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Swimming and Recovery Most of us associate increased training workload with increased fitness, but what is often overlooked is the fact that the real gains in exercise capacity occur when the body and muscles are at rest. While training is where we see times improving, the underlying adaptations to this training actually happen while the body recovers from this workload. So, while the training (water or land based) is the stimulus that initiates the adaptation process, the majority of the swimmers’ “ metabolic recovery “ takes place when the body is at rest i.e. during recovery. Cool Down and Recovery Swimming at high intensity such as in a hard training set or during a race, can cause metabolites such as inorganic phosphate, ADP, hydrogen ions and of course lactate to accumulate in the muscles. A build up of these can create difficulties with the swimmer’s next performance whether it is the next race in an all day competition or the next training session. Lactate in particular inhibits muscle contraction. All swimmers will have had that feeling where their legs are very heavy and they can’t kick anymore or they get cramp, or when they can’t pull another stroke because their arms have gone numb. The training that we do helps the swimmer to achieve a tolerance to the effects of lactate but depends on glycogen availability, hydration and genetics (more on these later). Cool down (active recovery) helps with the removal of lactate after a hard training session or a race. The intensity of the cool down influences how quickly the removal of lactate occurs. Too high an intensity may produce additional lactate, while too low an intensity may not create enough circulation to remove the lactate any faster than standing around in the shallow end. After an intensive training session a 15 to 25 minute cool down is mandatory and it is not a signal to start talking while doing “granny Breaststroke” or to do surface dives, or to play underwater tig or to stand in the shallow or deep end, hoping to do less than anyone else. Nutrition and Recovery The primary fuel source for most swimmers during training is carbohydrate. During high intensity swimming, like hard training sets or competition races, this carbohydrate comes from circulating blood sugar and glycogen, the storage form of carbohydrate. Should glycogen stores become low or depleted, circulating blood sugar shares the burden of supporting the demands of hard training or races with the body’s last resort high intensity fuel source, protein. Since this protein usually comes in the form of muscle protein, it is easy to see how long term failure to replenish glycogen can lead to tissue breakdown. Combined with the tissue breakdown that is a normal result of hard exercise it is easy to see those swimmers who practice poor nutritional recovery. Complaints of lead legs or arms, “can’t keep up” and feelings of fatigue, are all signs that the swimmer is not eating properly. Competitive swimmers must pay attention to what they eat and cannot live on sweets and chocolate. They must eat a mix of foods which contain carbohydrates, proteins, antioxidants, fibre, vitamins and they must ensure that they drink sufficient non- carbonated fluids. Carbohydrates Bread, pasta, potatoes, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, oranges, mango, cranberries, bananas, oatmeal, granola, milk, yoghurt, black beans. Protein Eggs, meat, chicken, salmon, tuna, shrimp, whole grain bread and pasta, cheeses. Antioxidants Broccoli, avocado, spinach, tomatoes, apples, pears, oranges, mixed green vegetables, olive oil. Fibre Whole grain bread and pasta, oatmeal, granola, broccoli, carrots, tomatoes. Vitamins All the vitamins swimmers require are available from the fruits, vegetables, pastas, breads, meats, fish and chicken already mentioned. Swimmers cannot eat the same as their friends if their friends are not athletes, they must eat more food and have a more varied diet to ensure they have sufficient energy and strength to train and compete.
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