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  Eat Well – Train – Compete

We now have masses of scientific information which tells us that athletic performance is closely linked to diet. In other words, the more healthily you eat, the better you are going to swim!

In order to be able to train hard and swim fast at competition, you need to eat a well balanced diet consisting of 50-60% carbohydrate (eg. pasta, potatoes, beans, cereals, bread, etc) 10-15% protein (meat, fish, eggs and soya substitutes, etc) and 25-30% fat (concentrating more on vegetable and fish oils rather than dairy produce - fish like salmon, tuna and mackrel are among the best oily fish to eat and things like olives, avacados and nuts provide useful fats). Also, guard against dehydration. Prehydrate before you come to training and drink the contents of your water bottle during the session and rehydrate afterwards. As a rough guide, you should be drinking 6-8 glasses of water (rather than fizzy drinks) a day. Not only will this help you train, it will also help you concentrate better at school and work.

Eat FIVE portions of fruit and/or vegetables a day. Remember that half a tin of baked beans counts as one portion. The vitamins contained in these foods not only help make and keep you healthy but assist your body in producing the energy you need for training and competition.  

The most efficient source of energy comes from carbohydrate but needs to be eaten well in advance of training and competition to be effective. The easiest way of doing this is to eat regular meals and to plan your meals in such a way that you are not swimming on a full stomach. Imagine the sugar contained in sweets and fizzy drinks like a firework. There is a big bang (ie. energy) and then nothing soon after. Carbohydrates are more like a lump of coal which burns more slowly (also providing energy) but does this over a longer period of time. In other words, a bowl of pasta eaten the evening before a gala will have a longer lasting effect than a chocolate bar in the morning.          

Begin reloading your carbohydrate stores after training in preparation for the next session. Eating a tuna sandwich and an apple within fifteen minutes after your training session would be ideal and will be a lot better than a bar of chocolate.

You need to plan your eating during a gala as getting it wrong could be costly in terms of your performance. Have something like a bowl of cereal and some fruit for breakfast. Make sure that you get up early enough to be able to eat breakfast and do not be tempted to eat nothing. For lunch some pasta and tinned fruit (preferably not at the same time!) is a good idea. Try to eat as soon as the lunch break starts rather than at the end just before the afternoon warm up. Most important, do not eat too much as this will leave you feeling sluggish. It is much better if you snack during the day between races (without overdoing it) rather than just the one meal at lunch time. For snacks, bananas and cashew nuts are an ideal and tasty combination and will do you a lot more good than chocolate bars! Potassium intake is important when competing.

To find out more about nutrition, visit the BBC website where you can learn how to avoid dehydration, what to eat and when to it eat. It works for the top swimmers so why not give it a try yourself! 

For inspiration and recipe read Refueling the Body After Workout