Swim Breathing - training vs. racing

In the book Going Long, Joel Friel says to breath bilateral in training and breath to one side on race day.

Breathing to one side also makes it easier to site.  I usually do one normal breath and then one sighting breath in a race.  I breath to the left in a race (although for some strange reason when I started swimming I breathed to the right).  Occasionally, during a race, I will throw in a few bilaterals just to even things out (make sure neck doesn't get tired, etc.) but otherwise, it's to the left the whole time.

I goofed, I meant to say I bilateral breathe every third stroke in training.  I guess Saturday morning when I swim I'll do a 500m set how I normally do them (bilateral, every third stroke) and then do a 500m set breathing every second stroke on the same side and see a.) what the time difference is and b.) how I feel.  

As the others have pointed out, many great distance swimmers breath every other stroke to one side or the other, and don’t switch breath.

Most sprinters on the other hand, limit the breathing to as few breaths as possible to cover the distance they are doing. Sprinters also switch breath more often to spot the competition. In a 50-meter sprint you might only take a single breath and the direction you breath would be based on what lane you were seeded in.

I would suggest there is no one right answer here for the triathlete, because everyone’s stroke is a little different. If your stroke mechanics and body position are great breathing more often can be an oxygen advantage, with very limited down side. If your lifting your head, dropping a shoulder, dragging a hand on a catch phase after breathing, you could have a problem.

Time with a distance oriented coach, and some mid distance timing drills will tell you what is right for you. Get some timed 500-yard swims in switching things up to see what works best for you.

Good luck

^^^  That's what you're going for. 

I breathe to the right every two in training and racing.  If there are waves coming from the right or there is a nice shoreline I can look at on my left, then I can go left because every now and then I'll throw in a set or two in training where I breathe that direction.

I breathe to one side mainly because I have a tendency to hold my breathe when I go more than 2 strokes.  I will normally switch sides every few hundred meters (my swims are open water, very little pool work).

I am a (very) good swimmer, and have done many open water races. My method may not work for everyone, but this is my routine:

In training I breath every 3 stokes during warmups, and slow sets where I am primarily working on stoke technique. When I do hard fast sets I breathe every second stroke but try to switch sides regularly. I do have a tendency to favor one side, but this can lead to tendonitis if I am not careful

When I race open water, I breathe primarily to my right side. I also find it easier to sight when I breath to my dominant (right side).

In triathlons I do not work hard on the swim. I am plenty fast, swimming a strong measured pace, so I breathe every 3rd stroke. I do double up on my dominant side when I need to sight. I come out of the water in the front of the pack and save my self for the run where I breathe as much as I can :-)

It's good to be able to breathe to both sides.

Sometimes in a race, you can site off the shore, well, if you breathe to the right and the shore is on the left - that's not going to work.

Or, someone is right there and splashing you in the face, making waves everytime you come up to breathe.

Both situations have happened to me, and it was great just to be able to switch over and breathe on the other side.

If I'm swimming slowly (in training) and focusing on form, usually I'll breathe every 3.  Pick up the pace to a more "race pace" I'll breathe 2 on one side, then 3 strokes, then 2 on the other.  If I feel I need to, or sprinting, etc - every stroke.  The faster you go, the more air you need.

In a race, I usually start off with the 2-3-2 pattern, then switch to every 2, but that depends on the race and how hard I'm pushing.  Medium effort on the swim, I stick with the 2-3-2 pattern. 

alicia123 - 2008-07-06 10:55 PM

Dream Chaser - 2008-07-03 11:07 AM

Ok, I did a search and did not find a specific answer.  In training and in my past races I bilateral breathe on every fourth stroke.    It's pretty comfortable for me but I would like to get a little faster, especially on Race Day.  Last night I was reading the latest issue of Triathlon Magazine and a small article stated that 90% of competitive distance swimmers breathe to one side and breath every two stokes.  The article stated the reason for this is because by breathing every other stroke they are taking in more oxygen which provides more fuel for the muscles. 

My question is:  does anyone bilateral breathe in training and then breath every two strokes to one side on Race Day?  My 70.3 is 9 days away and I'm wondering if I should do a few test runs in the pool and check out this technique. 

I always thought I'd be faster and glide more by bilaterally breathing every fourth stroke, but now that I think about it, when I think back to all the triathlons I tivo'd last season, the leaders in the water always breathed to one side every other stroke.  Thoughts?

I did a tri camp recently and was videotaped swimming. The coach asked me to swim as I normally do which is naturally breathing on the right. Next he asked me to bilateral breath. It felt very weird. When I watched the video later it was very evident to me that the bilateral breathing kept my form and kept me moving constantly forward while during the unilateral breathing I actually paused during the breath. Wierd I guess. However, I know this to be true: The time 'wasted' on 'pausing' can't really be enough to make a huge difference because your body will naturally perform better if it can get rid of CO2 and get some O2. Good luck

I noticed the same thing in my training, when I breathe to one side  every 2 strokes there is more of a pause in my stroke vs. every 3rd bilateral breathing my stroke seems more continuous.

I've been bilateral breathing since I was 7, so it's merely an ingrained habit for me.

On race day, my breathing side depends on where the swim buoys are. No sense in breathing to the right when the buoys are on the left. Since bilateral breathing is 2nd nature, it's not big deal to adapt to the buoy placement.

Oh, and I breathe whenever I need the air.