Shoulder and hip roll differences between breathing and non-breathing conditions in front crawl swimming

The effects of breathing on body roll have been previously investigated for the roll of the whole trunk only. The purposes of this study were: to calculate separately the shoulder roll (SR) and hip roll (HR) of swimmers during front crawl for non-breathing and preferred-side breathing conditions; to assess the differences in the magnitude and temporal characteristics of these variables between the non-breathing and preferred-side breathing conditions, and; to examine their association with swimming performance (indicated by swimming speed). Twelve male swimmers who competed at national and international level performed two maximum 25 m front crawl trials; one non-breathing and one with breathing to their preferred side. Performance was recorded with four below and two above water synchronised cameras. SR and HR in both trials were calculated for the breathing and non-breathing sides. The timings of SR and HR peaks to each side and at the positions of neutral roll were also calculated. Swimming speed was significantly slower in the breathing trial (