I <heart> bilateral breathing

I've been hearing for months, here and from a workout buddy, that I ought to learn how to breathe from either side when I swim. "What for?", thought I, "I can barely swim as it is why do I want to complicate matters by turning my head in a direction other than left?".

Well, about a month ago I decided to give it a try and give breathing on my right a chance. At first I felt like I was sinking, sloppy and swimming crooked. After a while I got used to it and would switch back to my left side if I felt fatigued. Since I only swim OWS in the ocean I could focus on training the right side for hundreds of yards without interruption.

So this morning I walk in to the ocean ready to start my swim and I had to stop and think for a moment which side was my "good" side to breath on. Success! In only a month I was able to break my single-side habit and feel equally comfortable breathing right or left. And in only 12K yards! I have to tell anyone who has not tried to learn bilaterally that it is absolutely 100% worth it. For an open water swimmer like myself it means I don't have to spend 50% of my swim time breathing in to the sun, wind and waves. I'm incredibly more comfortable when the wind kicks up or the seas are rough because I can now protect my vision and breathing in any direction. Also, and this is more anecdotal because I don't have a really good way to time myself over distance, I think I'm swimming faster. I feel like my pull is more balanced and my body rotation is more symmetrical. Minimally I feel smoother overall and I find I'm able to concentrate more on other aspects of my stroke like my kick and hand entry.

Long story short, if you haven't already try to take the time to learn how to breathe from either side. Ultimately it's easier than you think and the benefits will be obvious once you've converted to a bilateral breather.

Edited by Spleen 2009-08-28 11:38 AM