This study aimed to compare active drag (Da), coefficient of hydrodynamic force (CDa) and, total external mechanical power (Ptot) between two breathing patterns in breaststroke: breathing every stroke versus every two strokes. A 6-week intervention program was conducted. Fifteen swimmers carried out two all-out bouts of 25 m using the velocity perturbation method in each breathing pattern. The study analyzed the swimmers` velocity (swimming freely and with the towed body), Da, CDa and Ptot . Individual data analysis revealed that 40 % of the sample experienced a decrease in Da when breathing every two strokes, with some achieving higher velocities. Conversely, nine swimmers exhibited lower Da values while breathing every stroke, with six of them also showing higher velocity values compared to breathing every two strokes. When comparing the pooled sample using paired t-tests, no differences were found in Da, CDa and Ptot between the two breathing patterns. Furthermore, using ANCOVA analysis, results indicated that neither sex nor swimming velocity influenced the variables studied.
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