Performance Breathing for Phase IV/OCS Swipes?

[JClayton]

Coaches Sonnon, Szolek, Jones, and all other OCS strongpersons,

I'm working through the Phase IV program for Swipes and Mills with an eye towards future OCS competition, and I've been trying to figure out the best way to breath while doing Swipes. I'm finding that as my rest periods get shorter and as the number of reps done in each one minute interval become greater, breathing is becoming more and more important.

In the OCS manual (p. 3 A-B), Coach Szolek discusses performance breathing for the basic arm swing and uses the example of exhaling during the backswing and inhaling during the arm swing. This is all well and good for doing the simple movement, but for the complete Swipe I am unsure how to breath.

I have tried taking one breath per Swipe rep, inhaling during the arm swing, but that doesn't seem like enough breathing. It seems natural to exhale during the explosion out of back position, but if you are also exhaling during the hip fold, do you just not inhale again until the next arm swing?

If I try to take two breaths, then the more natural way seems to be to reverse the performance breathing. This would be to inhale during the backswing, exhale during the arm swing, inhale while moving through back position, and exhale into the double arm-pit cast.

What do you recommend? Is there an optimal breathing pattern for Swipes? Or should I just do what feels natural to me?

(I've looked through the OCS manual, the CST book, and the forum, but I can't find the answer that I'm looking for, so my apologies if this is discussed elsewhere and I just couldn't find it.)

Thanks,

[Coach Jones]

-When in doubt exhale on compression and inhale on expansion.

Brandon Jones
CST Head Coach

[JClayton]

Coach Jones,

Thank you. Yes, I understand the principle as you've stated it. What I still don't quite get is how to apply it correctly when doing Swipes.

Are you suggesting to take one breath per Swipe rep?

This would entail considering the "compression" to last from the explosion out of back position through the hip fold. The "expansion" would then start at the hip snap and then last until coiling into back position.

Is this correct?

Thanks,

[JasonE]

If I try to take two breaths, then the more natural way seems to be to reverse the Performance Breathing™. This would be to inhale during the backswing, exhale during the arm swing, inhale while moving through back position, and exhale into the double arm-pit cast.

This is my experience also, and it feels pretty natural, but I'm open to suggestions. When I watch the CST tape, it looks like Scott is double-breathing as described above.

[Coach Jones]

Check out Coach Sonnon's article opn performance breathing in this month's CST Mag. It should answer all your questions (or at least get you pointed in the right direction).

Coach Jones
CST Head Coach

[Doug Szolek]

An oldie but goody:

http://www.rmax.tv/articles/ds4.html

I go into breathing through the swipe in a good bit of detail in this article, if you got a minute I think it'll clear up a lot of your confusion.

Basically though:
Back Swing = Deepest Exhalation (of the entire movement)

Upward Arc = Moderate Passive Inhalation

Back Loaded Position = Moderate Passive Exhalation (only to the point that your structure can allow, there has to be some exhalation to absorb the coiling of your shoulders under the weight but due to the expansion of your ribcage exhalation can't be too deep.)

Explosion Out of Back Loaded Position = Further Exhalation leading into the Back Swing.

So breath in on the way up and out on the way down.

Let me know if you need further clarification, I'm happy to help.

[Lee Hadden]

Hi Justin,

Focus only on your exhalation at the points of compression and expansion, rather than on inhalation.

As Coach Szolek recommends, focus on a powerful exhalation at the deepest range of the back swing to drive you upwards and back into the loaded armpit cast position. Shock absorb with another strong exhalation to fire "out of the hole".

Allow yourself to Be Breathed by the movement. The movement will then be carried through smoothly by the breathing pattern.

Experiment with the advice given from Coaches Jones, Szolek, and myself, to find your natural groove.

Coach Hadden
CST Head Coach

[Jay76]

Its amazing how much your breathing is called into play on swipes. To get that weight from overhead and through, you need to really need to exhale deeply to get through that sticking point. If I don't breath good though it, forget about it.. :wink:

Jay

[JClayton]

Thank you everyone for the advice. I'll try to implement this on my Swipes workout tomorrow morning, and report back on how it felt.

Regards,

[JClayton]

I just finished my Swipes for today and completed 16 x 12 in 15:45 with the 15#s. I focused on changing my breathing patterns, trying to implement the advice of Coaches Szolek, Jones, and Hadden.

Somewhere in the middle of the workout I found a new breathing groove and the movement definitely felt different than how I have felt it in previous workouts. It felt less like a weight training exercise and more like running, if that makes any sense.

During the last few reps of the last few sets, as I was getting a nasty left arm pump, I found myself reverting to a two-breath per rep breathing pattern with more of a forced inhalation. I felt that gave me a little more short-term power, but it also felt more tiring than the passive inhalation, one-breath method.

So, I think I made a significant improvement today, and will work to maintain the performance breathing pattern throughout all my reps in the next torture session...er...I mean Double-D workout.

Thanks again everyone for the advice.

Regards,

[Nonomori]

If I try to take two breaths, then the more natural way seems to be to reverse the Performance Breathing™. This would be to inhale during the backswing, exhale during the arm swing, inhale while moving through back position, and exhale into the double arm-pit cast.

What do you recommend? Is there an optimal breathing pattern for Swipes? Or should I just do what feels natural to me?

Does the advice given in this thread apply to Performance Swipes as well as Technical Swipes? I ask because I have been breathing as described in this quote while doing my Performance Swipes. I've got a bit of a control-pause catching CTO in the Power Clean after the Back Swing, and then I inhale as I lever the Clubbells into Back Position. This feels natural in motion, but it has struck me as a bit uncontrolled, since I stop the inhale as I drop into Back Position, and it does not seem natural to keep the core activated in that pause.

Obviously, there is time (and probable necessity) for two breaths in a single rep of a Performance Swipe, but after reading this thread I'm wondering if I wouldn't be better off doing my two inhalations during (a) the Back Swing and (b) the pause in CTO before levering into Back Position. Exhalations would begin (a) at the suspension point of the Back Swing to assist in the Power Clean to CTO and (b) at the initiation of the Armpit Cast.

[Lee Hadden]

Justin,

Great progress - keep working on the exhalation: Be Breathed by the structure & movement of the Swipe!

Coach Hadden
CST Head Coach

[Doug Szolek]

Brent, that type of breathing described in the quote will work for learning the motion to assist in controling the weight. As you groove the technique however the performance should rely less and less on your breathing to assist the motion and stabilization, so that it evolves into the pattern of breathing that I described above whereby the movement breathes for you.

Let me know if this clears things up for you :) .