Championship Swim Meet Nutrition
The most challenging aspect of a championship swim meet is knowing that an entire season, which is comprised of hours and hours of hard work, culminates in a race lasting less than 2 minutes.
There is one exception… (sorry distance swimmers)
Make sure that effort doesn’t go to waste
If you want to ensure that all of your training pays off, these are the 10-Nutrition Rules you need to follow!
The 10-rules for Championship Swim Meet Nutrition
Consume foods that your body is familiar with and sit well in your stomach.
This is the first rule because it has the most potential to trip athletes up. If you eat oatmeal and a protein shake before breakfast everyday, but on race day you decide to eat 3 eggs, hash browns, pancakes, and bacon, how do you think you are going to feel?
You should eat what your body is used to eating & digesting on a regular basis.
Consume 1 g of carbohydrates per kg of bodyweight per hour until your competition starts.
You should mainly be focusing on complex carbohydrates with some fats and proteins mixed in.
During swim meets, your food choices should depend on how long you have before your next event.
Do you want to get up on the blocks ready to race while your body is still trying to digest food?
If you have:
<30 minutes between races - consume high glycemic index foods
30 minutes to 1 hour between races - consume medium glycemic index foods
Greater than 1 hour between races - consume medium glycemic index food with some protein and fats mixed in
Things to avoid at swim meets!
Pizza, large sandwiches, anything fried, greasy, or fatty. These foods take too long to digest and will sit in your stomach making you feel heavy and bloated.
Nuts & Beans, are respectively high in fat and fiber, taking too long to digest and therefore not providing any immediate energy.
Vegetables and Salads (low-calorie and high-fiber), these foods, although healthy, are giving you almost 0 energy. I want you to eat your vegetables, just not at swim meets.
Energy Drinks, Soda (Red Bull, Monster, Rockstar Energy, Seltzer, Coke/Pepsi, Sprite, etc.), these drinks provide fake energy and in many cases are carbonated which can bloat you before your race.
Hydrate! Begin hydrating the day before a swim meet and keep hydrating during and after the meet.
Remember, food items such as fruits, tea, sports drinks, etc. all contain a high % of water.
Carb-Loading is unnecessary for swimmers.
Carb-loading is meant for people performing serious long-distance events such as marathons and triathlons in which they are racing for multiple hours.
Apart from open water events, the longest race is usually the 1650 yd or 1500 meter freestyle. This is at maximum a 20-minute race.
Instead of carb-loading, try slowly building up your carbohydrate intake the week before your championship swim meet.
Contact me for a Carbohydrate Loading Plan for your championship swim meet.
Eat immediately after your race to begin recovering for your next event.
Race -> Cooldown -> Eat -> Talk to your coach
Maximize the amount of time you have for muscle & liver glycogen recovery
After the meet is finished, eat carbohydrates & protein as soon as possible. This is especially important if you are swimming the following day. MAXIMIZE YOUR RECOVERY!
You want to consume about 1.5 grams of carbohydrates per kg of body weight within an hour of finishing the swim meet, and another 1 g/kg/bw before bed.
At a championship swim meet, with morning prelims & evening finals. Make sure that if you are swimming that evening, eat before you take a nap a the hotel. MAXIMIZE YOUR RECOVERY!
If you are an athlete or coach, and want more insight into a nutrition protocol for yourself or your team please reach out for additional information!
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