extend well with my left arm (breathe well on to my right), but not so much with my right arm. Consequently, I will find that sometimes my right arm is halfway through the pull while I'm mid-breath. things fall apart much more when we're tired. These are things I've noticed about my own breathing asymmetries. I can do okay for a time if I concentrate on them. But then I'm not concentrating on all the other things I need to pay attention to. The last point suggests to me that spending a little time getting the mechanics down when you're fresh is worthwhile. Once you have the mechanics down in the best situations, try a bit of breath work after a hard set when you're gassed. Skip

RE: alternate breathing

knelson — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 01:01:32 GMT

A 3-2 sequence works well, too. That way you breathe twice on one side then switch to the other.

RE: alternate breathing

Former Member — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 05:23:31 GMT

Alternate side breathing is one of the most overrrated things in swimming. Watch the trials and tell me how many people do this -- almost nobody. You're right in that Top Elite swimmers do not alternate-breathe while swimming competitions. They almost always breathe to their favourite side. However, they are equally comfortable breathing on either side so that ----- should the need arise---- they can look over at a competitor on their "weak" side and do swim whole lengths breathing on their second-favourite side. Us, lower-level swimmers, need to be able to try and create a comfort (or semi-comfort) zone breathing on the "other" side.

RE: alternate breathing

Former Member — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 05:14:04 GMT

Simple take 3 strokes and breathe on the opposite side. Kindly leave me out of this............... I always breathe on one side. :notworthy:

RE: alternate breathing

Former Member — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 15:29:00 GMT

I think breathing to the side forces me to breathe a little later than breathing to the front, which is OK because like most people I tended to breathe a little too early to the front. Really? I find that far more people breath too late in fly (including me) than breath too early! Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever watched someone and thought, "they're breathing too early." What problem occurs when you breath too early?

RE: alternate breathing

Former Member — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 13:56:01 GMT

Ourswimmer I mostly do my fly as one arm fly and that would be a great way to learn side breathing on the fly. I will give it a try during full stroke although I really feel comfortable breathing forward. I guess it would be easier for me to breathe on the left so I will put my right ear in and my left out.

RE: alternate breathing

pwolf66 — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 11:35:57 GMT

Really? I find that far more people breath too late in fly (including me) than breath too early! Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever watched someone and thought, "they're breathing too early." What problem occurs when you breath too early? You become fatigued much more quickly. My daughter breathes early (or too late depending). She breathes as she starts her arm recovery. I have been trying to work with her on it for the last 2 months, I've also had her in one on one lessons and so far, no dice. She swims a pretty good stroke if she doesn't breathe but when she breathes it's a train wreck.

RE: alternate breathing

ourswimmer — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 09:49:51 GMT

Anyone with ideas how to learn to breathe to the side in fly??? Skip I have been working on that, because I have a neck problem that makes front breathing painful. I have two teammates who do it pretty well and I watched them a lot. Also, when I set my mind to learning it I did a lot of one-arm drill, and wore fins to be sure I could get my head out enough to get air. I think breathing to the side forces me to breathe a little later than breathing to the front, which is OK because like most people I tended to breathe a little too early to the front. Mostly I just had to get used to it, same as I had to get used to breathing to my "wrong" side when I first learned bilateral breathing in freestyle. It felt so awkward at first.

RE: alternate breathing

Former Member — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 08:01:50 GMT

Nice video hear on butterfly www.nyhoff.net/.../Butterfly-SwimcityMediaCentre-TomMalchow200mSemiSydney2000.mpg Have you gone to this site, lots of advice and little swim clips www.sportplan.net/.../index.jsp After afew viewings if you like what they have you can pay 50 English pounds a year for a single sport.

RE: alternate breathing

Former Member — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 07:57:20 GMT

In some of those still pictures the swimmer is incredibly high out of the water! One of the things I enjoyed with trials was watching the heats where you got to see a lot of variations on the strokes, in my case I was most interested in the butterfly. It was interesting to wonder whether some of those strokes were the right stroke for that individual or whether the swimmer would have been even better with a more orthodox stroke.

RE: alternate breathing

Former Member — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 07:12:26 GMT

Here is a very small clip www.fotosearch.com/.../ This one is good www.fotosearch.com/.../ This one not so good www.fotosearch.com/.../ And 120 stills. www.fotosearch.com/.../butterfly-stroke.html

RE: alternate breathing

Former Member — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 05:32:00 GMT

Lindsay very good I would like to see a few pics in advance of your snippets if possible. I would like to see the position of the head as the hands enter until they come out at the finish. Unfortunately I made that picture about a year ago and I can't seem to find the video clip the frames are captured from. I'm pretty sure it is from the old Phelps/Bowman Swim Fast Butterfly DVD. People have posted links to that video on google and youtube. Sorry.

RE: alternate breathing

Former Member — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 05:15:15 GMT

Lindsay very good I would like to see a few pics in advance of your snippets if possible. I would like to see the position of the head as the hands enter until they come out at the finish.

RE: alternate breathing

Former Member — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 05:04:47 GMT

Based on Phelps and Crocker it seems breathing should occur during the finish of the pull. No?

RE: alternate breathing

ViveBene — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 01:10:15 GMT

Lindsay, Thanks. That image sequence is really helpful. (Will you be putting up a narrative about your swim vacation somewhere on the Web?) Thanks, VB

RE: alternate breathing

Former Member — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 15:04:21 GMT

Anyone with ideas how to learn to breathe to the side in fly??? Skip Very easy and simple instructions, you put your left ear in and your right ear out and shake it all about. Here is an instruction video www.youtube.com/watch That is how you do the Ockey Cokey.

RE: alternate breathing

Former Member — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 14:48:02 GMT

Alternate side breathing is one of the most overrrated things in swimming. Watch the trials and tell me how many people do this -- almost nobody. Seconding this. Every swimmer has a strong side to breathe on. In races, it's a good idea to go to this side.