Long distance swim breathing

I'm a bilateral breather all the way. I find it more even, more natural. But that's just me. Everyone is different.

One side for me on the left every full cycle. My distance races were a little longer then any triathlete swims. However I could breathe equally well either side. I did do a little bilateral breathing during training just to make sure I was swimming balanced.

I was a bilateral breather as top tier distance guy back in the day. Generally it was 2 consecutive breaths to the right and then maybe 1 or 2 on the left. For me I found that always breathing to the right side would really wear out and stress one arm/shoulder. Usually on the last 100 or so THEN I may have gone to one side only along with a quicker beat kick. NOW, after coming back after 15 years, I've found that I have a much more difficult time breathing to the left. Like someone stated, I have a deeper catch on my left arm. I'm trying to work it out though to be more bilateral. With pools being set up for SCY I'm trying to find the right stroke count/breathing pattern to match up with the 25 yard length so I come into the turn breathing to the right (my dominant side). It takes some time to be sure.

For distance swimmers that I coach, I tell them to breath to the dominant side and get in a consistent breathing rythm that is as comfortable as possible. That could be the reasoning; that they are breathing to their dominant side...

Thanks everybody. I like this place :) I've always only taken breathes from one side but started bi lateral based on what I've read. But when I saw videos of people I got confused. So bi lateral is good to know how to do and be comfortable with but do what's best Thanks

Bilateral breathing isn't necessary, but it is nice to be able to do for a number of reasons. I tend to breathe mostly to my right on shorter races (

If you want to do triathlons - I'm assuming they're outdoors, in open water - it's a good idea to learn to breath on both sides. If it's very choppy, you might be getting slapped in the face by waves when you try to breath only on the good side, and it seems to be a little easier to keep a straight line when breathing bi-lateraly. Also comes in handy when sharing a lane with a really splashy lane-mate. (Which is also good training for open water.)

95% of all swimmers breath to one side -- they are able to breath to both sides,but they don't do it in a race. Why ? Because you get 1/3 less oxygen. Many of the swimmers that do use the bilateral breathing have a pretty high turnover - so they probably get a little more air than somebody only taking 16 cycles per 50. Most of the Olympic finalists (I only looked at the men's races for that) in the 400 and 1500 were even breathing on the first stroke after the turn - they don't "pop up" after the turn, but they get air as quickly as possible. And of course they hold their breath until lifting their head :bump:

95% of all swimmers breath to one side -- they are able to breath to both sides,but they don't do it in a race. Why ? Because you get 1/3 less oxygen. Many of the swimmers that do use the bilateral breathing have a pretty high turnover - so they probably get a little more air than somebody only taking 16 cycles per 50. Most of the Olympic finalists (I only looked at the men's races for that) in the 400 and 1500 were even breathing on the first stroke after the turn - they don't "pop up" after the turn, but they get air as quickly as possible. And of course they hold their breath until lifting their head :bump: Grant Hackett doesn't. :snore: Just as an aside, I really don't know what your problem is. I admitted that if you're breathing less than every stroke cycle, you probably aren't going to continuously exhale. I really can't see why you're so stubborn that you can't admit that a lot of the big guys (Hackett, Phelps, etc.) do when they breathe every stroke cycle. Is it that hard for you to just let it go?

I responded with something that I thought was obviously a joke, but apparently someone didn't think so. :dunno: Anyway, I wasn't specifically pointing you out, I just wanted to mention it because I always get them screwed up. :duel: It is definitely hard to determine humor on forums, but I knew that you were joking (as was I)....it was/is a light hearted discussion.