Yep. Came naturally to me and balances breathing rhythm for distance swims. Question! Are there any pros that bilateral breathe?? Was watching Olympic tri footage and didn’t see any.
Remember that bilateral breathing needn't be strictly every 3 strokes. Try 2-3-2, or every 2 then an occasional 3 to swap sides, or even changing side each length.
I used to only breathe to the right. A rough ocean swim with pounding waves on my breathing side changed my mind pretty quickly. I now breathe bilaterally and feel much more balanced in the water.
What helped me master bilateral breathing is by finding a rhythm that works best ... for me doing it every 3 strokes either side really helped.... once the rhythm develops it becomes like magic ....start the first stroke with right ... then left and then with right ( 3rd stroke ) take the first breath .... next left , then right and then with left take the breath and keep repeating until you find a rhythm.... and keep practicing... all the best 👍
My natural side is right. It took me almost a year to get my left side breathing. It is still not as consistent as right side but it is not a struggle and frustration anymore. Don’t give up. It can be achieved by practicing and persistence.
Thanks for this video. I've been swimming with bilateral breathing for as long as I can think of. Watching your many videos about breathing and technique I realized that I don't get enough oxygen with a three stroke rhythm. I get tired too soon, my heart rate goes through the roof. The last few trainings I changed to two strokes and I'm already faster and less exhausted... The good thing is that I can always change sides because I'm used to bilateral breathing. This comes in handy in open water...
between stroke 2 and 3, my face turns from looking normal to looking like arnold on the surface of mars. by stroke 5, my eyes are pushing goggles away from my face. if you have a similar problem, and to avoid neck pains, its best to switch between breathing on the left and on the right every one or two pool lengths.
Have been a single sided breather all my life, but during lockdown managed to get a small pool in the garden for tethered swimming and have worked at bilateral breathing to bring symmetry to my stroke. It feels quite natural now and the efficiency improvement has translated into quite significant improvements in my open water and pool swimming. I used to run out of breath quite a lot but don't any more which I think is because I previously didn't have time to fully exhale between strokes so wasn't getting a full breath in. Now that my face is under water for slightly longer, i find it easier to breathe. Thanks for another great video 👍
Because I swim in ocean water frequently, I make a point of being able to breathe on both sides, although I typically will choose right or left (based on tide/direction) and breathe every 2 strokes.
My default for years was to breathe on the right. Over the last 2 yrs i have coached myself into bilateral breathing for the majority of my distances, only defaulting to the right if i am going all out. The benefits of bi lateral breathing for me are: More even workload on my body, evidenced by more even muscle tone. More mobility in my spine and neck. This has been more important as i have got older (45 now) and has helped prevent stiffness in my neck and back. More confidence in open water, especially if there is a chop that makes it difficult to breathe on the right.
I only breathe to my right, but I'd like to develop the ability to breathe to my left as well for the issues you mention like sighting and waves. I spoke to a pretty well respected swim coach and her take was that if you do it right, breathing shouldn't impact the stroke at all so breathing to both sides only evens the stroke out if you have a flaw in your breathing action. She showed me some videos of Becky Adlington and you could see what she was talking about. Plus the way she breathes wasn't the regular X strokes pattern but more a case of whichever side she happended to be rolling to when she needed a breath is the side she used. Obviously it's different with sprints v Long distance etc but it seemed to make sense that a good end goal is more to be able to breathe either way without disrupting your stroke so you have the option. Another great video by the way :-)
I completely understand the need to be able to breathe bilaterally but, apart from sighting strokes and wave avoidance, I only breathe to the right and every 2 stokes. I get into a much better rhythm.
I have only breathed unilaterally my whole life, used to swim 60 laps a day in college, but now I'm in my 30's and trying to get back into swimming and pretty much got swimmer's shoulder immediately after trying to go from 10 laps to 20 laps. Think it is probably caused by not breathing bilaterally
Been learning bilateral breathing thisvyear, due to shoulder injury. It was very hard to start with, but now I am getting there. I really enjoy to have a choice. For speed sets I would do 3 strokes breathing on one side and 3 on the other. That doesn't get me out of breath(discover just today, was doing 2 each side before, which still would get me out of breath for longer hard set). For drills and wu/cd i do every 3rd stroke, so alternate side each breath. Definitely feel more balanced breathing bilaterally and it does help in open water with chop. I also have to say I am slower breathing bilaterally, but the more I practice the faster I am getting.
I breathe every 3 for low to moderate intensity swimming, which is the majority of my swimming,unless there is a reason for not wanting to rotate your head to one side, and every two for higher intensity.
I always breathed bilaterally until covid lockdown. Then I swam in the sea all year and would only swim one way long the coast. I breathed to the right to avoid the waves. I have swam in the pool breathing to the right since. Over the last few weeks I'm trying to go back to bilateral, but what was once natural is rather tough to do! I just guess it going to take a wee while. I try and do my first 4 lengths breathing both sides, and the first four again after any break in order to build up strength and rhythm.
I find the longer i'm swimming the more i need to breath both sides to balance out my back muscles. under an hour is ok to 1 side - pushing 3 or 4 hours and you'll soon notice something.
I try to work it in my training, especially at the beginning when I'm not as fatigued. Or I might try to do one 25 length with bi-lateral breathing every 100. I still revert to one side during a race, but maybe I'll get used to it eventually.
Look at Heather's stroke, by the way. I don't really see a very early vertical forearm, and as an Olympic medalist in pentathlon she's a terrific swimmer. One more example that EVF is a bit of a myth, as pointed out by the likes of Gerry Rodrigues, Roy Hinnen or Paul Newsome.
I swim bilaterally until I need more air, then I'll swap to every other stroke, but then I can't do it for that long as I find that I fatigue very quickly one one side. In the pool I'll do 50m each side then go back to bilaterally as I tend to have my breath back by then!
Wow ! I always wondered why I never liked bilateral breathing. It definitely slows me down becuase of the lack of oxygen and I find that breathing on the other side definitely sets me back with stroke efficiency.
For some reason, this video got me thinking about differences between swimmers and how much of a front quadrant/catch up stroke they got, and how long they keep the arm in front extended while breathing. I guess this can be a bit individual, with regards to the body type and kind of swim. Not sure if you got any videos that touch upon this?
Do you breathe bilaterally when swimming? 🏊♂️
yes :-) 1-2-breathe / 1-2-breathe / 1-2-breathe. i think it's a nice rythm to fall into and to get in the zone. it also soothes OCD 😄
Yes. I do it for pool swims and open water swims. It helps me with sighting too.
Yep. Came naturally to me and balances breathing rhythm for distance swims. Question! Are there any pros that bilateral breathe?? Was watching Olympic tri footage and didn’t see any.
Usually on both slides
As an Open Water Swimmer, Yes I breathe bilateral.
Remember that bilateral breathing needn't be strictly every 3 strokes. Try 2-3-2, or every 2 then an occasional 3 to swap sides, or even changing side each length.
I used to only breathe to the right. A rough ocean swim with pounding waves on my breathing side changed my mind pretty quickly. I now breathe bilaterally and feel much more balanced in the water.
What helped me master bilateral breathing is by finding a rhythm that works best ... for me doing it every 3 strokes either side really helped.... once the rhythm develops it becomes like magic ....start the first stroke with right ... then left and then with right ( 3rd stroke ) take the first breath .... next left , then right and then with left take the breath and keep repeating until you find a rhythm.... and keep practicing... all the best 👍
My natural side is right. It took me almost a year to get my left side breathing. It is still not as consistent as right side but it is not a struggle and frustration anymore. Don’t give up. It can be achieved by practicing and persistence.
Thanks for this video. I've been swimming with bilateral breathing for as long as I can think of. Watching your many videos about breathing and technique I realized that I don't get enough oxygen with a three stroke rhythm. I get tired too soon, my heart rate goes through the roof. The last few trainings I changed to two strokes and I'm already faster and less exhausted... The good thing is that I can always change sides because I'm used to bilateral breathing. This comes in handy in open water...
between stroke 2 and 3, my face turns from looking normal to looking like arnold on the surface of mars. by stroke 5, my eyes are pushing goggles away from my face. if you have a similar problem, and to avoid neck pains, its best to switch between breathing on the left and on the right every one or two pool lengths.
I breathe bilaterally during the warm or during the drills. During the main session i breathe every two strokes
I do this too
Same thing
Knowing to breathe on the other side is also nice if it's sunny and you want to avoid strong sunlight everytime you breathe.
Have been a single sided breather all my life, but during lockdown managed to get a small pool in the garden for tethered swimming and have worked at bilateral breathing to bring symmetry to my stroke. It feels quite natural now and the efficiency improvement has translated into quite significant improvements in my open water and pool swimming. I used to run out of breath quite a lot but don't any more which I think is because I previously didn't have time to fully exhale between strokes so wasn't getting a full breath in. Now that my face is under water for slightly longer, i find it easier to breathe. Thanks for another great video 👍
You two look so smooth in the water, I hope someday I could look like that.
Because I swim in ocean water frequently, I make a point of being able to breathe on both sides, although I typically will choose right or left (based on tide/direction) and breathe every 2 strokes.
It's nice to hear that you can change it up. I've been gasping for air breathing every 3. 2-3-2 when at threshold has transformed my training!
My default for years was to breathe on the right. Over the last 2 yrs i have coached myself into bilateral breathing for the majority of my distances, only defaulting to the right if i am going all out.
The benefits of bi lateral breathing for me are:
More even workload on my body, evidenced by more even muscle tone.
More mobility in my spine and neck. This has been more important as i have got older (45 now) and has helped prevent stiffness in my neck and back.
More confidence in open water, especially if there is a chop that makes it difficult to breathe on the right.
but doea "billateral breathing" make you go faster though?
I only breathe to my right, but I'd like to develop the ability to breathe to my left as well for the issues you mention like sighting and waves. I spoke to a pretty well respected swim coach and her take was that if you do it right, breathing shouldn't impact the stroke at all so breathing to both sides only evens the stroke out if you have a flaw in your breathing action. She showed me some videos of Becky Adlington and you could see what she was talking about. Plus the way she breathes wasn't the regular X strokes pattern but more a case of whichever side she happended to be rolling to when she needed a breath is the side she used. Obviously it's different with sprints v Long distance etc but it seemed to make sense that a good end goal is more to be able to breathe either way without disrupting your stroke so you have the option.
Another great video by the way :-)
I completely understand the need to be able to breathe bilaterally but, apart from sighting strokes and wave avoidance, I only breathe to the right and every 2 stokes. I get into a much better rhythm.
I have only breathed unilaterally my whole life, used to swim 60 laps a day in college, but now I'm in my 30's and trying to get back into swimming and pretty much got swimmer's shoulder immediately after trying to go from 10 laps to 20 laps. Think it is probably caused by not breathing bilaterally
I learnt how to swim with bilateral breathing. I can’t swim breathing on one side and my triathlon mates think I’m crazy 😂
Bilateral can also mean breathing on the right in one direction and changing side to the left in another direction.
Been learning bilateral breathing thisvyear, due to shoulder injury. It was very hard to start with, but now I am getting there. I really enjoy to have a choice. For speed sets I would do 3 strokes breathing on one side and 3 on the other. That doesn't get me out of breath(discover just today, was doing 2 each side before, which still would get me out of breath for longer hard set). For drills and wu/cd i do every 3rd stroke, so alternate side each breath. Definitely feel more balanced breathing bilaterally and it does help in open water with chop. I also have to say I am slower breathing bilaterally, but the more I practice the faster I am getting.
I breathe every 3 for low to moderate intensity swimming, which is the majority of my swimming,unless there is a reason for not wanting to rotate your head to one side, and every two for higher intensity.
bilateral is very good for a relaxed pace swim.. but I find if i require to swim fast i require more air so i prefer a mix of 2 -3-2 pattern
I always breathed bilaterally until covid lockdown. Then I swam in the sea all year and would only swim one way long the coast. I breathed to the right to avoid the waves. I have swam in the pool breathing to the right since. Over the last few weeks I'm trying to go back to bilateral, but what was once natural is rather tough to do! I just guess it going to take a wee while. I try and do my first 4 lengths breathing both sides, and the first four again after any break in order to build up strength and rhythm.
I find the longer i'm swimming the more i need to breath both sides to balance out my back muscles. under an hour is ok to 1 side - pushing 3 or 4 hours and you'll soon notice something.
I try to work it in my training, especially at the beginning when I'm not as fatigued. Or I might try to do one 25 length with bi-lateral breathing every 100. I still revert to one side during a race, but maybe I'll get used to it eventually.
Look at Heather's stroke, by the way. I don't really see a very early vertical forearm, and as an Olympic medalist in pentathlon she's a terrific swimmer. One more example that EVF is a bit of a myth, as pointed out by the likes of Gerry Rodrigues, Roy Hinnen or Paul Newsome.
I swim bilaterally until I need more air, then I'll swap to every other stroke, but then I can't do it for that long as I find that I fatigue very quickly one one side. In the pool I'll do 50m each side then go back to bilaterally as I tend to have my breath back by then!
Wow ! I always wondered why I never liked bilateral breathing. It definitely slows me down becuase of the lack of oxygen and I find that breathing on the other side definitely sets me back with stroke efficiency.
I tend to breath on 3 stroke or 5 stroke intervals but 7 might be beneficial
For some reason, this video got me thinking about differences between swimmers and how much of a front quadrant/catch up stroke they got, and how long they keep the arm in front extended while breathing. I guess this can be a bit individual, with regards to the body type and kind of swim. Not sure if you got any videos that touch upon this?
I tried to breathe bilaterally sometime but often I fell dizzy. I think my neck circulatory system irrigate my brain more by one side than the other.
Do you know if there is a way to swim even if you can’t breathe normally?
Where is GTN Located ??? ... i want to learn to swim ....... please help me
I think about degenerative disease of cervival spine ( neck bone ).
Anyone know what watch does she wear?
Even two breaths to one side and my neck is in so much pain
I alternate which side of the fence I sit on, on this one 😏.
I want to say yes purely so I don't need to see people breath every two which almost gives me a headache
16TH
I need a pool so much, I haven’t swimming in years
You talk too much, more than actually showing the technique
Its not a technique video