Sponsors
Nutrition Advice for Swimmers/Parents
Fitness, Swimming and Nutrition
Quality training makes you swim fast; a vital part of quality training is good nutrition.
Our bodies create energy by breaking down the different components of food – carbohydrates, proteins and fat. The most important source of energy is carbohydrates. The energy made is stored in your muscles for when you exercise; this is called glycogen. Glycogen is the most important and valuable fuel for swimming: if you do not eat enough carbohydrates your glycogen levels will fall and your performance will be affected.
As a swimmer your diet doesn't just keep you healthy, but it also meets the extra needs your body has due to the training you do. What you eat will affect your ability to train and how you recover between training sessions. A well balanced diet can give you that extra swimming `edge.' It is vital you get all the nutrients you need in the right proportions.
Carbohydrates
For swimming, carbohydrates are the most important nutrient; they provide your body with the energy you need to swim well, in the easiest possible way. Carbohydrates come in two forms – simple and complex. Complex carbohydrates provide the best source of energy for exercise, because the energy they give is released slowly throughout the day, and you should be eating plenty of them. Simple carbohydrates give you a quick energy burst, which can be useful but is very short-lived – eat them in small amounts. Your carbohydrate intake should be spread over the whole day and carbohydrates should make up just over half of the food on your dinner plate.
Complex Carb Food Sources Simple Carb Food Sources
Rice Sugar/jam/honey/chocolate spread
Breakfast cereals Fruit (fresh, canned, dried & juice)
Pasta & noodles Chocolate & cereal bars
Potatoes Sweets (jelly babies, jelly beans)
Pizza bases Cakes & buns
Crispbreads, oatcakes & rice cakes Biscuits
Sweetcorn & popcorn Puddings
Beans (inc baked) Yoghurts
Peas & lentils Soft drinks & sports drinks
Protein
Protein is needed by your body for maintenance and growth of body tissue; it also plays an important role in replacement of body tissue in the event of injury or ill health. For these reasons eating the right amount of protein in your diet is very important. Try to ensure your protein is lean and low in fat. Think about your cooking methods with regards to protein: choose grilling and baking and avoid fried foods. Protein can be found in foods such as meat, fish, peas, beans and dairy products i.e. cheese, eggs. The combination of protein and carbohydrates together has been proved to be the best way to refuel the body, so it can restore the levels of glycogen within the muscles.
Fat
High fat diets aren't good for anyone; by choosing to eat high fat foods (especially in snack form) you will often reduce your carbohydrate intake. For athletes and active people a fat intake of 15-30% within a balanced diet is all that is needed, sadly for most of us it's nearer 35-36%. When choosing what fatty foods to eat, try to put more emphasis on Omega-3 fatty acids: nuts, seeds and nut based oils, cod liver oil, broccoli and 1-2 portions of oily fish (e.g. mackerel, herring and salmon) per week. Omega-3 fatty acids enhance the oxygen delivery to cells; this improves aerobic metabolism which results in increased energy levels and stamina in training situations.
Fruit and Veg
You should aim to eat 5 portions of fruit and vegetables per day. Remember frozen vegetables count, and a 150ml glass of fresh fruit juice (not concentrate) at breakfast counts as one portion too! Follow the one-third rule: vegetables should fill at least one third of your plate. This way you will not only satisfy your hunger but get lots of the nutrients you need. Swimmers who gain their nutrients naturally (not in vitamin/ mineral supplements) have greater physical and mental development.
Fluid
Keeping yourself well hydrated is vital to your performance, whether in training or competitions. If you allow your body to dehydrate by only 2%, you will have 10-20% deterioration in your ability (co-ordination, concentration and stamina). Not only do you sweat when training or competing, it is made worse by being in a hot, humid environment on poolside: these conditions can lead very easily to dehydration. As you are losing fluid/water all the time you must replace it. It is important that you drink plenty before you start training or competing. Whilst training have a drink on poolside with you and take regular sips. Don't use it as an excuse to stop swimming – drink during your rest times!! When you have finished training you need to drink even more. Being thirsty is a poor sign of dehydration – by the time you feel thirsty your body is already dehydrated. So don't wait until you are thirsty to drink – it's too late by then. The best drink to re-hydrate your body is an isotonic drink: you can buy these in the shops (e.g. Lucozade Sport) but they are expensive; alternatively you can make your own version – see recipes below. In all circumstances you must avoid fizzy/carbonated drinks which are full of sugar or caffeine (e.g. Lucozade Energy Drink, Coca Cola or Red Bull). These fizzy drinks can cause bloating which stops you drinking enough; caffeine in them will cause you to dehydrate; and those full of sugar give an initial rush followed quickly by a huge drop in sugar levels. Be aware - young athletes are more sensitive to the effects of dehydration.
Recipes for Homemade Isotonic Drinks:
200ml of Blackcurrant or Orange Squash (preferably a `high juice' type with a higher % of fruit juice)
or
500ml unsweetened fruit juice 1 litre of water
500ml water
Pinch of salt *
Pinch of salt*
*Don't be put off by the pinch of salt: it only needs to be very small and you don't taste it. It's there to balance your body's electrolytes
In both cases mix the ingredients together and stir well. These drinks can either be chilled in a fridge, or left at room temperature before you drink them.
Nutrition Advice for Competitions
The food and drink that you have before a competition will have a huge impact on how well you perform; it may well give you that winning edge.
The Night before Competing
It is important that the night before competing you refuel your body's supply of glycogen by eating a meal high in carbohydrate (e.g. pasta, jacket potato, baked beans on toast). It is vital that you drink plenty, so you are well hydrated. Ensure these drinks are not fizzy or caffeine-based and, for the older swimmers, beware of drinking alcohol the night before competing as it will dehydrate you and its effects on your body's hydration levels will continue for 36 hours. Rest is the other vital ingredient - so don't forget an early night.
The Morning of Competition
After your wonderful night's rest you will have fasted for eight hours or more and therefore breakfast is vital to avoid depleted glycogen stores and an increased risk of fatigue. Cereals are high in carbohydrate. If competing in the afternoon, make sure you have a carbohydrate rich lunch; however, your final meal before a competition should be finished at least two hours before the start of the competition. It is important that your body has had time to digest properly and the rate of digestion can be affected by pre-competition nerves.
Throughout the day leading up to your competition, you should be drinking regularly, preferably isotonic drinks, diluted fruit juice, diluted squash. A good way to judge if you are well hydrated is by the colour of your urine (wee), you want it to be a very pale yellow. Darker urine shows signs of dehydration and if the quantity of urine is small it means you are dehydrated.
During the Competition
It is very important that once you have finished your race you have a drink. A good way to help replace your fluid levels and boost your carbohydrate levels is to drink an isotonic sports drink. The carbohydrate within the drink will help to replenish the glycogen levels within the muscles.
Whilst at a gala, drinking should be your major source of boosting your body's energy. If you have an hour between heats, you may choose to have some small snacks but be careful what you choose. Sugary snacks will give your body a huge surge of sugar, your body will produce insulin (a natural hormone made in our bodies) and then the sugar levels will rapidly fall - to below the level they were at when you first had the snack!!! You will then feel tired and sluggish and your performance will deteriorate. Don't fall into the trap of thinking that crisps will be a good source of carbohydrate: due to the fat content in crisps, the carbohydrate is absorbed at a much slower rate. This slower digestion will divert the blood supply from the muscles to the stomach to assist the digestion process. For this reason also, bananas, which are slow to digest, are better eaten earlier in day than during the competition.
Some good ideas for snacks are: isotonic drinks, raisins, apples, grapes, dried fruit, fruit smoothie drinks, fruit bars, rice cakes with jam, cereal bars and Rice Krispie Square Bars.
After the Competition
It is very important to restore the glycogen levels in your muscles after competing, especially if you will be competing again the next day. There is a window of opportunity to replace these carbohydrates within the body - it occurs within thirty minutes of your last event. Try to consume one of the following which provide 50 grams of carbohydrate: 2-3 medium pieces of fruit; 1 round of honey or jam sandwiches; 2 bananas; 2 cereal bars. Within two hours of eating one of the above it is important to have a carbohydrate rich meal (e.g. pasta, noodles, thick based pizza or baked potatoes). Avoid foods high in fat content as they will delay the refuelling process of glycogen within the muscles.
Once again, you need to make sure that you drink plenty after all the hard work you put into the competition. You should drink 500ml immediately after you have finished competing for the day and continue to drink at regular intervals after that to ensure you have replaced your fluid loss. For the older swimmers remember it's very important to re-hydrate yourself before indulging in a celebratory drink!
Summary
Sugar as a fuel is like a firework - big bang (energy) and then nothing soon after. Carbohydrates are similar to coal, burning slowly (energy) but constantly over a longer period of time. So the pasta you eat the night before a competition will have a much greater and longer effect than a chocolate bar on the day!! Think also about when you eat 'slow to digest' carbohydrates (e.g. bananas): they are fantastic as part of your breakfast on the day of competition, or at least 3 hours before a gala to gain maximum benefit.
All of the information here can be adapted into your pre-, during and post-training situations. Remember, if your aim is to achieve the best possible results in training and competitive situations you need to be fuelling the body with good quality and appropriate food and drinks
