alternate breathing

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.

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.

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....

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