Hi,
I have a technical question concerning bilateral breathing. I have been thinking and feeling about it for a couple of weeks.
Do you guys make your upper arm and head touch when you do the bilateral breathing in freestyle?
I watched a couple of videos on youtube and found normally the athletes do not do that. But I found it more comfortable when I do that and I think it forces you to extend your arms further.
Thanks for any explanations.
I can't think of any point in an efficient freestyle stroke cycle where your head and upper arm would touch. To bring them together you would either have to move your head toward your arm while your arm recovers (bad) or make your hand enter the water way on the other side of your midline (what Kirk called "crossing over," and also bad). If your hand enters the water on the opposite side of your midline, you may feel as if you are extending your arm farther, but you are not extending it in the direction it needs to go.
In choppy OW I can imagine how a beard could touch the shoulder as David describes, but even there unless those guys are Billy Gibbons they probably also have less-then-efficient strokes to be getting "beard rash."
Also, I do not understand why your question is about bilateral breathing. The breathing motion is the same whether you do it always on the same side, or alternate sides.
If you want to improve your "weaker side" breathing, the only drill I know is just to do it. It feels really awkward at first, like if you try to use a computer mouse or a spoon with your "wrong" hand. But the more you do it the easier and more natural it feels. You may never feel completely even on both sides (I still have a stronger side, and I have been using bilateral breathing for almost 30 years), but you will get to where you don't have to think about it to do it.
I can't think of any point in an efficient freestyle stroke cycle where your head and upper arm would touch. To bring them together you would either have to move your head toward your arm while your arm recovers (bad) or make your hand enter the water way on the other side of your midline (what Kirk called "crossing over," and also bad). If your hand enters the water on the opposite side of your midline, you may feel as if you are extending your arm farther, but you are not extending it in the direction it needs to go.
In choppy OW I can imagine how a beard could touch the shoulder as David describes, but even there unless those guys are Billy Gibbons they probably also have less-then-efficient strokes to be getting "beard rash."
Also, I do not understand why your question is about bilateral breathing. The breathing motion is the same whether you do it always on the same side, or alternate sides.
If you want to improve your "weaker side" breathing, the only drill I know is just to do it. It feels really awkward at first, like if you try to use a computer mouse or a spoon with your "wrong" hand. But the more you do it the easier and more natural it feels. You may never feel completely even on both sides (I still have a stronger side, and I have been using bilateral breathing for almost 30 years), but you will get to where you don't have to think about it to do it.
