[darkpuma]

> "in a 500+ race, there are big debates about whether to breathe every 2 or 3 strokes."

It seems to me that debate is less about lung capacity and more about breathing on one side or two (e.g. bilateral breathing.) For me it's always seemed obvious that bilateral swimming should be the desired ideal. Most of my peers favored one side or the other, because in the beginning they had a very slight preference and over time as they used that side only, that preference was reinforced to the point where it became downright awkward to breath on the "wrong" side. If you train against this from the beginning, it seems to me that your times will improve (if only because every three strokes is less breathing, which of course is faster, all else being equal) and you won't have to worry about any physiological asymmetries.

[GreedCtrl]

I think it's a tradeoff between resources and efficiency. The longer the race, the more you need to manage your air. Breathing more means a bit more drag, but also more energy to finish the race. Which option is better for you depends on your strength, endurance, distance, and probably many other factors.

Of course in training, ideally you would breathe to both sides—Michel Phelps alternates every 50.

[fc373745]

I disagree. breathing to one side usually every 2 strokes has been the ideal ever since 2008 200 free beijing. I switched then and now you're right in the sense that breathing to my strong side is awkward as hell, but I dont think i'll ever look back to every 3

[darkpuma]

I think switching once you're an established swimmer is going to be virtually impossible, at least if you want to be competitive. I think it's something that should be trained as early as possible. If any established Olympic swimmer tries to make the change, my guess is they won't be swimming at an Olympic level any longer, because breathing on a single side is a pretty good local maxima (only marginally worse than bilateral) but getting out of that local maxima would involve degrading your performance for however long it takes for bilateral swimming to feel just as natural, which might take years for all I know. I don't know if there are any top-tier swimmers who've ever made the switch and remained competitive, I've not looked into it that far, but I suspect there aren't.

I also belief (with no scientific evidence) that training bilateral from the beginning is even more advantageous for mediocre to poor swimmers, since the symmetry in breathing will make their form in general more symmetric and consequently more efficient. Obviously bilateral breathing is not necessary to achieve excellent form, as demonstrated by the vast majority of Olympic swimmers, but I believe it should make it easier for the common swimmer.

[dredmorbius]

I switched from strong-side to alternating late in my training (17, had been swimming for 10 years). It was awkward for a few weeks, but became comfortable. My times improved through this period.