Following up on the breathing rate podcast, I found the info related to oxygen update vs intake very interesting, particularly when it comes to swimming. I was a competitive sprint swimmer for 6 years where my coaches hounded bilateral breathing (every 3 strokes). Then I got into triathlon and read an article where it said you should breathe every 2 strokes to get more oxygen in. The theory was not only would this help your swim be faster, particular in 1/2IM and IM distances, but your muscles would be in a better state to start the bike. This felt to fast to me, but I adapted cause why would an internet article be wrong? Now after hearing a more scientific approach, I feel like this would indicate it doesnāt matter if I breathe every 2 strokes or 3, I should just do whatās natural.
Thoughts from the group? Does anyone very their breathing rate depending on the distance?
Iām not a triathlete, but like to swim: 2 strokes always felt too fast for me, and in open water I would tend to go crooked if I continuously breathed from the same side. 3 strokes is perfect and I like bilateral breathing. FWIW, from a physical therapistās perspective, breathing bilaterally reduces the potential tension and overuse (vice versa underuse of the contralateral side) in specific muscles, from the neck, to the lats, and even in the deltoids and rotator cuff because the pull is slightly different during breathing.
Watch the 1500 in the olympics. Very little bilateral breathing. Sun yang used to also break convention and breath every stroke as he got ready for his flip turns. In shorter events you donāt have as much of a consequence for breathing less. They hardly take any breaths in the 50 free.
When Iām racing (triathlon swims) or doing hard pieces I tend to gravitate to breathing to just one side, but otherwise I usually do ā2/3ā breathing where I breathe once per 2 strokes on one side then 3 strokes and breathe on the other side, then 2 strokes and breathe on that same side, 3 strokes breathe on the other side, etc. Mixes it up a bit for bilateral breathing where I want to swim hard, but not all out and can still handle some three stroke gaps between breaths.
[quote=āGrotex, post:1, topic:7549ā]
The theory was not only would this help your swim be faster, particular in 1/2IM and IM distances, but your muscles would be in a better state to start the bike. This felt to fast to me, but I adapted cause why would an internet article be wrong? Now after hearing a more scientific approach,
[/quote]Which approach? You mean the podcast?
If triathlon swimming were a solo, calm waters affair there might be some merit to the discussion. In my experience there is almost always too much chop (from wind) or disruption from other swimmers to breath bilaterally. One side is almost always much easier to get air on than the other.
Itās easy to limit how fast you go with your breath rate, but it doesnāt have to determine it - you can breath every two strokes and hold an aerobic pace.
Then there is how much your body wants to breath. Panic in the water is not a conscious thing, itās a reaction. Your body needs to be relaxed to swim well, and confident that getting air is not a problem - a good lungful every two strokes should calm anyone feeling panicky.
Also if I recall correctly most open water racers breath every two strokes(?)
All of that said, if I do find myself in calm open water, bilateral is a good rate of breathing for me on the long distance events.
I breathe bilaterally when going easy in order to balance my stroke. In races, and when training hard, I breathe every 2 regardless of distance, always away from the surf. Bilateral breathing works well for being comfortable breathing to either side in ocean swims.
As an adult onset swimmer everything slower than 2-stroke felt like choking in the beginning. It took me a year of dedicated training to at least be able to execute different breathing patterns. By now itās 2-stroke all the way because somehow rhythm feels the most natural . Only on the IM distance where pacing really matters do I drop to 3-stroke.
Iāve been experimenting with this exact topic. 2017 Autumn I trained for an open 1500 with bilateral breathing. I was watching youtube clips etcā¦at noticed how much air is taken in via unilateral 1 in 2 breathing by ledecky and Gregorio Paltrinieri (I donāt bother watching San Yung because he is so much taller than me) Paltrinieri underwater - YouTube.
(apparently Ledecky does bilateral breathing in the warm-up pool)
I did the open 1500 and towards the end of the event bilateral went out the window and I started breathing whenever I could. Obviously Iād not really trained for this.
On my ārevengeā swim, this year past I trained and raced breathing unilateral. Most of my training was bilateral, but when things got very hard I would immediately go for that unilateral 1 in 2. This gave me more oxygen but I felt less controlled in the stroke. In the race I did all 60 lengths unilateral 1 in 2 breathing. RESULT: it was pacing early lengths, not breathing pattern that effected my performance.
I STRONGLY suspect my streamline is compromised each time I breathe. So there is a trade-off between oxygen intake versus stroke efficiency. So for me bilateral breathing is better as I feel more in control of my stroke. Going forward I will probably experiment with various breathing patterns when things get tough, but use bilateral as my base.
Moral of the story is to try out both for yourself and see what works best. I would say, based on my personal experience, that bilateral breathing is the better way to go.
Thereās no right answer. Breathe as much or as little as you need to maintain the effort level needed for your race which will be very different in an Ironman to a pool based 400m sprint.
I feel somewhat embarrassed giving swim advice to a former competitive swimmer (!) but donāt overthink it, just breathe.
FWIW for longer distances I often fall into a 2/3 pattern of breathing but it also depends on whether itās a wetsuit swim or not. Iām an adult onset swimmer and by no means a natural so the buoyancy of the wetsuit means swimming takes much less effort for me and I tend to breathe less, maybe alternating 2/4 to the left as itās generally my preferred side. Without a wetsuit itās harder and Iāll tend to breathe every 2. For you as a swimmer it may be less an issue.
Just do what feels right for you and swim to your ability while the rest of us flounder some way behind
Competetive swimmer as well - always breathing every second stroke. When competing in 50 meter distance, I donāt breathe at all (once at the turn). When I swim in open water, like 2-3 km, constant pace without rest, itās every second stroke. If I breathe every third, Iām always slightly out of breath.
The most interesting question for me is not when to breathe, but when to swim with symmetrical strokes and when to swim with asymmetrical. For me, itās symmetrical in still water - asymmetrical in waves or when sprinting.
itās crazy watching a WTS race, those guys are windmilling a crazy stroke rate, and not quite in a steady cadence since there is a slight pause when breathing. But in an aerobic sport, more air is beneficialā¦ and in a mass start high stroke rate vs. perfectly efficient stroke seems to win out as well.
But in relation to an open water swim I always practiced different patterns. I feel like itās good to be able to break it up and when it is crowded and people are flailing at first it is nice to be able change it up with ease. If youāre not a strong swimmer or it makes you nervous it could also be good mentally to stretch out the time between breaths in training to see that if you miss a breath for whatever reason it is okay and you can make it up soon without it being an issue.
Same with breathing on different sides, I usually change that up about 50/50, that way Iām never looking into the sun, or if I want to turn toward the shore or some landmark itās no problem, or if Iāve got a splasher on one side or the other I just breathe the other direction.
Itās not a slight pause, itās asymmetrical strokes. It has nothing to do with breathing, but rhythm, stroke reach and stroke power.
If in still water (pool or still ocean), this is the most effective technique there is (1500 m record holder): Sun Yang Technique - multi angle camera - loop - YouTube
However, if sprinting or in a lot of waves, asymmetrical is better.
Sun yang has one of the smoothest strokes around. The other video posted above was assymetric to his breathing side and looked like an open water stroke sighting except of course he wasnāt looking ahead.
Can you share a video that is assymetric to a non breathing side?
For me, my breathing rate is an indicator for the effort. I donĖt breath how much i āshouldā, i breath how much i need to.
I do sprint and olympic triathlons. In competitions, the effort is so high, that i have to breath every 2. stroke most of the time.
