Swimming is physically and nutritionally demanding. When you enter the pool, you call upon many muscle groups to work together. Minor changes in technique or a one percent reduction in energy could be the difference between winning and being last.
Delve into nutrition for swimmers to optimize performance and build the foundation for better recovery to make the most of every training session.
Why Swimming is Nutritionally Demanding
Swimming is an intensive workout for the whole body. Displacing water efficiently is the goal, making technique even more important in swimming than in other sports. Because of the emphasis on technique, swimmers spend a great deal of time practicing, requiring high training volume.
All that time in the water, whether completing drills, practicing stroke technique or challenging yourself to sprints against fellow teammates demands energy. And energy comes from nutrition.
Understanding your nutritional needs can help you build a swimmer’s diet plan, offering the following physical benefits.
- Adequate energy
- Effective muscle recovery
- Overall health
For optimal performance, you’ll need to find the best balance of macronutrients to serve your body. Macronutrients include carbohydrates, proteins and fats.
Carbohydrates provide energy both for long-term activities and short bursts to push through sprints or call upon that last bit of energy reserve to push to the wall and claim the title.
Protein is essential for muscle repair and growth. Fats help your body absorb nutrients and offer concentrated energy.
Timing Nutrition for Swimmers
Most athletes know that nutrition is essential for performance. The challenge is knowing when, what and how much to eat leading up to competition or training.
A study of the role of nutrition in performance enhancement and postexercise recovery found that athletes with sustained or intermittent exercise exceeding 90 minutes should consume 10-12 grams of carbohydrates per kilogram of body mass in the day leading up to competition.
The average male athlete weighs 80 kilograms and the average female athlete weighs 62 kilograms, meaning they should eat 800 and 620 grams of carbohydrates daily, respectively, during intense training and competition.
Leading up to training competition, athletes should consume easy-to-digest foods that are familiar to their system. Using the same foods in training and competition provides confidence that you’ll feel your best and perform well.
Post-exercise, athletes should focus on high-quality protein to repair muscle tissue while consuming some carbohydrates to replenish what they worked off.
Tips for Building a Swimmer’s Diet Plan
Because a swimmer’s performance is so closely tied to their diet, they should carefully plan what and when they eat. Review these tips for building an ideal nutrition strategy.
- Eat Frequently: Athletes should eat every 3-4 hours to maintain energy levels. You’ll be burning significant calories during training sessions and need to replace those calories to maintain performance and ensure recovery.
- Choose Quality Foods: Avoid falling into a rut of eating the same food for every meal and snack. Diversify your diet to ensure you’re getting various vitamins and minerals to support your overall health. While you want to eat familiar foods during training, you should vary your nutrients.
- Adjust Nutrition Based on Training Vs. Recovery: On hard training days, your plate should be half-full of carbs, one-quarter full of protein and one-quarter full of fruits and veggies. On easy training or recovery days, only a quarter of your plate should be carbs as you lean into half of your plate being fruits and veggies to supply necessary nutrients. A study found that a 10 percent reduction in daily carbohydrate intake lowered a swimmer’s performance while a 10 percent increase in carbohydrates increased the swimmer’s performance.
- Don’t Forget Fiber: Your body is in overdrive as it burns off calories almost as fast as you can eat them. But fiber helps slow digestion and absorption to avoid energy spikes and crashes. Including fruits, veggies, whole grains and legumes in your diet will supply your body with fiber to keep your energy steady.
- Plan Meals and Snacks: Athletes have busy schedules. Planning meals and snacks can ensure you have the necessary foods on hand to optimize performance. Pack your meals and snacks for school, work and any time you’ll be away from home to ensure you remain fueled and ready.
Never Overlook Hydration
Hydration is just as important to swimming performance as nutrition. Swimmers can get dehydrated just as easily as other athletes even though they are surrounded by water. While dehydration among swimmers is less frequent than in other sports, athletes have increased hydration requirements over individuals with a more sedentary lifestyle.
Good hydration before and after swimming will aid your body in temperature regulation, joint health and muscle function. When training in warmer environments or completing long training sessions, swimmers should consider beverages and foods rich in electrolytes.
For adequate hydration, athletes should aim for 5-7 milliliters per kilogram of body weight four hours before competition. For the average male athlete, that’s 13-18 ounces. For the average woman, that’s 10-14 ounces. If the athlete was behind on water intake, they would need to increase that volume by approximately 50 percent.
During training, athletes should rehydrate throughout the session instead of waiting until the end. During hydration, athletes might also consume a gel or other fast source of carbohydrates to restore glycogen levels to prevent an energy crash.
Training in a Competitive Environment
Nutrition is just one element of swimming performance and competition. Where you train is another crucial factor. Ensure your pool’s equipment matches what you’ll experience at competitions.
Competitor Swim offers long-lasting lane lines, backstroke flags, and everything you’ll need to build a pool environment that matches where you compete. Contact us now for expert advice, custom equipment and ways to attract competitive athletes in your area.
