Fly Side Breathing Question

...why would you want to side breathe in fly anyway? ... It seems you would have to get out of the water further to side breathe, which would expend more energy ... To me it seems the opposite, like you have to get out of the water further to breathe to the front. So I breathe to the side. Now, in my case, I have a bit of a reason. I have a mild case of scoliosis, and a larger range of motion when turning my head to the right (as opposed to the left or up). So it's easier for me to reach the air when I turn my head to the right in fly. I also breathe exclusively to the right in free. Wikipedia says, "A scoliosis spinal columns curve of 10° or less affects 1.5% to 3% of individuals". I wonder if side-breathing in fly is similarly rare. My guess is that in some cases, cervical anatomy might have something to do with breathing preferences in fly & free.

why would you want to side breathe in fly anyway? Serious Question...I just don't see the benefits right away. I found that it fixed a problem with my second half of the 100 fly. By breathing side, I wasn't as likely to start going vertical on the back half of the race. I tried to fix this problem for years without any real progress. The week I started side breathing I dropped about a second off my 100 fly, and even more after that. I've done it ever since because it works for me. I can keep the stroke going longer without loss of technique breathing to the side. I've read in books where they call it more of a bad habit... I think they're wrong or msiguided :) Begfly: the timing of turning your head back to neutral isn't really all that different from swimming crawl. Once you start to turn the head back to neutral, the arm comes over and the bicep basically forces you to turn your cheek back down just like front crawl. (Note, you should be turning the head back on your own, don't use the arm to actually force the head to turn, only to time it). I could only see this being a problem or becoming difficult if your arms are way too far apart on recovery, like the people/kids who swim "bent arm" fly and their forearms enter at a right angle to their upper arm. Obviously then theres no bicep coming close to the head to help you time the head turn back. But if you swim fly like this, you should first correct the arm stroke rather than worry about the breathing. Happy side breathing :)

Your arms do not get in your way any more than they do in free!

What ever works for you in fly is good!! :applaud::banana:

I tried side breathing last night on an IM set I was doing. I guess it takes some getting used to, I could not get a solid breath to my side. My fly definitely needs work though.

I sometimes side breathe, head low. I can breathe easier this way when I'm tired- no water in my mouth. It's a real fast breathe.

Are you trying to catch a breath too late or early? Look at your elbow as something to follow.

I have a tendency to breath late on fly. It has been like that since I was younger. Any tips on fixing it? You should be beginning to lift your head slightly for the breath just as your hand begin to break into the sculling part of your pull. The head should be back down as you're finishing the "flip" of your hands past your thighs to recover the arms over the top. If your head is still up breathing at this point you'll feel really awkward.

Are you trying to catch a breath too late or early? Look at your elbow as something to follow. I have a tendency to breath late on fly. It has been like that since I was younger. Any tips on fixing it?

I feel like breathing to the side is incorrect form and I try not to do it, but after seeing some national and world caliber swimmers breathing fly to the side, I feel better about it. I know my youth league coaches tried to deter me from breathing to the side, but it feels easier and more comfortable when I am tired. In a race, I do it less, but in practice, I will consistently. I hope I am not creating bad habits. As far as, "do I rotate my head back to a neutral position after breathing and before entering the water?" I do not. It is just like breathing in free for me. It is just as natural. I have seen some ***-strokers breath to the side, but not quite as frequent.