flip turn and oxygen debt

Yes, I agree with some of you that breathing every 3 strokes especially adds more difficulty. Ever since I switched to this 4 years ago, I have struggled to fight for oxygen and the progress has been slow though I feel OK now when swiming forward but the problem remains for my turns. This may be the key here. Like you say, adaptation to this strict o2 diet (breathing every 3) took some time. It's the choice you made back then and although you adapted to it, now you're adding another significant challenge on top of it. Coming out of the wall, you're in need of more o2 but switching back to breathing every 3 doesn't satisfy this need (short term). You may continue to wait until adaptation kicks in. In the mean time, pushing off the wall, you may breathe every 2-3-2-3 (which is very close to pure "every 3") for a while. Or even 2-2-3- 2-2-3 still has this bilateral flavor while increasing the o2 intake significantly. Coming into the wall, is your last breath happening before the last stroke or two? before last, all the time, except in training where sometime it happens after last before flip. But off the wall always after 2nd. Before pushing off the wall, I think I should position my upper body closer to the surface for breaking earlier to catch my first breath? Not sure here (although that depends on how deep your upper body currently is). There should still be a glide after the push off and you should control the deep and the surfacing then, not before before pushing off. Tendency would be even to stay deeper nowadays, and kick butterfly, can you imagine? Nowadays, folks extend this hypoxic phase to favor underwater propulsion. Most breathe every two though. I am not questioning your breathing strategy since I do not know you well enough. But I might just remind you that breathing every 3 satisfies a technical need, but in the same time does have an impact on physiological demand. If you want best of both world, this 2-2-3 or 2-3-2-3 patter might be good compromise. As for the flips, the difference between times SCM and LCM lies in the quality of their execution. So clearly that's o2 deficit well spent.

Yes, I agree with some of you that breathing every 3 strokes especially adds more difficulty. Ever since I switched to this 4 years ago, I have struggled to fight for oxygen and the progress has been slow though I feel OK now when swiming forward but the problem remains for my turns. This may be the key here. Like you say, adaptation to this strict o2 diet (breathing every 3) took some time. It's the choice you made back then and although you adapted to it, now you're adding another significant challenge on top of it. Coming out of the wall, you're in need of more o2 but switching back to breathing every 3 doesn't satisfy this need (short term). You may continue to wait until adaptation kicks in. In the mean time, pushing off the wall, you may breathe every 2-3-2-3 (which is very close to pure "every 3") for a while. Or even 2-2-3- 2-2-3 still has this bilateral flavor while increasing the o2 intake significantly. Coming into the wall, is your last breath happening before the last stroke or two? before last, all the time, except in training where sometime it happens after last before flip. But off the wall always after 2nd. Before pushing off the wall, I think I should position my upper body closer to the surface for breaking earlier to catch my first breath? Not sure here (although that depends on how deep your upper body currently is). There should still be a glide after the push off and you should control the deep and the surfacing then, not before before pushing off. Tendency would be even to stay deeper nowadays, and kick butterfly, can you imagine? Nowadays, folks extend this hypoxic phase to favor underwater propulsion. Most breathe every two though. I am not questioning your breathing strategy since I do not know you well enough. But I might just remind you that breathing every 3 satisfies a technical need, but in the same time does have an impact on physiological demand. If you want best of both world, this 2-2-3 or 2-3-2-3 patter might be good compromise. As for the flips, the difference between times SCM and LCM lies in the quality of their execution. So clearly that's o2 deficit well spent.