The Art of Bi-Lateral Breathing

For the last six years, I watched my daughters compete on recreation and competitive swim teams. I can remember sitting in the stands wondering why she wasn't going faster. Why is she taking so many breaths? Oh the thoughts that ran through my head. 


As a part of my off season training, I've vowed to work on BLB, or Bi-Lateral Breathing. As a part of my BLB training, I'm going back to the basics and following Sara McLarty's Learning How to Swim workouts. Today I completed Workout 3 of Week 1 while focusing on BLB. 

Workout #3  800 Total

• 100 warm up swim                  :60 seconds rest
• 4x75 (25 kick/50 swim)           With :45 seconds rest between each 75
• 4x75 pull                                  With :30 seconds rest between each 75
• 100 cool down swim

By the end of the workout, I think I gained five pounds due to the amount of water I inhaled. Breath left, stroke, stroke, breath right, choke, choke. 

According to an article on TriFuel, the most common fault is to under roll on your non-breathing side. 

This under-rolling can lead to less power as you don’t finish your swim stroke as strongly as you could if you were on your breathing side. Bi-lateral breathing helps you smooth out the stroke, keeps you balanced, and in some cases lets you swim in a straighter line. 

Swim a straight line? I always veer to the left. Could it be because I breath on the left and my left side stroke is stronger? Definitely!


Key points to take note of: Roll to the right, finish your stroke and the result will be to swim in a straight(er) line. 


So as frustrating as it may be I will continue to work on BLB. Over time, I know it will get easier and my body won't have to purge five pounds of water weight after each swim.