You will have certainly heard about alternate freestyle breathing, but have you ever wondered what the real benefits are?
Alternate breathing means breathing every three strokes or, rather, the ability to breathe both sides of the body.
It is important to be taught alternate breathing when you are young, because this will give you:
1. A better balanced stroke. If this basic is overlooked, you are likely to have an asymmetrical swim stroke when you are older.
2. Good propulsion in the water. As mentioned above, alternate breathing gives you better balance and hence less rotation of the shoulders and better forward thrust.
This is extremely important for triathletes, too, and not just swimmers. It allows you to maintain an efficient swim stroke in such disparate situations as waves, swimming around a buoy and/or checking the position of your closest rivals.
Here are some exercises you can include in your training to either learn how to breathe alternately or improve your alternate breathing:
Learn to count to 3. Everybody knows three is the perfect number. Breathing every stroke would interfere with your balance and body position, while breathing every 5 or 7 strokes is tricky if you are an inexperienced swimmer.
- 8x25m freestyle breathing every 3…
