This refers to the long axis strokes. I know many (including myself) have better strokes on one side than the other (the latter is often the breathing side), but I wonder how predominant this case is among master swimmers. Also interesting would be whether some have been able to correct this problem through either drills or sheer hard effort.
I'm really skeptical of the whole bilateral breathing thing. You don't see YouTube- Phelps Smashes 200-free World Record breathing to both sides. Now maybe he breathes bilaterally in practice, but I suspect he works on other things.
For me, it seems air simply doesn't enter my lungs when I breathe to the left (yes, I generally expel fully before taking a breath), so when forced to breathe to both sides it's really more like breathing every six strokes instead of every three. I'm sure there's some stroke flaw which keeps me from breathing to my left, but I've yet to figure it out, so I continue to breath just to my right.
S
I'm really skeptical of the whole bilateral breathing thing. You don't see YouTube- Phelps Smashes 200-free World Record breathing to both sides. Now maybe he breathes bilaterally in practice, but I suspect he works on other things.
For me, it seems air simply doesn't enter my lungs when I breathe to the left (yes, I generally expel fully before taking a breath), so when forced to breathe to both sides it's really more like breathing every six strokes instead of every three. I'm sure there's some stroke flaw which keeps me from breathing to my left, but I've yet to figure it out, so I continue to breath just to my right.
S
