Bi-latteral Breathing

ForceD · Mar 22, 2008

Has anyone ever noticed if bi-lat breathing makes them swim faster or slower? Here’s why I ask: I’ve breathed bi-laterally for so many years that I can’t even remember what side I naturally breathed on. (But, it was probably my right side because it feels the least odd when breathing continually straight on just the left side or right side.) So, last week I wondered if bi-lat vs. non-lat made a difference. I was doing four 500 yard repeats. The first and third I breathed bi-lat. Second and forth I breathed non-lat. All at the same intensity, the two I breathed non-lat were faster by about 10-12 seconds. And, truthfully, I actually felt as if my body was more buoyant when breathing non-lat. I tried it again today when I was doing my repeat 100s. The non-lat 100s were 3-4 seconds faster the the 100s I breathed bi-lat on (that comes out to about 10-12 seconds per 500 yds). Could it be that when breathing bi-lat I exhale more thereby causing less air to be in my lungs and making my body less buoyant? Dan

LeftRightRepeat · Mar 22, 2008

I think that should be uni-lat. 
I think the less you breath the faster you go. So if your bilateral breathing is every 3 and you unilateral is every 4, that makes sense.

TriAndStopMe · Mar 22, 2008

That would be my guess, too. If you were breathing every 4, time again breathing uni-laterally, but ever 2. 
There's no swim law that says you have to commit to one way or the other. It's possible to mix up as needed... something like 2 2 3 2 2 3 or 3 2 2 3 2 2 can be options to give you the air you need for different speeds.

ForceD · Mar 24, 2008

But in the scenario I described, I’m uni-lat breathing is every 2 strokes. There are two factors that I’ve considered. One is that my breathing cycle is more frequent. And two, because it’s more frequent my breaths aren’t as deep. Therefore more air remains in my lungs. When I bi-lat my breaths are deeper. I exhale for longer and thereby move more air out of my lungs…causing me to be less buoyant. I concur that there isn’t any rule which says you have to breathe every so many strokes. In fact my bi-lat is a combination. Sometimes it depends on the distance I’m swimming and my intensity. Often it’s 2,2,3,2,2,3, etc. Dan

TriAndStopMe · Mar 24, 2008

Very interesting that you were faster breathing every two. You said the intensity was the same... was the stroke rate? And did you have the same increase regardless of whether you were breathing every two to the right, or to the left? Because, if you have all those factors locked down, then a difference in buoyancy might be the only explanation left.

ForceD · Mar 24, 2008

Unfortunately I wasn’t counting strokes. However, another thing I noticed regarding the uni-lat breathing. As I mentioned, I’m not sure which is/was my natural side to breathe on. But, I think it is/was my right side. When breathing only on my left I just feel a bit out of whack and I’m tend to not pull completely through my stroke. Otherwise, everything was the same and when I’d breathe bi-lat. Dan

TriAndStopMe · Mar 24, 2008

That could at least in part explain the difference, too. If you lift your head a little and fall out of balance when you breathe to the left, your legs would drop and create more drag. Plus, the shortened stroke. You've definitely got some interesting experimenting going on. <img alt="smile.gif" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/smile.gif"> 
Barb

TriBob · Mar 24, 2008

1 
Time some one arm drills and check any stroke and time differences.

VictorN · Mar 24, 2008

For long distance swimming, I don't think there is any benefit to bi-lat breathing. The more O2 you get in your system, the faster you will be. This is especially true if you are slowly exhaling between breaths instead of using an explosive exhale just before your breath. 
The only exception is for those swimmers who pick up their head to breath, but you really shouldn't be doing that. 
Having said that, I think it is advantage to be able to breath on either side. For example, if the waves are coming from the right, it helps to be able to breath comfortably on the left. 
Victor

Bi-latteral Breathing

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