Just a reminder of what is needed to become an elite swimmer. Whilst swimming is progressing as a sport it is behind in many ways of training. We at Long Eaton are ahead of the curve in many of the things we do and are always looking at ways to improve. This is why we are focused on technique first, then intensity of training, correct rest and recovery and the last thing we look at is yardage.The major gains in our sport over the past few years have been in technique, nutrition, methods of training and, strength and conditioning.
Nutrition is a major factor on how we perform in training and in races. Recently a swimmer who vary rarely drunk during all day galas and had a history of performing badly in the afternoon and on the second day of competition, took our advice; drank 6 liters over the weekend and PB'd in all their races with no drop in performance. Prestige and some of youth and senior swimmers have been filling food diaries for a while now and whilst most have improved there are some areas that still require attention and I imagine this applies to all swimmers and not just those filling in the food diaries. So here are a few points from the nutrition talk we had.
Red meat; the studies that say red meat is bad for you are generally carried out on obese Americans who class burgers as red meat, eating steak or beef once or twice a week well provide you with much needed Iron and natural fats.
Oily fish like Sardines are vital at least once a week to provide you with Omega 3 essential to aid recovery and help the immune system.
Green veg a source of Iron once again and lots of vitamins and minerals.
If you are not getting these essential vitamins and minerals then use supplements.
Stay hydrated it will prevent tiredness and enable you to train better and improve quicker.
Most of the food diaries are carbohydrate high unfortunately a lot of the this is in the forms of sugar in bread or sauces and not in the more beneficial carbs like rice or humus etc.
A swimmers diet should be balanced of around 50-55% Carbs, 15-30% natural fat, 20-30% protein.
In an ideal world I would say avoid all processed food and cook fresh but I understand that is hard to do, so try and eat as little processed food as possible, make small changes Butter instead of marg, home roasts potatoes in natural oils instead of aunt Bessie fat smothered roasts, bigger portions of veg, larger breakfasts and lunches.
Check your Pee, if its clear you are hydrated if its orange drink more.
the government guideline of 2500 Kcal for a man is someone who does no exercise. A teenage female swimmer will need at least 2800 Kcal to just maintain her health, males of the same age 2500 Kcal.
If you would like a food diary to fill in and let me check drop me an email and I'll send you one.
