Do you swim better on one side than the other?

RE: Do you swim better on one side than the other?

__steve__ — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 10:13:50 GMT

Do you breath mostly to the left?

RE: Do you swim better on one side than the other?

Donna — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 09:20:04 GMT

I always thought my right side was stronger than my left side since I am right handed, but after doing a set of right arm only then left arm only and seeing the difference in the times. My left arm for a 50 is 5 seconds faster than my right arm. I am going to work on my right side.

RE: Do you swim better on one side than the other?

Former Member — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 12:53:31 GMT

Bilateral while racing suits women with a 2beat kick and a high stroke rate much better. I only use systematic bilateral patterns with a pull buoy. However in practice, I breathe on both sides. Most of the time every 2 but sometimes left, sometimes right. The ability to see on both sides during a race can sometimes be crucial. However, I am slower when I breathe right. And my non breathing side (no matter which side I breathe) pulling is not as efficient.

RE: Do you swim better on one side than the other?

Former Member — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 14:23:49 GMT

I guess what I'm saying is that bilateral breathing won't magically make your stroke symmetrical. You still need to think about your body position, your catch, high elbows, relaxed recovery, etc. This is what I'm interested in. Is breathing the only cause for the uneven strokes? It would be interesting if someone says he/she does bilateral breathing but still swims better on one side.

RE: Do you swim better on one side than the other?

__steve__ — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 11:40:20 GMT

you breath on the side of the non-moving at your side arm and go a length this way. Switch stroking arm on the next length and breath to the other side. :agree: While doing the left OAD length I will breath on the left while left arm recovers, skip a breath for next stroke, then breath to the right while while the left arm strokes, skip a breath, etc. Then the next length the same goes for the right arm. When I started the drill I would bob up and down and get out of breath. Something just changed - like in a week - and the drill is easy and smooth at about a minute or more for a 50M Not sure if the drill takes all the credit but it helped, it was one of the things that improved at the same time my form.

RE: Do you swim better on one side than the other?

pendaluft — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 11:19:53 GMT

I was taught to breathe bilaterally in the 70s. Now I find I can't do it any other way. After a 25 year swimming hiatus, I am in the pool every morning breathing bilaterally-- but I see on all those youtube videos that most of the big boys breathe every stroke even in the 100 and 200.... What gives? I really don't think I could go back to breathing every stroke. When I tried it last spring for a short while I developed shoulder pain on the non breathing side (seemed to be a supraspinatus tendinitis) and after rehabbing that back, I haven't tried it again. When I swam my first open water swim ever, The Hudson River Swim for Life, last September, I was really happy to be able to breathe on both sides and avoid (a little) the waves which I hadn't expected.

RE: Do you swim better on one side than the other?

smontanaro — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:11:39 GMT

If every 3 isn't enough air--take two breaths on one side then two on the other.... It's nice to have the option to breathe on either side, though. No question, if you can breathe to both sides, more power to you, and the 2-3-2 pattern works fine when you need more air -- assuming you actually get any when breathing to your off-side. I just question whether this is a particular trick you need to teach to all old dogs. If you swam as an age grouper and learned to breathe to both sides I suspect it's no big deal. One-arm drills, the occasional pull sets where you breathe every 3, 5, 7, or 9 (!), fine. I don't think people should be disappointed if they can't master the technique or need more air, nor do I think coaches should insist on bilateral breathing. Me, I'd rather consciously focus more on my off-side arm, rolling from the hips, etc than using bilateral breathing as a proxy for those things. I guess what I'm saying is that bilateral breathing won't magically make your stroke symmetrical. You still need to think about your body position, your catch, high elbows, relaxed recovery, etc. S

RE: Do you swim better on one side than the other?

gobears — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 08:04:58 GMT

I've always been a fan of teaching bi-lateral breathing for balance. Then, taking a breath whenever you need it, on either side, is an option. If every 3 isn't enough air--take two breaths on one side then two on the other. Having recently been trying to dolphin off the wall (no easy task for someone who's never even used her kick on freestyle--breaststroker here), I see why Phelps breathes every stroke. If I spent as much time as he does underwater I'd need more air too. It's nice to have the option to breathe on either side, though.

RE: Do you swim better on one side than the other?

Former Member — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 16:26:10 GMT

OK two questions for those who breathe bilaterally: 1. Do you feel you are getting enough air, especially for long distance or open water? I've read in some places where it's suggested breathing every 3 strokes (bilateral) is not to be recommended for this reason. (Anyone breathes every stroke?:rolleyes:) 2. Are there any who breathe bilaterally but still swim better on one side? Reason?

RE: Do you swim better on one side than the other?

Former Member — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 14:52:42 GMT

The one arm drill sounds good! So let me make sure I've got this right, you breath on the side of the non-moving at your side arm and go a length this way. Switch stroking arm on the next length and breath to the other side. i can see how that could help the bad side roll alot! :agree: You got it....it feels really awkward, but forces you to really stretch you moving arm in front and roll. Just kind of concentrate on it. Its easy to be all over the place with it do and swim like a snake too. I've notice too that just doing some 100's with a pull buoy only and breathing 25 yards to the right only, 25 yards to the left only helps me out when I go back into doing my main sets. The thing is....you can breathe to one side all you want, but you must have an efficient stroke, otherwise you'll wear one shoulder and one hip out. I can feel it when my stroke/technique fall apart a bit. But if I get in a good rhythm, like I do in some of my OW swims, I can do it all day long

RE: Do you swim better on one side than the other?

orca1946 — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 11:59:55 GMT

Raised a distance swimmer in the 60's , I learned later bilateral breathing. I still favor my right to breathe.

RE: Do you swim better on one side than the other?

debaru — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 11:09:41 GMT

Used the OAD (one-arm drill) this morning - 25M left, 25M right, ... . However a bilateral breathing style was employed for each arm. Felt very effective once good rhythm was obatained. I'm back in the pool after a multiple decade absence and have always been a right-side breather. When I swam competitively in high school waaay back in the '70s, my swim coach said to breath on whichever side felt more natural. Now that I'm swimming again, it makes sense to me that breathing bi-laterally would cause me to swim more "balanced." This past week, my Masters coach had me swim the one-arm drill and I noticed how natural it felt to alternate my breathing sides. I felt like I could swim endlessly in this manner.

RE: Do you swim better on one side than the other?

Former Member — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 10:49:38 GMT

When I swam in HS and College I was very much bilateral, but after 15 years off and coming back I like to breathe mostly to the right. I find when I swim FAST/HARD parts of sets I can bi-lateral breathe until I get into "air sucking mode" and then its one side. When I do distance too I breathe almost exclusively to my right. That being said I still work on bilateral breathing when doing pulling and drills. One good drill is one arm freestyle with one arm at your side and breathe to the side with your arm down (opposite breathing one-arm free)

RE: Do you swim better on one side than the other?

aquajock — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 09:32:26 GMT

One major reason it is easier to breathe on one side of the body than the other is that the "dominant" arm tends to be stronger and the head rotation toward the non-dominant side easier. By breathing bilaterally in practice, this strength-flexibility imbalance can be somewhat remediated.

RE: Do you swim better on one side than the other?

Bobinator — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 08:46:39 GMT

RE: Do you swim better on one side than the other?

smontanaro — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 08:43:28 GMT

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

RE: Do you swim better on one side than the other?

__steve__ — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 02:01:35 GMT

Used the OAD (one-arm drill) this morning - 25M left, 25M right, ... . However a bilateral breathing style was employed for each arm. Felt very effective once good rhythm was obatained.

RE: Do you swim better on one side than the other?

Bobinator — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 01:01:53 GMT

i am working on it daily! It is very hard to change bad habits! My stroke is more powerful when bi-lateral. One sided breathing causes you to lose about half your power that originates in the hip roll.(I believe)