Stop breathing on your strong side. It is amazing how fast you will learn a new trick when you start to go hypoxic.

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This is your life, and it's ending one minute at a time. - Fight Club
Industry Brat.

I've found that when the water aerobics class is right next to me it encourages me to always breathe to the side away from them, easy way to remember to switch sides every 25.

One glimpse of a water aeorbics class doing pelvic thrusts can scar you for life.

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I'm beginning to think that we are much more fucked than I thought.

This may sound stupid and unhelpful, but you just need to do it. Do all your sets breathing every 3 or every 5 strokes. It will feel awkward at first, but it will feel more natural the more you swim. That's how I did it, and I swam through clubs as a kid and through high school breathing only every 4 strokes on the right. This year I just made myself breathe every 3 strokes for a couple months and now I don't have a side preference anymore.

Repetition, repetition, repetition...

Jodi

It is more mental than anything. I learned bilateral breathing about 1 year ago. At first it seemed impossibly uncomfortable. If you practice for a while, the discomfort goes away. Like another poster here, often I can't even remember now which side I used to prefer.

Notice what "feels right" about breathing on your preferred side. Then try to replicate that on the other side.

Keep breathing on your less comfortable side for a few weeks, then you'll have it.

[reply]I've found that when the water aerobics class is right next to me it encourages me to always breathe to the side away from them, easy way to remember to switch sides every 25.

One glimpse of a water aeorbics class doing pelvic thrusts can scar you for life.[/reply]

LOL! I just went through this during my morning swim! I was breathing to the south side of the pool now matter what direction I was swimming. My eyes still hurt a little from a few glances I did manage :)

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Fatigue is biochemical, not biomechanical.
- Andrew Coggan, PhD

Good points already about just making yourself do it. I don't know if you breath now every 2 or 4 strokes but what I find helpful with some people, particularly those who breath every 2 strokes is to follow a pattern of breathing that is breath good side 2 strokes, 3 strokes to breath on off side, 2 strokes with breath on off side, 3 strokes to breath on good side, 2 strokes on good side, etc. That way you are spending half of the time getting a breath every 2 strokes versus every 3. After a bit of this, the pattern can get old and you'll likely just start going every 3 strokes.

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Jason
Dig It Triathlon and Multisport
http://www.digittri.com

I've been working on this for about 6 months now. It's finally where it feels natural, but I can't do it for more than 500 at a time yet. But it's getting there.

Here's how I built up to where I am.

I started by bilateral breathing when I pulled. It was easier, since I wasn't kicking and was more efficient, so I didn't use as much oxygen...ie...need to breathe as often (hard).

Then I moved to going 50 m (I swim long course) bilateral, then 150 every stroke, 100 bilateral, then 150 every stroke and the last 50 bilateral. I'd do long swim insets of 500, taking only about 15 sec between each one.

Then I moved to putting the sets of 500 together, so I was swimming 50 bl, 150 every other, 100 bl, 150 every other 100 bl, 150 every other 100 bl, etc...

I then changed to where I was doing bl breathing 100 at a time, and some 150s at once, just swimming long. When I was here is where I started to incorporate them into my intervals. When I was doing 50s, I bl breathe every other interval, and if i were doing longer, normally I'd start with bl breathing, then do every other and finish with bl breathing (in each interval).

I just kept adding to the bl breathing each time. I normally stuck to each level for a couple weeks to a month. Just building to where it was comfortable.

I've made my goal for this season to do the swim in a sprint tri (500 M) all bilateral, and to keep working at it in the pool. I'm faster (about 5 sec/100 M) when I bilateral breathe (for some reason I change my kick when I bilateral breathe and apparently it's a better kick), so hopefully I'll be able to cut some time off my swim and be able to be really competitive in the open water swims here.

It will take time, especially if you've been swimming for a while (I'd been swimming for 9 years before I tried to bilateral breathe). Make it a goal for the season, so you don't get discouraged by not getting it all the sudden.

Hope this helps.

Keep with it...bilateral breathing is a very good way to have a balanced swim with good shoulder turn.....it's also very useful in open water swimming...doing some Total Immersion drills such as one arm lead drills, single switch and triple switch drills could help.....

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Michael in Kansas
"Once you learn to quit, it becomes a habit"
"Its not whether you get knocked down, it's whether you get up" Lombardi

Oh yeah, I did a bunch of one arm drills to get used to breathing on the 'wrong' side...helped a LOT.

5 months ago, I couldn't swim two lengths breathing every 2, never mind every 3. As I built up my endurance I really wanted to breath bi-laterally as whenever I did it, it felt so much more balanced and faster, though only for the odd length that I could sustain. Usually I would breath bi-laterally until I was exhausted and then continue breathing to the right, typically after 2 to 4 lengths. Every so often I'd try breathing every 5 so that every 3 would feel much easier. Today I swam 3km bi-laterally with flip turns throughout. I think the secret is just to do it as much as you can and gradually it will get easier. I wanted to do the flip turns to prevent me having the easy option of an extra couple of breaths at the end of a length, and it all aids your stamina. I don't think even one month ago I would ever have thought it possible that I could swim such a distance with bi-lateral breathing, I just thought I wasn't cut out for it. Just do it, it will get easier.

As a step in between, you could always try breathing 2-3-2-3, etc. This will get both sides but also gets you that extra breath. I do most of my racing and harder training with this style. (I have no swimming background, so there may be downfalls I'm not aware of).

I force myself to always breathe facing the clock at my pool. This way I am breathing on my strong side the first 25 and then breathing on my weak side the 2nd 25, and can see my time when I hit the wall. My weak side is almost as strong as my strong side now, although I still prefer to breathe on my strong side when I'm racing.
I also really try to think about what my weak side arm is doing and where it's going when it's in the water.
Maybe a pull bouy would help focus?

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"In order to arrive at what you are not, you must move throught the way in which you are not."
T.S. Elliot

I breathe every 3 strokes when I'm warming up, swimming slow, etc.

Sometimes I'll breathe on one side for a while (5 strokes, ten strokes, or a length), then the other side.

When I'm swimming fast or racing, I go back to breathing on my strong side.

If it's just comfort you're worried about, I'd second the suggestion to do some 1 armed drills and just drills in particular. Usually, I've found that if I learn something in slow motion first, or isolated first, it is much easier to do it correctly at full speed later.

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Slowguy

(insert pithy phrase here...)

I am totally right sided. This is how I taught myself years ago.

I frequently see people turning their heads forward when they breathe on the weak side. They also breathe too late. So,...

Do a bunch of slow 25s breathing on the weak side. Start the turn of the head on the weak side, as the hand on that side passes under your face. Turn, look slightly back toward the shoulder and roll the back of your head into the water, to keep from rearing up and dropping the hips. Try to get the face back into the water before your weakside hand passes your head on the recovery. Then try to have an equal body roll to the opposite side, so you aren't doing a sidestrok thing. Do it with and without a pull buoy.

Then do slow lengths breathing every 3rd stroke while trying to maintain body position and rhythm.

Then just do a bunch of swimming breathing left one length and right the next. Try to make each lap as smooth as the last.

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_________________
Dick

Take everything I say with a grain of salt. I know nothing.

Maybe this is a stupid question but i fail to see the point in it. I can do both but i don't practice on my other side. If you look at pro 1500m swimmers they do the same side every stoke.

Grant

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Grant
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I used a pullbouy untill I was comfortable exhaling completely on my left side. Then it just seemed natural.

jaretj

My coach has me doing sets breathing at different intervals - 25 y breathing every 2nd stroke, followed by 25 @ each of every 3rd, every 4th, every 5th, etc up to every 7th. That really helped me get comfortable breathing bilaterally, as well as develop comfort in crowded open-water swims when coming up for a breath into a large wave. Give it a try - I'm a hideous swimmer, but this really helped me.

For me bi-lateral was necessary as I pulled massively to one side breathing only to my strong side.

With bi-lateral I swim straighter.

If you are naturally a straight swimmer and you can do it should the need arrise(swells, buoys on weak side, etc.) then I suppose there is no reason to practice it.

I did find out early on that I need more oxygen then every-3rd, but I am working on that. Maybe I will have to try the 2-3-2-3, but I am extremely bad at doing mutliple things at once in sport. Counting and swimming at the same time is a big challenge for me, especially when it is asymetric such as 2-3-2-3.

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Swim - Bike - Run the rest is just clothing changes.

I totally understand about trying to do too much while swimming. With the alt bilateral pattern basically you don't need to count you just have to alternate between bilateral and 2 stroke breathing. That will have you breathing often, bilaterally breathing and gaining confidence as you go.

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Jason
Dig It Triathlon and Multisport
http://www.digittri.com

An easy change that might help you. I was a 75% bilateral breather in that I preferred one side over the other and wanted to equalize so both sides feel equally comfortable and balanced. My usual breathing pattern is 2-2-3, so both sides are used equally during workouts, but wasn't enough to make either side feel the same comfort. I simply changed the side that I use for my first breath after a flip turn, absolutely no other changes. This will also make you think about your body position after turning as you'll have to turn to twist to the opposite side after the flip. I Was breathing first ALWAYS on the more comfortable side prior to change - didn't even notice this until I started paying attention, now is ALWAYS the other side. After a few weeks it became automatic. Now they are both 100% equal.

Cheers

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some days you're the windshield some days the bug