Swim drill
3-3-3 Bilateral
Breathe every third stroke, so the breathing side alternates on its own — right, left, right. Builds an even stroke and breaks single-side dependence.
The one cue
“Exhale into the water”
The lesson
- 1
Breathe every third stroke
Count three arm strokes, take a breath, three more, take a breath. Because three is odd, the side alternates on its own — that is what bilateral means.
- 2
Rotate to breathe, don't lift
Your head turns with your body roll. Lifting it drops your hips.
- 3
One goggle in, one out
Breathe into the trough beside your head rather than turning your face up to the sky. That's the target, not just avoiding the lift.
- 4
The test
A steady exhale into the water between breaths. If you find yourself sneaking an extra breath before your weaker side comes round, you've stopped doing the drill.
Watch out for
- Holding breath, then exhaling fast at the surface
- Lifting the head instead of rotating to breathe
- Slipping to every second stroke when the weak side comes up
Appears in these routines