swimming

Why not? The only reason top level swimmers will breath to an opposite side is to keep an eye on the competition in the upper (or lower) lanes. There is nothing inherently "efficient" about breathing to both sides.

That being said, it's a good skill to have, in case you have large waves or something coming in from a certain side, but bilateral breathing doesn't mean you have a more efficient stroke. Just breath when you need to, whether that's every 2, 3 or 23 strokes.

John

If your new, just learn the rest of the body's form first, then focus on both side breathing. Don't not do it tho. It is very beneficial and will keep your muscles balanced eventually when you start logging big distances. Everyone has their 'sweet' side that is just inherently easier for them. Its just dexterity and nature.

You've probably forgotten 1000x more than I know about swimming, so I'll ask:  I've heard it said (by people who seem to know something) that bilateral breathing can help to balance out one's stroke.  (This doesn't imply, of course, breathing every 3 or every 5, but just sometimes breathing right, sometimes left, during training.  Nor does it imply that OP should make learning to breath bi-laterally a top priority.)

What do you think?  And why?

John, actually, that is EXTREMELY false. I have been a competitive swimmer for around 13 yrs and its most definitely NOT to keep an eye on the competition. The reason for breathing both sides is exactly because of the efficiency.

It takes about .2-.3 seconds longer (more for some) for a breath stroke which means that your other arm is taking the load of your body for longer. In addition to this many inefficient swimmers sweep out too much with their stroke hand while taking a breath adding to the strain of taking a breath.

Both of these inefficiencies can be worked out with drills and training but the very first step in swimming more efficiently and balancing out your stroke is breathing to both sides.

jhyz - it doesn't matter that you're left handed (I am too!) basically you're just gonna need to practice practice practice. Force yourself to breath on that other side. Other things you can do is to breath 2 breaths on either side so you're not getting too disoriented (left-left, right-right) and practice breathing only on your weaker side.

I can't stress enough the importance of bi-lateral breathing. It will balance out your stroke & strength, you'll get injured less (the stroke arm will get injured before long) and you'll swim straighter and as a result faster!

Do let me know if I can help with your swim. I've been giving people tips for a good while now.

[P.S. I'm sorry for getting so heated! hahaha! Swimming form is SO important to improving and the more you do it wrong the (much) harder it will be to correct. Doing it right from the start will let you focus on more important things later like your turnover, kick and endurance]

Edited by triharder12 2009-08-24 11:19 PM

Matter of opinion then, does my 17 years of competitive swimming (I won't start resume comparing) trump your 13 years? Or my college education and swimming certifications?

Learning to breath bilaterally is a useful skill, but very few swimmers I have worked/swam with breath bilaterally normally, especially when racing. Watch any Olympic final from 200m - 1500m and tell me how often they breath bilaterally.

Here's a link to the first 1/2 of the 1500m final. In 7 minutes of swimming, I think I saw a total of about 4 times that a person breathed bilaterally, the rest was every stroke.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7ykhhRcKDE&feature=PlayList&p=C162775F176F2CAA&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=16

John

Hmmm interesting John. Look we can compare stats all day and frankly I don't care. We've obviously come from very different coaching backgrounds.

I'm sure you can agree with me though that these top level athletes have highly efficient and perfected strokes and so probably don't loose much in the way of efficiency for breathing every second stroke.

I'm sure you can also agree with me that a newer swimmer will favor their stronger arm and also probably develop a bit of a "snake" in their swim, not to mention over-work it and probably end up getting injured.

I trained mostly in South Africa and Switzerland and when I got to the states i noticed a very different emphasis in swimming training (and a LOT of collegiate swimmers constantly icing their shoulder). Obviously there are differences...

Hey, look I'm not here to pick a fight. I just want to help out some newbies because swimming, you have to admit, is a very unnatural and difficult movement to master let alone do efficiently and quickly.

Its nice to meet you John! What was your specialty when you were a swimmer? Or dyou still swim? Mine was IM and free mostly Have a good one
Brian

On your breath stroke try watching your right arm, follow it all the way back as you turn your head out of the water to breath.

You need to be able to breath efficiently from either side.

I have only been swimming for a couple of weeks now. It is much easier for me to swim bilateral. I am brand new so I opted to learn how to breathe on both sides from the beginning. The best thing that I did was buy a pull buoy. practice breathing on both sides. forgot to add get at least one class in to help...or watch youtube videos it will click. relax.

Edited by Boogie7247 2009-08-25 6:55 AM

Oh, agreed. Bilateral breathing is a skill set that needs to be practiced, and I do recommend drills, bilateral, etc. for practices. During racing, not so much. :D

I was a distance (500m, 1500m free) swimmer, as well as the 2 and 400 IM.

John

Breathe on the left. It doesn't matter. Do what works for you.

Shouldn't be a top priority at all. I just think it should be done eventually and the sooner the better. From a balance standpoint and I fully believe that it will prevent some repetitive injuries.

Rotating your body more during your stroke makes it easier to breath to either side. You shouldn't be turning your head all that much, it's more about body roll.

 Hold a kickboard between your thighs and see if it falls from one side to the other as you swim, and work from there. Your head shoulders and pelvis should all be in the same line.

I really like TI idea of a really long glide. Does any1 do this and still  breathe bilaterally. I find i have a really hard time breathing enough.

I bilateral breathe all day long in the pool. Drop me in open water and I breathe to the left. Sometimes on longer OW swims I settle into a bilateral breathing but not until at least 10-15 minutes in. Maybe i'm odd or are others like this too?

Edited by jbjboc 2009-08-28 7:51 PM

I am working on my Bi-lat breathing.  Lots of practice has helped.  The one thing that has helped me is practicing bi-lat with a pull buoy (I know some here don't like pull buoys but that is a different argument).  Really helped me get the balance down and not over-rotating (trying to keep one goggle lens in the water, etc).  Now the only issue is that the first 200 meters I can bi-lat no problem (no pull buoy).  By 800 meters its 70/30 right side to left and when I breath to the left I can feel myself sinking.  But it is getting better.

i think this is the best advice you can give to a new swimmer who is having trouble figuring out how to breath to the side.  Most novice swimmers don't rotate enough so their forced to turn their head more to get their breath.

The debate about bilateral breath is funny.  But most elite swimmers like to have a lot of air which breathing to the same side allows them to do versus breathing to both sides for bilateral breathing does.  If you have a hard time being balanced on both sides bilateral breathing will help the novice swimmer overcome this.

Personally, I never breathed bilaterally on a regular basis when I was swimming competitively and I don't think it held me back at all. If you have more basic problems with your stroke, those should be much higher priorities. That said, being able to breath to either side would certainly be an advantage during an actual race with waves, wind, sun and the mass of other swimmers around you.

Dean

I agree that most new swimmers over-rotate, as well.  But I don't think that telling them to hold their breath longer so they breathe every 3rd stroke makes a whole lot of sense.  Most people with bad form are not comfortable in the water & putting them into oxygen deprivation isn't going to make things any easier.

I've seen age-groupers wearing snorkels mounted directly in front of their faces to work on the balance issue.  No rotation needed to breathe & both arms are working equally.  It's a bit new-age & gimmicky for me, but perhaps it's a suggestion for folks with balance issues.

& I swam competitively -- sprints & middle distance.  Rarely bi-lateral breathed in races & only worked on it in practice to build lung capacity.  But that was back in the stone ages of the 1980's....

Edited by oldntrin 2009-08-29 4:50 PM