Main Set Thursday - Bilateral Breathing

With triathlon season already in motion, many masters swimmers need to be “encouraged” to practice their bilateral breathing.  Sure, it feels really unnatural.  But it does get easier (and can smooth out your stroke) if you practice it every day.   For some examples of how to get creative with bilateral breathing, check out Sara McLarty’s Go Swim Triathlon Skills.

WARMUP:  400 on your own

WARMUP SET:  200
8 X 25
1-2:  Breathe every 3
3-4:  Breathe every 2…every 3
5-6:  Breahe Left for half a length, then breathe R
7-8:  Your choice of bilateral pattern

MAIN SET:  1800
Swim three rounds of the following.  If you can keep the ABF (Anything But Free) 100s on the same sendoff/turnaround as the Freestyle 100s, that’s ideal.  If you need a little extra rest after the ABF 100s (5-15 seconds), that’s OK.  Otherwise, keep things rolling!

5 X 100 Free on a sendoff/turnaround that gives approx. 20 seconds rest
1 X 100 ABF

Goal #1:  Your average time for the 100s Free should get a little faster in each round.
Goal #2:  Establish a bilateral breathing pattern that you can maintain for the entire set!