Swimming blog - HEALTH Nutritional Tips SwimGym Coaches Swear By

Professionals make swimming look effortless. Yet, it takes everything to become the unstoppable swimmer. Pros focus on every tiny detail even if it adds 1% to their performance. Proper nutrition is one of the details. Without it, progress will stagnate. Today our SwimGym coaches will share five essential nutritional tips with you. Do with it as you wish. One thing is for sure, these tips will make a difference.

Jelle - The Coffee Addict

Before my morning swim session, I used to drink a cup of coffee always. Naturally it primed me for swim practice by giving me the much-needed wake me up kick in the bum. More importantly it had the added benefit of improving my performance during training especially if endurance was on the menu. The caffeine in the coffee delayed fatigue during training which kept me going for just a bit longer. However, heavy caffeine consumption can cause sleep disturbances which is why I limited myself to just one cup of coffee a day, which I still do.  

Gonsalo – The Crazy Triathlete

To assure that I had enough energy in the tank. I would consume energy in the form of carbohydrates when a high intensity training session was on the menu, when the swim session lasted longer than 90 minutes or when I had multiple sessions a day. My favorite carbs were oatmeal or cereal in the morning, whole wheat sandwiches during lunch and rice or pasta dishes in the evening. On rest days or when training was short and easy, I would go easier on the carbs. I didn’t need the extra energy on those days anyway. 

Kingue – The Maniac Sprinter 

Next to coaching I am still a fulltime swimmer. I therefor spread my protein intake out throughout the day by including a protein source in every meal. But more importantly, I always take a healthy dose of protein immediately or up to 2 hours after my workout to recover optimally for the next training session. Most of the time I munch on a Greek yogurt or a protein shake after training. Whenever I skip on adequate protein multiple days in a row, I’ll notice worse recovery and more fatigue during my training sessions. 

Johan – The Olympian

I used to bring my bottle of water to every swim practice and so should you. Depending on how heavy the session was I would add electrolytes to my water to prevent dehydration. I drank a bottle before and a bottle during every hour of swimming. To make sure I was well hydrated I used to check the color of my pee throughout the day, which should be clear or slightly yellow. If it was any darker, I would drink some more throughout the day. 

Tessa – The Healthy Breaststroker

Until this day I will never skip on my fruits and vegetables. It flavors up my food but most importantly it has the added benefit of improving my health and performance. The more color on my plate, the greater the amounts of vitamins and minerals I am consuming, the better. Next to my vitamins and minerals I always supplement daily with Omega 3 Fatty Acids and Vitamin D both benefiting my recovery so I can train at my very best.

These are five golden tips are plenty, still we would love to add one to the mix. “Think of your body as a car, and the better gasoline you put into the car, the better you’re going to perform.” 

We could talk about nutrition all day long. It really is an important piece of the puzzle. However, if your training has no structure and is irregular, nutrition won’t get you anywhere closer to your goals. Fix your training first. Just use our amazing workout library or one of our training plans. Only then use these nutritional tips, as the icing on top off your cake.