Mixing things up a bit can give you the best of all breathing options.

Breathing twice quickly to the same side can get you just a bit more air, but as we’ve talked about, it can leave you leaning too much to one side.  So alternating 2 breaths to one side, then taking three strokes, then taking two breaths to the other side, can work on bilateral breathing, plus give you just a bit more air if you’re working hard.

Making sure that you completely exhale when you’re breathing on every stroke helps make those breaths more effective.  Taking a pause from breathing to take that extra stroke can allow you time to rebalance, focus on your extension and head position, and then get you to the air on the other side, which will help you build a more symmetrical stroke.

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Breathe every 2 then 3