Nutrition & Sport

NUTRITION & SPORT

The Basic Facts:

You are a highly trained swimming machine.  You have spent many hours in the pool fine-tuning your techniques and your body to perform at your very best.  Doesn’t it make sense then, that you fuel your body with the best food?

A Formula One Racing car must have the best fuel available to give maximum performance.  Imagine yourself at the start of your race.  You will be able to keep up with the best of them knowing that you have put in the best fuel (food) available.

You require high-energy food - food that will load muscles with glycogen (muscle fuel).  Energy foods are high in carbohydrates.  Complex carbohydrates can be found in vegetables, grains pasta, bread and fruit.  These are the foods you should eat plenty of without worrying about putting on weight and to give your muscles the fuel they need ready for your swim.

Because you are putting in two heavy training sessions a day you need a good balanced diet with plenty of complex carbohydrates for your glycogen supplies.  Watch out for signs of glycogen depletion – listlessness, lacking energy and tiredness.

Before Competition:

Energy food (carbohydrates) needs to be eaten 3 – 4 days prior to competition to have an effect on your performance.  You will be fuelling up your muscles with glycogen ready for the swim meet.  So eat plenty of fresh fruit, vegetables, pasta, bread, rice and potatoes during the 3 - 4 days prior to the meet.

Beware!

Don’t fall into the trap of having a big pre-competition meal.  This will only deaden your performance. Your body will use up too much energy converting the food into nutrients instead of conserving energy for use by your muscles when your event comes.  Many of these high-energy vegetables you can eat raw - carrot, celery, cauliflower, beans, peas, lettuce, mushrooms, tomatoes and bean sprouts.  That’s how you get the most out of them.  Salads are a great way to have your vegetables raw.

Snacks At Swim Meets:

The best thing you can do for your body to swim a P.B. on the day is to say NO to all sugar foods.  Sugar foods contain processed carbohydrates that give quick energy for up to 30 minutes.  They push the blood level up and then send it plummeting, leaving you feeling shaky, irritable and tired.  Imagine feeling like that when you’re about to go up for a race.

TAKE A GOOD LOOK AT THESE FOODS AND PLAN TO INCLUDE THEM IN YOUR SWIMMER’S DIET BEFORE EACH SWIM MEET:

YES - dried fruits, nuts, rice cakes, fresh or tinned fruit (in natural juice), raw vegies, boiled egg, natural juices and plenty of WATER

Aren’t we lucky that the swimming season coincides with the abundance of summer fruits!

NO - Hamburgers, sweets, canned fruit in syrup, cakes, pies, soft drinks, milk, ice ream, icy poles & potato chips.

A LITTLE bread, chicken, pasta, noodle mix, muffins, sugarless biscuits.

AND PLENTY OF WATER!

Finally, good food is not a magic substitute for hard training in the pool.  If you are a poor trainer or only come to training when you feel like it, don’t expect good food to work miracles for you.  So you like McDonalds!  Save it for a treat after the meet.  If you have been training hard and eating sensibly, you deserve it.