Front Crawl Breathing Technique: Optimize Your Swimming Efficiency

Question
Hi, I swim frequently doing approx 2/3s of a mile. I also run etc so am reasonably fit. I wanted to check and improve my front crawl style and was told the only thing I was doing wrong was breathing every cycle on the same side and should change to breathing every third stroke on alternate sides. I have found this makes me about 10 slower and more breathless...should I persist or revert to breathing each cycle? Thanks

Answer
Hi Michael,

I, too, had the same problem when I was younger. It depends on what your race is, actually. If you're swimming a long distance, then yes, you should be breathing every third stroke. For sprints, however, you can break that rule and instead, breathe whenever you need to.

April