Important Training Out of the Pool

Important Training Out of the Pool

This week I wanted to address two areas of training that occur away from the pool but have a significant on long term development. These areas are nutrition and dryland training. Parents and Athletes need to constantly be aware of the long term and short term benefits of doing both properly.

 

Nutrition

One of the most helpful things you can do away from the pool is eat properly. Good nutrition is a combination of eating the right things at the right time in the right quantities. Lets take a look at the basic areas we all need to address nutritionally in the life of a swimmer.

 

During the Week—Eating properly every day has the greatest positive effect on one's ability to train, recover and perform. Here are some basic guidelines on what to eat every day

 

Before Practice—Eating before practice can sometimes be a challenge. Some swimmers get naucsious if they eat before practice. For those teammates it is important to figure out when they should eat and what they can eat in order to be fueled up for practice each day. Here are some suggestions:

 

After Practice—Eating after practice is important because teammates need to start the recovery process immediately after practice. By Dan McCarthy//National Team High Performance Consultant

from USA Swimming has some great recovery nutrition advice.

 

During hard training cycles, it is imperative for athletes not only to eat promptly (within a half-hour) following a hard training session, but eat the right amount of carbohydrates and protein as well. A sound recovery plan will be based on an athlete’s body weight.

  • Athletes should eat .5 grams of carbohydrates for every pound of body weight

  • Athletes should eat 15-20 grams of protein

  • Athletes should drink 24 ounces of water for every pound lost

  • Athletes should include electrolytes (sodium, potassium) from food with salt or a sports drink

The dieticians at the USOC have compiled some suggested recovery meals based on body weight:

 110-132 Pound Athlete

  • 16 ounces of chocolate milk and water, or

  • 6 ounces of non-fat Greek yogurt, fresh fruit, and water, or

  • A natural ingredient sport bar (fruit/nut), a glass of skim milk, and water

154-176 Pound Athlete

  • 24 ounces of chocolate milk and water, or

  • Sport bar (45-50 grams of carbs/15-20 grams of protein) and 16 ounces of sport drink, or

  • 12 ounces of non-fat Greek yogurt, one cup of fruit juice, and water

198-220 Pound Athlete

  • 24 ounces of chocolate milk, water and a banana, or

  • Sport bar (50 grams of carbs/15-20 grams of protein) and 24 ounces of sport drink

Not only must an athlete eat their recovery snack within a half hour of completing practice, but they must also have a meal within an hour of eating their recovery snack, and add another snack an hour after the meal. Obviously this is not a recovery plan for every day of the year, but it will certainly make a difference when the coach pulls out the 10,000-yard set to cap off an intense week of training.

 

Jill Castle, MS, RD, LDN from USA Swimming has some great tips on fueling up on Meet Days.

Before a Meet—When, What, and How Much to eat before a meet is really important. Don’t DQ your day. Breakfast at home or on the road is the metabolism boost every swimmer needs. Instant oatmeal made with skim or low fat milk, toast with nut butter, dry cereal, yogurt and fruit are all light options that rev up the body. If you are competing in the morning, be sure to keep it light. Opt for a heavier breakfast if competition is in the afternoon.

 

During a Meet—During a Meet well chosen snacks can help maintain energy levels and allow swimmers to perform at their best for the entire session. Here are some Nutritional guides:

Pack variety. A few options of fruit, vegetables, grain and high quality protein sources should cover the variable appetite and tummy tolerance you may experience on race day. It’s better to have more food options than a large quantity of only two or three foods. Don’t make the mistake of relying on a single food or energy bars to get you through the day. While they can do the job of fueling your body, they may not rate in appetite satisfaction. Having a variety of food sources increases the odds of proper fueling and healthy eating.

  • Pack enough. You don’t want to run out of food, and you may want to share with other swimmers (well-fueled swimmers help the whole team, right?).

  • Pay attention to temperature. If you are packing perishables, be sure to add an ice pack. It’s no fun to get tummy cramps before a race because something has spoiled.

  • Pack in the protein. Protein will be an ally in keeping your blood sugar stable, thus keeping hunger, energy and mood in check. Nibble on cheese sticks or slices, nuts, peanut or nut butters, deli meat slices, yogurt or yogurt drinks, boxes of low fat milk, hummus, hard-boiled eggs or edamame.

  • Don’t forget the Carbohydrate. Your muscles rely on carbs for fuel. Pack easily digestible sources such as 100% juice, fruit leather, applesauce, fresh or dried fruit, or veggie sticks. Don’t forget the more complex carbohydrate foods too, such as crackers, unsweetened dry cereal, pita or other breads, pretzels and graham crackers. Stay away from refined sugars such as soda, candy and desserts on race day.

  • Nosh or Nibble? Save “meals” or large quantities of food for big breaks between events. Nibble small amounts of food before and after events that are closely scheduled. At a minimum, you should be nibbling to stay energized and keep your muscles fueled on race day.

  • Think your drink. Water, 100% fruit juice and sports drinks are appropriate at a swim meet. Plain and flavored milk are great recovery drink choices after the meet; they provide protein for muscle repair and carbohydrate to re-fuel muscles.

  • Know your eating style on race day. If it is counter-productive to racing, follow these guidelines as a strategy for optimal eating. Don’t tempt yourself by packing foods or making concession purchases that you (really) don’t want to be eating.

Dryland

If you are missing dryland training you are missing a lot. In addition to the core strength gains that are sport specific to swimming, there is a significant amount of coaching that goes on during dryland time. We talk about event selection as well as season planning, We talk about practice adjustments and technical focus items. We tie together what we are doing in dryland to what needs to be done in the training and racing pool. There are also individual coaching conversations that go on regarding motivation and long term development.