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Competition/Training Nutrition Plan
Since Swim Meets can last ALL
day (Cumbria Age Groups), or All week (ASA Nationals), swimmers need to be
aware of what they are eating and drinking either before, during or after
they race.
Timing of the Pre-event Meal.
The type of food swimmers eat may influence how they
perform in the water.
Fatty foods take a long time to digest. The following
foods are good examples:
- Crisps,
- Chips,
- Doughnuts,
- Danish Pastries.
Protein foods that also contain fat take the longest
time to digest. For example:
- Peanut Butter,
- Chicken,
- Pork,
- Beef,
- Fish.
If the swimmer consumes these types of foods just
before they compete, the blood rushes to the stomach to try to digest the
food, unfortunately the muscles required for swimming competitively also
require the maximum blood supply.
Something has to give, the body cannot do both at the
same time, and it may result in a poor performance and probably a stomach
ache.
Carbohydrates
Your body needs glucose for energy. The
main source of glucose is the carbohydrate – sugars and starches – in
your diet. If you do not have sufficient carbohydrates in your diet you
will not be able to train as hard or as long and Fatigue (tiredness) will
set in.
Any foods consisting of Carbohydrates can be digested
quicker than the foods mentioned above. Here are some examples:
- Pasta,
- Cereals,
- Bagels,
- Wholemeal breads,
- Fruit,
- Vegetables,
- Rice,
- Breakfast bars,
- Baked Potato
These foods can be out of the stomach in approximately
2 hours. Therefore, the pre-event meal should be composed of primarily
carbohydrates. It also appears that carbohydrates digested up to 3 hours
before exercise may improve performance.
As you can see from the above list there is quite a
selection. So, which carbohydrate is best, well it depends on how quickly
the body converts the carbohydrate to glucose. Here is a table of some
carbohydrates and whether they are high, medium or low speed in being
changed into glucose:
High Medium Low
White Rice Brown Rice Pasta
Watermelon Banana Apple
Baked Potato Boiled Potato Baked Beans
Sports drink Squash Milk
Honey Muesli Bar Sponge Cake
Bagel Bread Fruit Cake
Jelly Beans Crisps Chocolate
Try to eat High-speed foods just before, during and
immediately after exercise. Remember, eat at least 2 hours before exercise
then about 30 minutes before exercise have a 50g snack, steer away from
bulky snacks as these could cause stomach pains. Experiment with different
snacks from the ‘High’ list.
If you train for longer than an hour, you will need to
consume carbohydrates to avoid fatigue. Use an ‘Isotonic’ Sports
drink, as this will give you the carbohydrates as well as the fluid, (see
fluids).
The best time to refuel and restock those depleted
glucose stores ready for the next work out is immediately after exercise.
Eating at All Day Competitions.
The same principle used to time
pre-event meals also applies to all day competitions.
If a swimmer races at 10:00 am and again 2 hours later,
a meal high in fat and protein will more than likely be in the swimmers
stomach when they get ready to race. This will lead to a possible reduced
level of performance and a stomach ache.
Guidelines
- If it is an Hour or Less between heats/events swimmers should
stick with carbohydrate foods and juices, e.g. orange juice, bananas,
crackers, plain toast or a diluted carbohydrate sports drink. Swimmers
should limit the amount of food taken.
- If it is 2 to 4 Hours between heats/events, swimmers should add
more carbohydrate foods and juices, e.g. bagels, hot cereals and muffins
along with some type of pure fruit juice.
- If it is 4 Hours or more between heats/events, swimmers can add
more protein with carbohydrate foods, e.g. a light spread of peanut
butter on a muffin or bagel or a chicken sandwich on 2 slices of bread
with a pure fruit juice.
- It is also vitally important that swimmers should drink fluids, (from
their OWN BOTTLE and NOT FIZZY DRINKS), as they can quickly
become dehydrated on the hot poolside. Waiting until the swimmer is
thirsty is TOO LATE.
Replacing Fluids
During exercise our muscles use energy.
However, the muscles only use 25% of the energy the other 75% is released
as heat – which is why exercise makes us HOT!
We need to get rid of this excess heat otherwise we
would overheat – so, the main way to keep our bodies cool is sweating.
Heat from working muscles is transferred to the blood. Blood flow to the
skin is increased, and the heat is lost via evaporation – sweating.
Sweat comes from the water in your blood so you have to
replace the lost water. Otherwise, you will become dehydrated and suffer.
How Much?
The more you sweat, the more fluid you lose and
therefore, the more you need to drink.
Approximately 1 litre of fluid is lost for each hour of
exercise. The easiest method of finding out how much fluid you lose is to
weigh yourself before and after exercise. Each kg of body weight lost is
equal to 1 litre of fluid loss. Another way is to check the colour of your
urine – if it’s pale and plentiful you’re well hydrated, but if it’s
dark and in short supply you’d better start drinking.
Another consideration is that for every 1% drop in body
weight there is a 5% drop in performance, the difference between coming
first or last!
When to drink?
As always, prevention is better than cure – start
exercise well hydrated. Try to drink between 300-500ml (good-sized glass
of water) in the 15 minutes before you start exercising.
Drink during exercise, but do it in-between swimming
sets, when your coach is talking.
It’s extremely unlikely that you will drink too much
water, but if you are doing excessive amounts of exercise in extreme
temperatures you may need an ‘Isotonic’ Sports drink, 5 – 8%
carbohydrate in solution, with sodium (salts) similar to the concentration
of blood, this is quickly absorbed by the body. It is worth remembering
the following:
- Less than an hour, ordinary water will do,
- More than an hour and in extremes of temperature, use an ‘Isotonic’
Sports drink
REMEMBER – don’t wait until you are thirsty, that’s
too late, you’re already dehydrated!
Tony Couling
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