Swim Myth #7 .....Busted

Triathlon Forum
1

Myth #7: When it comes to getting oxygen in freestyle, breathing every cycle is as good as it gets.

In almost every other sport but swimming (freestyle), we get the luxury of breathing whenever we want. Typically, with maximal exertion, that means we are inhaling at a respiratory rate of between 50 and 65 times per minute. Not so in swimming.
Most swimmers breathe every cycle and to one side only (a cycle is two arm strokes, or hand entry to hand entry). Since most triathletes turn their arms over slowly (say 35 to 55 strokes per minute), that means the respiratory rate while swimming is 18 to 28; hardly what one would do voluntarily, if one had the choice. (try running or biking with that respiratory rate and see how you do!)
But you do have a choice…sort of. First, you can learn to swim with a higher stroke rate and second, you can try a different breathing pattern. Specifically, I am referring to a 2:3 pattern rather than a 1:2 pattern of breathing. What that means in the Left Stroke Breath Right (LBR), Right Stroke Breathe Left (RBL) Left Stroke no breath (L), Right Stroke no breath (R) terminology is the following:

LBR, RBL, L, RBL, LBR, R, LBR, RBL, L etc

So, as is so common in swimming, this too presents compromise. What are the pros and cons?

Pros: You get 27% more oxygen than if you breathe every cycle, and with oxygen you’ll produce 15 times more ATP than without it, and hopefully produce less lactate. You get the associated benefit of breathing more…less fatigue. You get to see the scenery on both sides of the lake or pool.

Cons: Most swimmers feel awkward breathing to their weak side. The act of breathing slows the stroke rate. Breathing often results in the arm being pulled too far under the body, creating more drag. If there is a nice swell on one side, breathing to that side may lead to swallowing more water.

So this begs the question, if this 2:3 pattern is so good, why don’t world class distance swimmers use it? Not sure. It may be that it is yet an undiscovered technique…or, more likely, in the world of superbly conditioned, oxygen deprived distance swimmers, it may be that the cons outweigh the pros. But for this almost 60 year old not so superbly conditioned swimmer, who enters an ocean swim once or twice a year, I love the 2:3 pattern. And for those triathletes who dare to try it (and it takes some getting used to), you may not jump out of the water any faster than by breathing every cycle, but, barring swallowing more water, I’ll bet you will feel a lot better.

Gary Sr.

2

myth 7 isnt a myth.

3

I agree with your points. Many struggling triathletes have a very slow turnover rate and this breathing pattern may help. It would also promote a balanced roation of the body which can improve power and better body position. Practice makes perfect, so this should be practiced regularly so when you hit open water it feels natural.
.

4

I’ve found the 2:3 works great in open water and have been swimming that way for a while as long as the sun isn’t in my eyes too much on one side.

5

Do you have a link to any video of someone using this breathing pattern?

6

Myth #7: When it comes to getting oxygen in freestyle, breathing every cycle is as good as it gets.

In almost every other sport but swimming (freestyle), we get the luxury of breathing whenever we want. Typically, with maximal exertion, that means we are inhaling at a respiratory rate of between 50 and 65 times per minute. Not so in swimming.
Most swimmers breathe every cycle and to one side only (a cycle is two arm strokes, or hand entry to hand entry). Since most triathletes turn their arms over slowly (say 35 to 55 strokes per minute), that means the respiratory rate while swimming is 18 to 28; hardly what one would do voluntarily, if one had the choice. (try running or biking with that respiratory rate and see how you do!)
But you do have a choice…sort of. First, you can learn to swim with a higher stroke rate and second, you can try a different breathing pattern. Specifically, I am referring to a 2:3 pattern rather than a 1:2 pattern of breathing. What that means in the Left Stroke Breath Right (LBR), Right Stroke Breathe Left (RBL) Left Stroke no breath (L), Right Stroke no breath (R) terminology is the following:

LBR, RBL, L, RBL, LBR, R, LBR, RBL, L etc

So, as is so common in swimming, this too presents compromise. What are the pros and cons?

Pros: You get 27% more oxygen than if you breathe every cycle, and with oxygen you’ll produce 15 times more ATP than without it, and hopefully produce less lactate. You get the associated benefit of breathing more…less fatigue. You get to see the scenery on both sides of the lake or pool.

Cons: Most swimmers feel awkward breathing to their weak side. The act of breathing slows the stroke rate. Breathing often results in the arm being pulled too far under the body, creating more drag. If there is a nice swell on one side, breathing to that side may lead to swallowing more water.

So this begs the question, if this 2:3 pattern is so good, why don’t world class distance swimmers use it? Not sure. It may be that it is yet an undiscovered technique…or, more likely, in the world of superbly conditioned, oxygen deprived distance swimmers, it may be that the cons outweigh the pros. But for this almost 60 year old not so superbly conditioned swimmer, who enters an ocean swim once or twice a year, I love the 2:3 pattern. And for those triathletes who dare to try it (and it takes some getting used to), you may not jump out of the water any faster than by breathing every cycle, but, barring swallowing more water, I’ll bet you will feel a lot better.

Gary Sr.

I agree that I could certainly use more 02 when swimming. But I wonder about your math. When breathing a 2/2 pattern when running you only get around 22 breaths per minute, which is in line with your “slow turnover triathlete swimmer”. (2/2 means two steps for inhale, two steps for exhale, or one complete breath every 4 steps. A running cadence of 90 steps per minute gives 22.5 breaths per minute.)

7

why ? could you elaborate a bit

8

Do you have a link to any video of someone using this breathing pattern?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-bHqFVuwgM

Cheers, Chris
.

9

If someone has a copy of the swim leg of the triathlon at the Beijing Olympics, I noticed one of the leaders doing this or something like this.

10

A running cadence of 90 steps per minute gives 22.5 breaths per minute.)

I don’t know much about swimming but I do know that the recommended running cadence of 90 is referring to one leg ie. 180 steps per minute. Your scenario of breathing every four steps would then give you 45 breaths per minute.

11

This is interesting–I was brought up to believe that breathing increased drag a lot (besides the stroke problems you cite).
Any sense of how much breathing slows you down if you’re a reasonably efficient swimmer? (eg would this be good for a USS distance swimmer)

12

i breath:

LBR R L RBL L R

How does this compare to your 2:3 pattern?
thanks

13

LBR, RBL, L, RBL, LBR, R, LBR, RBL, L etc., oh man, one more thing to think about when swimming. I already lose track of how many laps I am doing, jeez I’m gonna need a coxswain to call this out for me. (just kidding)

14

Myth #7: When it comes to getting oxygen in freestyle, breathing every cycle is as good as it gets.

In almost every other sport but swimming (freestyle), we get the luxury of breathing whenever we want. Typically, with maximal exertion, that means we are inhaling at a respiratory rate of between 50 and 65 times per minute. Not so in swimming.
Most swimmers breathe every cycle and to one side only (a cycle is two arm strokes, or hand entry to hand entry). Since most triathletes turn their arms over slowly (say 35 to 55 strokes per minute), that means the respiratory rate while swimming is 18 to 28; hardly what one would do voluntarily, if one had the choice. (try running or biking with that respiratory rate and see how you do!)
But you do have a choice…sort of. First, you can learn to swim with a higher stroke rate and second, you can try a different breathing pattern. Specifically, I am referring to a 2:3 pattern rather than a 1:2 pattern of breathing. What that means in the Left Stroke Breath Right (LBR), Right Stroke Breathe Left (RBL) Left Stroke no breath (L), Right Stroke no breath (R) terminology is the following:

LBR, RBL, L, RBL, LBR, R, LBR, RBL, L etc

So, as is so common in swimming, this too presents compromise. What are the pros and cons?

Pros: You get 27% more oxygen than if you breathe every cycle, and with oxygen you’ll produce 15 times more ATP than without it, and hopefully produce less lactate. You get the associated benefit of breathing more…less fatigue. You get to see the scenery on both sides of the lake or pool.

Cons: Most swimmers feel awkward breathing to their weak side. The act of breathing slows the stroke rate. Breathing often results in the arm being pulled too far under the body, creating more drag. If there is a nice swell on one side, breathing to that side may lead to swallowing more water.

So this begs the question, if this 2:3 pattern is so good, why don’t world class distance swimmers use it? Not sure. It may be that it is yet an undiscovered technique…or, more likely, in the world of superbly conditioned, oxygen deprived distance swimmers, it may be that the cons outweigh the pros. But for this almost 60 year old not so superbly conditioned swimmer, who enters an ocean swim once or twice a year, I love the 2:3 pattern. And for those triathletes who dare to try it (and it takes some getting used to), you may not jump out of the water any faster than by breathing every cycle, but, barring swallowing more water, I’ll bet you will feel a lot better.

Gary Sr.

“Left Stroke Breath Right (LBR), Right Stroke Breathe Left (RBL)”?

Surely you mean left stroke/breathe left (LB) and right stroke/breathe right (RB). So that gives LB, RB, L and R.

“try running or biking with that respiratory rate and see how you do!”

Try running or biking with your arms/shoulders/back for propulsion and see how much less oxygen you need.

“why don’t world class distance swimmers use it?”

Because lack of oxygenated blood isn’t a limiter with distance swimming?

15

The idea of breathing left then right (or right then left) is liberating to me. Its a tool I can use to prevent myself from doing “just a few strokes” of breaststroke when I feel out of breath.

I observed the this technique put to good use by the winner of the 13-14 girls 500 (4:57), 1000 (10:08) and 1650 (16:58) Indiana SCY State Championships in March. She took a breath to each side prior to each turn - presumably so she could work the underwater portion from off the wall a little longer.

David K.

16

If someone has a copy of the swim leg of the triathlon at the Beijing Olympics, I noticed one of the leaders doing this or something like this.

I thought I noticed the winner of the open water 5k using this too. Can anyone find the videos? I also thought I saw him switching between hip driven, shoulder driven and hybrid stroke too.

Thanks

17

Gary, You completely ignore 1/2 of the breathing pattern…the exhale. When running an athlete has no resistance to the exhale. While swimming the athlete must force the exhale. This takes longer and is not always possible to complete with the LBR, RBL, L, RBL, LBR, R, LBR, RBL, pattern.

My high school swim coach always stressed to us that the exhale should be the determining factor on your breathing/stroke pattern, not the inhale. IOW, fully complete the exhale then breath. Any thoughts?

18

Since you brought this pattern up months ago I switched to it and LOVE it! What is always funny is a lot of folks are not able to breath on both sides. For balance, see other racers, dealing with waves, and getting more air, seems to me this is a MUST. We do not bike 1 legged. We do not run 1 legged. So why anyone would breath only on 1 side is nuts.

I have no issues doing my exhales while doing the 2:3 pattern.

In the past, the main thing that limited my swimming performance, on top of no high elbow, was the lack of air. With the 2:3 pattern in my tool kit, this issue is not eliminated from my list of issues.

19

While everyone is different and has a different breathing pattern this is one of your myths that I don’t feel is accurate. There are just so many things that aren’t taken into consideration, especially for 95% of the members of this board that do not swim very well. Just the first few off the top of my head…

  1. Deep inhale, full exhale is the best breathing pattern you can have. This cycle takes a few seconds to do each time. When running and biking you have the liberty to breathe whenever you want, your not swinging your arms around and turning your head to do so, so you can get away with shorter quicker breaths and still get enough oxygen into your system. I can’t imagine taking 65 breaths per minute. Maybe, and still probably not, after an all out sprint or working my but off up a long climb on the bike. Frankly, most people here don’t work that hard in the swim and if they are breathing that much, or as much as you are suggesting, it is because they are breathing very inefficiently…very shallow and quick and not really giving the body time to process even that oxygen. To me this will only add to it.

  2. The legs are what use the majority of the oxygen. In the swimming leg, triathletes use much less of there legs then a swimmer in just a swimming race would. Therefore less oxygen usage, and a slower breathing pattern is possible. When pulling in practice, I can easily go a 6 to 8 stroke breathing pattern. This is similar to when I wear a wetsuit. Unless you have a high turnover and a resonably strong kick there is no need to breath every stroke.

  3. Swimming is already very disorienting to most. If I am standing in one place and try to swing my arms and turn my head to each side to breathe in this pattern after a very short time I am dizzy and disoriented. I even get that way in the open water sometimes breathing at a much slower controlled every 2, 4 or even 6 strokes. Then you throw in trying to sight and yo uahve your head going every direction, spining your arms, and trying to breath very quick short breaths. All that leads to disaster for most.

20

Can you explain this breathing more? I don’t understand the 2:3 breathing example.