alternate breathing

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.

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?

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

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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!