Swimming blog - BREATHING Breathing Patterns as a Tactical Weapon

It’s not easy you know. Knowing what breathing pattern to employ when swimming. Breathing while swimming is hard enough as it is. Breathing to one side may be the only way you know. You get scared or anxious thinking about being asked to breathe to the “other” side. The internet is full of advice about bilateral breathing. You may feel pressured into changing without knowing the benefits. What if you started thinking about breathing patterns differently? Not as a task, but as a tactic?

The Antics of Tactics
Before we go any further, lets have a look at the different tactics swimmers use and their benefits. Breathing tactics are just breathing patterns used for different purposes

Here are some breathing tactics and their benefits: 

•    Sprinting – no breathing is the tactic, the benefit is to minimize body movement and hence resistance.
•    Mid distance – 1:3 is the tactic, the benefit being a balance between oxygen uptake and body movement.
•    Long distance – 1:2 is the tactic, benefit is maximum oxygen uptake with is necessary for aerobic processes in the body.
•    Triathlon – any combination of mid and long distance, benefit of 1:3 in in open water is that you will swim significantly straighter and 1:2 allows maximum oxygen uptake. 

Why do the pro’s breathe only to one side?
Yes, you’ve seen it on TV. The Pros only breathe to one side. Why? The short answer is because they can. They have a choice. The long one is because they practice all kinds of breathing patterns. The version you see when they are racing in only one of many. The bottom line is, except for the ultra-short distances of 25 or 50m, swimmers need maximum oxygen uptake and CO2 removal. The breathing tactic of 1:2 means that both requirements are fulfilled. Now that we have this out of the way, let’s move on. 

Start Thinking about the 'Why'
Why are breathing tactics your weapon? There are a 4 reasons why: 

1.    Race Day – you never know what might happen. It is a weapon to be able to breathe how and when you want to in a race : To look at your opponent in the next lane; not to look at them; to avoid the sun-rise blinding you or the waves washing over you as you breathe. 

2.    Stroke Balance – When crossing the street you look both ways to avoid danger. Right?  The same in swimming, to avoid injury and an imbalanced stroke you have to practice breathing to both sides. It doesn’t have to be at the same time. Why not try breathing 50 meters to one side and then 50 meters to the other. That’s a start and does exactly the same thing. 

3.    Technique, technique, technique – You are not focusing on your technique if you have only one breathing pattern. You have fallen asleep at the wheel and hope it doesn’t end up in a major crash. Get out of your comfort zone and into the fast lane. Different breathing patterns help you to focus on core issues in your technique.

4.    Have fun – play around with your breathing pattern. Learn what works and what doesn’t. Make it a game. Making it fun means it's not a task and need you ask?
 
Changing the way you breathe may feel like an impossible task, but its really not as hard as it seems. Swimming hundreds of meters 1:3 is hard, that’s true. But the secret of breathing as a tactical weapon is this: start off with 25m in every 100m breathing to the “other” side. You can’t build a house in one day, just like you can’t change your breathing in a day. But don’t give up. Swim small sections trying different breathing patters and it will make you feel like a capable and strong swimmer. 
 

Written by Michael Stolt