| Information on Swimmer Nutrition |
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Here is some handy pointers on nutrition for swimmers, in particular swim meets. Nutrition plays a vital part in any sports performance. To be able to compete and train at their best swimmers must eat nutritious foods. Now it is a know fact that the child isn't usually the person that does the grocery shopping for the house hold, it is usually the parent or guardian, therefore parents play a HUGE part in regards to what children eat.
Swim meets are the places where all the hard work in the pool is usually noticed, so we don't want our performances to be scaled down as a result of a bad food choice for the day. A feature of most successful athletes is that they take responsibility for their own performances. As the swimmer get older it is important that they get into healthy habits that will aid in their performance. On the day of a swim meet swimmers should pack and check their own bags, NOT mummy and daddy. This includes not only checking you have your towel and goggles, but also enough food and fluid to last the whole day of competition. It is ridiculous to think that because a child performs in a sport that they should completely stay away from junk food, in today's society it is near impossible, but instead of eating it on a regular basis substitute it for a healthier option. For example instead of taking lollies to a swim meet, take a few chopped up strawberries. Immediately after racing DRINK, DRINK, DRINK! Water and or sport drinks should be you best friend, and they should be holding you hand for the majority of the day at a swim meet. Also eating something small at the conclusion of you event is good as your body will absorb it better, this should be done 10-15min at the conclusion of an event, enough time to cool down, you don't want to miss you cool down. If the meet happens to run longer than a day, for example State Championships, it is important to eat to recover as well as to prepare for the upcoming days. In this instance carbohydrates and proteins are the way to go; as carbohydrates replace energy and protein will held repair muscle for the next day of competing. In between events foods item such as fruit, rice crackers, tinned fruit and fruit sticks are good to eat as the body is quick to digest them. An Example of a Competition Eating Schedule
It is also good to take note of what you eat and when you eat it in regards to events, because you may feel better swimming eating some items over others. The above was taken from Swimmer.com.au. For more information please feel free to check out their site. |
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