Racing and Bilateral breathing

Jeff Braaten

 I have always been a one sided breather during swimming breathing every stroke sequence to the right. Not that I can't breath every third stroke I just don't.  I usually swim the IM portion of the swim around 1:15 and 35 or so for a HIM.  Bilateral breathing is touted as improving stroke technique and I assume therefore speed. My question is should I be bilaterally breathing during races, workouts, or both?  I do have a tendency to drift to the left and bet my stroke is asymmetric but I can correct this by siting more. Also, if third stroke breathing during a race is recommended would you also do this during the first few hundred meters when trying to get away from the crowd quickly?  Any enlightenment on this issue from you Michael Phelps clones would be great. 

Wiseman

Jeff,
Definitely no MP here ! but I'll share my experience with you.
Last year I made a decision to 1- Do most of my workouts with pull buoy as my long course A races will be wetsuit legal , and 2 - learn to bilateral breath. I've always been a upper MOP swimmer.
After doing this my swim times have steadily improved , I swim dead straight and I go faster. There are times in races that a breath to one side, when I feel like I need it or I just want to watch someone beside me.
Lastly, bilateral breathing seems to keep me at the right pace, as I find it difficult to do it if I'm going too hard.
Good luck !

rodfunction

William,

Your comment about most workouts with the pull buoy is interesting. What do you mean by most of your workouts? Currently in week 1 of HIM intermediate plan. doing speed and endurance sets in the same workout. Do you only use the buoy during the endurance sets? (400/500/600 repeats) I am racing Steelhead and IMFL. Should have wetsuit for each.

Shawn

kurshing

Jeff - bilateral breathing is a tool have in your arsenal. There will likely come a time when you have to breath to the other side...and it will be nice to have that "trick" in the bag. Yeah, I can see how it would straighten you out,, speed you up, balance out your stroke, etc...with all of those reasons, given that swimming is 90% stroke and only 10% fitness...I would start working that way. Add some off-side sighting during warmup and cool down, then into parts of your main set, and before long you will be a regular.

Wiseman

Shaun,
I use the buoy for all work sets, except 25 yd sprints. WU and CD all done bilateral, w/o buoy.
Bill

kevhill

Hi Jeff,

While no MP either (only around 1 hour for IM and just under 30m for HIM) - I am a bilateral breather. As others have mentioned this is a great tool to have in the bag. I can use either side to see people, lane ropes between buoys (if they have them), keep an eye on fast feet coming by to draft off etc etc. Also it gives more options on when to breathe depending on your pace/effort.  I sometimes find breathing every stroke a bit too much air, but every 3rd stroke is not enough, so I slip into a routine of right, right, gap, left - or variations there-of, just gives me so many more options. And yes I have also found helps me a lot to swim straighter.

To answer your question specifically I bilateral breath during all races and workouts too - just becomes second nature.  However at a HIM or OD race swim for sure the first couple hundred metres is just a breath per stroke while I go hard to try get clear of the crowds asap, then settle down into a rhythm and breathe both sides.

Hope that helps - work into it and am sure you will see the benefits.

Cheers!

Spokane_Al

A few years back a local coach and friend suggested that I give bilateral breathing a try. I went through a couple of ugly weeks in the pool and then it just seemed to come together. Now it is second nature. Like others have said, it provides you with some options in races - when the sun is shining in your eyes, or the guy next to you is splashing like crazy, and it definitely helped me straighten out my swim. Prior to engaging bilateral breathing I would slowly veer off course and need to constantly be on guard to correct.

jburbatt

Ugh, I can't find it anywhere, but I could have sworn that somewhere Rich said that bilateral breathing was over-focused upon/overrated and that he breathes from one side. Granted, due to the OWS of a race you should be able to breathe on either side so that you can adjust to waves, people, and other issues but that bilateral breathing wasn't necessary. Maybe Rich will chime in and either confirm that I read that somewhere or that I'm crazy

atasic

 Jeff, my 2cents, pull up videos of freestyle races 400-1500m from 2008 Beijing games and Rome Worlds. Report the findings. You will have learned a lot.

With deep respect to my team mate above, I would not use pull buoy in that manner. 

Nemo Brauch

I used to breath to just one side. Then I did a race where the buoys were all set up on my non- breathing side. Thank goodness for the kayaks or I might have ended up in England. I decided to learn to bilateral breath after that event.

It was hard at first, but after a while it came together, and now it's my natural habit. I'll breath to just one side if I'm doing an all out sprint or the first few minutes of a race, and I no longer have a "favorite" side (the only way I can remember what my favorite side used to be is to remember that original race). I don't really know (or care) if it improved my stroke, I simply have found it to be a good tool to have in my bag.

Peter Carroll

I only started doing laps 2 years ago, and I just decided to learn to breath every 3 strokes. But for some reason, in races I have a problem doing every 3rd. Probably because I am going too hard and there always seems to be more waves etc. But every 3 strokes keeps me going straight.

As for a pull bouy. I use one for all my workouts. All the races I do are wetsuit legal, so there really is no need. I usually need my swim day to be a rest day for my legs anyways. Rich has said in past posts that its ok, but you have to make sure you rotoate your hips properly when using the bouy. So, that is one of my focal points when swimming, proper rotation.

mattsull

I learned how to swim bilaterally when I took up triathlon and re-learned how to swim. I train that way most of the time unless I'm doing sprints. I also almost never bilaterally breath in a race. I take more frequent breaths in order to get as much oxygen as possible. It's nice to be comfortable on both sides though in case of sun or swells, etc.

grosso27

Just thought I'd mention something that might provide a bit of clarification.  While having the ability to breathe bilaterally may be good for unpredictable race circumstances, it may not necessarilly mean that you want to race breathing every 3rd.  I've seen many a pro say that because swimming is a highly anaerobic effort, you need as much oxygen as possible, and should be breathing every 2.  I don't know what's right, but I'm just pointing it out. 

Steve West

Being a noobe swimmer in 2009, I was bound and determined to learn bilateral breathing. Worked great training in a pool but never worked for me in OWS. But breating 1 side only didnt work either. Now in most of my OWS and races I alternate between the 2.

Stroke - left - stroke - left - stroke - stroke - right - stroke - right - stroke - stroke - left. Lets me breath more often than every 3 but less than every 2.

Sometimes I breath twice on each side, sometime 3 times each side. Just depends on how hard I am pushing. I get to sight both ways and keeps me balanced. The only time I don't do this in OW is if I'm eating waves on one side, but then it doesn't matter cause I am similarly proficient at either side.

There, that's my n=1