Freestyle bilateral breathing isn’t difficult—here are three techniques to practice for better breathing.

•4 min read
Freestyle bilateral breathing isn’t difficult—here are three techniques to practice for better breathing.
Once a freestyle swimmer can breathe smoothly and effortlessly, their breathing rhythm is arguably the most comfortable among the common swimming strokes. Mastering efficient freestyle breathing involves three key requirements: seamlessly switching between single-sided and bilateral breathing, adjusting the rhythm for balanced bilateral breathing, and mastering the technique of exhaling through both the mouth and nose.
Some swimmers may think that as long as they can breathe effectively, alternating breaths on one side is sufficient—and there’s no need to bother learning bilateral breathing. However, this belief is a common misconception. Bilateral breathing isn’t just about mastering the act of breathing; it also directly influences the overall rhythm of your stroke and helps maintain a stable swimming direction.
Most importantly, transitioning from the pool to open-water environments requires bilateral breathing as an essential skill—single-sided breathing in open water often leads to a variety of challenges, potentially even forcing swimmers to stop altogether.
1. Transitioning from single-sided breathing to bilateral breathing
Preliminary bilateral breathing means you can breathe equally well on either the left or right side; however, most swimmers naturally feel more comfortable and confident breathing on one side—this is known as their "strong-side breathing," while the opposite side becomes their "weak-side breathing."
The first step in practicing bilateral breathing is to consciously force yourself to breathe on your weaker side. During this process, you may occasionally sip water or even experience mild choking—issues that can easily be addressed by temporarily switching to your stronger-side breathing and then gradually correcting the technique by comparing the two sides. Typically, the root cause of breathing difficulties lies in improper arm-stroke mechanics or insufficient body-rotation angles.
Only by improving weak-side breathing—bringing it to the same effortless and comfortable level as your dominant-side breathing—can you truly master bilateral breathing.
It's important to note that there are differences between weak-side breathing and strong-side breathing in terms of head-turning timing and breath-holding duration. Although some swimmers no longer experience weaker breathing on their non-dominant side, they still exhibit slight variations compared to their dominant-side technique—specifically in head-turning cues and breath-hold length. While these differences may not affect performance over short distances, they can re-emerge as a challenge when swimming longer distances.

2. Dynamically adjust the pace of movements
After mastering bilateral breathing in the beginner stage, practice swimming with different stroke rhythms—first focusing on a 3-stroke-to-1-breath and 5-stroke-to-1-breath cadence, then progressing to 4-stroke-to-1-breath and 6-stroke-to-1-breath on one side, before switching to the opposite side for those same rhythms.
It's important to note that beginners are not advised to start with the two-stroke-one-turn breathing rhythm, even though this method closely mimics a person’s natural breathing pattern on land. However, once swimmers become accustomed to this rhythm for freestyle breathing, it can actually make it harder to later learn alternative breathing techniques. Therefore, it’s best to first master the three-stroke-one-turn and four-stroke-one-turn rhythms, and only then, when you’re fully comfortable, consider incorporating the two-stroke-one-turn technique when needed.
When adjusting your stroke rhythm, the key is to maintain stable and symmetrical body rotation. The more consistent the amplitude of rotation is on both sides—left and right—the more stable your body's central axis will remain, leading to greater swimming efficiency and making it easier to fine-tune your breathing rhythm at any moment.

3. Techniques for Bilateral Breathing Exercises
Under normal circumstances, exhalation can be done through the nose or mouth, while inhalation is always performed only through the mouth. During breathing exercises, you can try exhaling entirely through your nose underwater—or alternatively, exhaling solely through your mouth—and then, as you turn your head to surface, combine both nose and mouth for exhalation. This will help you experience the difference between exhaling simultaneously through both the mouth and nose versus using just one or the other.
When doing breathing exercises, avoid deliberately pressing your head downward to prevent lifting it—this can easily disrupt your body’s center axis. A better approach is to gently rest your head on your forward-reaching arm.
A crucial point is that turning your head to breathe relies on naturally rotating your head as you lean your body sideways—never tense your neck. If your neck feels strained, it’s a sign that you’re not yet comfortable with the head-turning motion while leaning to the side.
Additionally, when practicing unilateral swimming strokes, keep your eyes focused steadily on the waterline on one side, maintaining a consistent distance from it. However, avoid trying to look directly at the waterline horizontally—instead, shift your gaze slightly backward. Looking straight ahead horizontally can easily cause your head to drift off course.
Once you master bilateral breathing, you no longer need to stick to it every single time—feel free to switch between sides depending on the situation and how you’re feeling. Now, swimming in open water means you won’t have to worry about direct sunlight, sudden waves, or even those tiny splashes anymore. With bilateral breathing, you’ll feel more confident and in control!

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