Guide to Swimming Nutrition

In order to be successful in the swimming pool, competitive swimmers need to put in hours of training and possess incredible dedication. Besides this, they need to ensure that their body is in supreme physical shape, which means having a great diet that delivers all the nutrients and sufficient fuel to drive their body onwards.

Nutrition for swimmers

Focusing on better swimming nutrition is an important aid to performance improvement and can help during training and in competition. As with all athletes, swimmers need to have a healthy and balanced diet in order to give them the edge over their competition and to promote good muscle function. A well planned diet will also help to promote fast post-training and injury recovery. For these reasons, the following sports supplements could be of great benefit to any competitive swimmer and should be seriously considered as part of their nutritional plan.

Creatine for swimmers

Creatine is used and endorsed by most athletes as it works so well. It is a naturally occurring substance (in the human body) and it aids your muscles to work in short but intense bursts of energy. As such, it can be very effective for swimmers. The recommended intake of creatine is generally two to five grams of creatine monohydrate per day.

Vitamin C

As swimmers generally train most days of the year, there is a big chance of becoming very sore, which has a detrimental affect on performance. There have been scientific studies showing that supplementing with just three grams of vitamin C can reduce soreness (University of North Carolina at Greensboro published research in a 2006 issue of the “International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism”).

Should swimmers use whey protein?

Whey protein is one of the most popular sport supplements and for good reason. Whey protein is not just for bodybuilders or those that want to build muscle and gain size, it is also important for competitive swimmers.

The recovery issue is incredibly important for all swimmers, as they train so hard. This means that your muscles need additional protein to recovery and aid with growth.

L-lysine

Swimmers should also consider supplementing their diet with L-lysine capsules. L-lysine is an essential amino acid that provides nutritional support for many of the body’s functions. It is also one of the building blocks of protein and is necessary for correct growth.
L-lysine is important for swimmers as it plays an essential role in the conversion of fatty acids into energy, assists in the formation of collagen, and much more.

Vitamin D

One of the most common vitamin deficiencies in the general public is Vitamin D. For swimmers, it is also possible to suffer a Vitamin D deficiency, so the best step is to take a Vitamin D supplement.

There are several foods such as vitamin fortified cereal and milk that provide additional Vitamin D, but as a competitive swimmer you probably won’t be able to  consume sufficient quantities of either one of these foods to reach the Vitamin D level that is recommended. This is why supplements are widely recommended for swimmers.

Summary

As you know, to succeed in swimming you need to put in the hours in the pool. While a lot of time is spent in training, it is very important that your nutritional needs are also taken care of. As such, sports supplements can play a very important role in terms of convenience and ensuring that your body is fueled with the correct nutrients to perform at its best.

Wikipedia: Swimming

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