WHAT CHAMPIONS KNOW ABOUT NUTRITION

BY JILL CASTLE MS, RDN usaswimming.org

Swimmers want to do their best. Not only that, they want to win. Many young swimmers work hard to get to the next level. They log endless hours in the pool, work on their stroke technique, and even tweak their eating to get the most out of their bodies and their performance.

Many champion swimmers know that nutrition is an essential part of their success. In other words, they understand how important food is to their performance results.

Here are a few things that all champion swimmers understand about nutrition:

Food is fuel.

Premium fuel is the food swimmers eat. The recipe for success includes healthy, wholesome foods and beverages. Fried foods, sweets, and sugary beverages, although tasty, aren’t the ideal food components of a champion.

Carbs count…a lot.

The good carbs found in whole grains, fruit, vegetables and dairy are prime sources of fuel for exercising muscles. Refined carbs, such as those found in sweets, sugary beverages, and snack foods may add too much sugar and fat to the diet and work against performance and health. Champions know to maximize the good fuel, and trim down unhealthy foods.

Protein is essential but can be abused.

Too much protein can contribute to dehydration as well as other problems for the young athlete. Eating large amounts of protein at the end of the day, or not eating enough protein at breakfast isn’t the most efficient way to fuel muscles. Ideally, wholesome protein sources like meat, eggs or beans evenly spaced throughout the day is optimal for the young athlete. 

Dehydrated muscles don’t work well.

Drinking plenty of fluids is a constant effort, as thirst isn’t always easy to identify among young swimmers. If dehydration occurs, it may impair performance, contribute to muscle cramping, and slow down performance.

Recovery is a key to progress.

The harder you train the more important nutrition is to your recovery and development as an athlete. For example, eating a snack that contains protein and carbohydrate after an extended training session helps the body heal afterward. When swimmers add recovery nutrition to their training they are able to repair muscle damage, promote muscle gain, and re-load muscles with fuel for training and competition.

You can’t out-exercise a bad diet.

No matter how hard you work, the habits of overeating, skipping meals, or under-eating, as well as unhealthy food itself, work against optimal performance. Just like a racing car relies on premium fuel, your body performs its best when it’s given premium fuel (healthy food). In the same vein, when a racing car uses low octane fuel, its performance may fall off.

Eating habits are key to lifelong health.

Swimmers may not swim forever, but their eating habits can last a lifetime. Making healthy choices now means a better chance at being healthy later in life.

It's all about timing.

When swimmers eat is just as important as what and how much they eat. If a swimmer skips out on breakfast and lunch, how will her body have the stamina and strength to train hard after school? Or, if he eats large amounts of food at the end of the day, staying at an optimal weight for performance may be harder.

If swimmers want to take swimming to the next level, they need to eat like champions.

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Jill Castle, MS, RDN is a childhood nutrition expert and author of Eat Like a Champion: Performance Nutrition for Your Young Athlete. She lives with her husband and four children in New Canaan, CT. For more about Jill, go to www.JillCastle.com.