Myth #7: When it comes to getting oxygen in freestyle, breathing every cycle is as good as it gets.
In almost every other sport but swimming (freestyle, fly, breaststroke), we get the luxury of breathing whenever we want. Typically, with maximal exertion, that means we are inhaling at a respiratory rate of between 50 and 65 times per minute. Not so in swimming.
Most swimmers breathe every cycle and to one side only (a cycle is two arm strokes, or hand entry to hand entry). Since many swimmers turn their arms over slowly (say 35 to 55 strokes per minute), that means the respiratory rate while swimming is 18 to 28; hardly what one would do voluntarily, if one had the choice. (try running or biking with that respiratory rate and see how you do!)
But you do have a choice...sort of. First, you can learn to swim with a higher stroke rate and second, you can try a different breathing pattern. Specifically, I am referring to a 2:3 pattern rather than a 1:2 pattern of breathing. What that means in the Left Stroke Breath Right (LBR), Right Stroke Breathe Left (RBL) Left Stroke no breath (L), Right Stroke no breath (R) terminology is the following:
LBR, RBL, L, RBL, LBR, R, LBR, RBL, L etc
So, as is so common in swimming, this too presents compromise. What are the pros and cons?
Pros: You get 27% more oxygen than if you breathe every cycle, and with oxygen you'll produce 15 times more ATP than without it, and hopefully produce less lactate. You get the associated benefit of breathing more...less fatigue. You get to see the scenery on both sides of the lake or pool.
Cons: Most swimmers feel awkward breathing to their weak side. The act of breathing slows the stroke rate. Breathing often results in the arm being pulled too far under the body, creating more drag. In open water swims, if there is a nice swell on one side, breathing to that side may lead to swallowing more water.
So this begs the question, if this 2:3 pattern is so good, why aren’t world-class distance swimmers using it? A few have on occasion, like Kieren Perkins. It may be that it is yet an undiscovered technique...or, more likely, in the world of superbly conditioned, oxygen deprived distance swimmers, it may be that the cons outweigh the pros. But for this almost-60-year-old-not-so-superbly-conditioned swimmer, who enters an ocean swim once or twice a year and dislikes any pool race over 100 meters, I love the 2:3 pattern, especially on those long aerobic sets. And for those swimmers who dare to try it (and it takes some getting used to), you may not actually swim any faster than by breathing every cycle, but, barring swallowing more water, I'll bet you will feel a lot better afterward.
Gary Sr.
Former Member
:confused:I'm a bit confused, but does breathing mean inhaling at the stroke and exhaling between strokes? Or exhaling at the stroke and inhaling between strokes? I would think power is diminished when inhaling during the stroke, but increased when exhaling during the stroke?:confused:
I have the same question and the same issue. My age-group coaches drilled bilateral breathing into us so much that I no longer know which side is my weak side for breathing. I breathe every 3 (1.5?) automatically. I also keep hearing disparaging comments about breathing every 3 - is it really that bad? I guess I should experiment more with my own swims to see if there's a difference....
Here's a semi-related query: When doing backstroke I was also drilled on breathing in on the right arm recovery and out on the left which is what I always do. Also not cool? It's so ingrained in me that I would have to do some serious re-tooling to change it. Advice please!
I encourage experimentation -- especially over an extended distance where oxygen debt is more of a potential problem. But if you breathe every third and are happy with it then I don't think there is anything wrong.
For many years I had coaches who made me breathe every 3rd stroke. Mostly I think this was to encourage a symmetrical stroke.
I am completely comfortable breathing to either side, but even at my most "ambidextrous" in that regard I think I had a favorite breathing side. Then again, I do have a pronounced lope in my freestyle, which may encourage that.
Nowadays I breathe every 2nd stroke, mostly, unless it is a very long swim. (In OW competition I throw in more bilateral breathing.) Why? What I noticed is that in my races, when push came to shove in that last 25% of a race when people were racing for the finish and I was redlining, I would naturally tend to breathe every 2nd stroke when I needed a little extra oomph. I don't know if this was due to a greater need for oxygen or a more pronounced lope in my stroke or that, when in extreme distress, I would default to the most comfortable option.
Whatever the reason, I felt it was successful for me: I could usually bring a race home well. So I reasoned, why not do it for the whole race?
Like you, I also have a breathing pattern in backstroke, and I don't think there is anything wrong with that. I breathe every other stroke, inhaling when my right arm is recovering. For quite some time I was unaware of this pattern, but then I started trying to take one last breath before a turn so I could stay under longer for kicks. I noticed that it was harder to make myself breathe if I finished with a left-arm recovery before the turn (ie, if I was violating my "natural" pattern). But once you are aware of the tendency it isn't hard to violate it: if I am finishing with my left arm I just take two quick breaths before the turn.
Like you, I also have a breathing pattern in backstroke, and I don't think there is anything wrong with that. I even recommend using breathing patters whilst running so. And that breathing pattern is probably quite close in the number of breathe in per second to swimming the free breathing ever 2 on a 60 stroke per minute count. Roughly. So needless to say that I am not buying OP's arguments...
I tried this out during workout today. It changed my life. LOL. Seriously I think I'm going to stick with it.
I swam my entire 3800 yards that way today, except for a few 50s during warmup during which I breathed every stroke to try and get used to the timing.
My normal breathing pattern is pretty random. My good side is breathing right, so I mainly do that. I'm comfortable breathing left as well, but I feel like I get less power on that side so I favor the right. Sometimes I make a special effort to train my bad side, swimming entire intervals breathing only left, or going one length right and one length left, etc.
Switching to 2:3 for today was difficult at first. I think I actually swam a lot of it as 3:4 because I kept forgetting when to skip a breath.
Putting aside the awkwardness of breathing left more than normal, which I expected, the difference in how I felt was huge. My main set consisted of 12 200s with 15 seconds rest between each one. I never felt out of breath the whole time. While I was swimming it felt as if I had to unnaturally force myself to breathe more frequently than I was used to. But when I stopped at the end of each interval, I found that I was breathing at a fairly easy rate. I felt less tired, and also had the sense that I could spend as much energy as I wanted to on kicking without going hypoxic. Of course actually timing my kick was a whole other story - it took about a thousand yards to get used to that.
After the 200s I did an easy 100 IM, and then put on the fins for 4 100s sprint on 2:00 - also using the 2:3 pattern. I was going about 80% effort and managed those in 1:06 to 1:08, which is pretty close to what I would normally do at that effort level (1:03 - 1:05)
All in all, the results were good enough that I wouldn't rule out switching completely over to that breathing pattern. I plan to continue working on it to see where it goes. If nothing else, it's a great drill for evening out your stroke. Way better than breathing every 2 on your bad side, or every 4, 1-arm swimming, etc. I highly recommend trying this.
I guess swimming isn't like lifting weights, where I exhale on the lift. Inhaling on the lift doesn't cut it. Wonder if any swimmers employ valsalva on the finishing kick?
Wonder if any swimmers employ valsalva on the finishing kick?
Man, those valsalva horns were annoying during the world cup. I hope swimmers don't employ them.
Gary,
Have you done any testing on the respiration rate for swimmers using a snorkel? I use a snorkel regularly, but haven't paid attention to my breathing pattern while using it. I wonder if I still breathe once per stroke cycle because it is so ingrained.
Thanks for your thought provoking posts.
Very good question. I don't use the snorkel as much for swimming as I do for kicking. Typically, we see respiratory rates of 50 to 65 breaths per minute for maximal exercise in most sports. I will try it and see.
Gary
The Race Club
I could've sworn that it is illegal to breathe 2 times in the same cycle... :confused:
For "Freestyle"? "Freestyle" means you can swim any style you want (including breathing any way you want); except for the underwater rule of 15 yds/ 15 meters.
Forumites, if I didn't get that right, I'm sure you'll let me know! ;)
