Do you know if your eating right as a swimmer? As a swimmer you got to eat what's good for you. Eating junk food like pizza, nachos, or cake is not a wise idea to eat as a swimmer. Swimming you use a lot of energy and burn a lot of calories. In the pool you sweet a lot which you might not think so but you do. Good foods to eat are pasta, fruit, and vegetables. The reason pasta is a good food to eat while being a swimmer is because its loaded with carbs. As a swimmer you want tons of carbs so you can have a great amount of energy to swim.
Junk Food:
Eating junk food and swimming does not work well together. Yes you get this boost of energy but to be honest it doesn't in the water. When you eat junk food and swim it actually tires you out more than not eating and swimming. Junk food can cause cramps in the water like in ur side or even on ur leg. A cramp is a sudden tension of a muscle. Getting a cramp really sucks when your swimming because you have to get to the closest end to get out. From my experience it is one of the longest pain you can experience as a swimmer.
Healthy Food:
Healthy food as a swimmer is very important. What I did as a swimmer is stay away from junk food during the week. Yes you can have some junk food but it needs to be near 95% healthy food. In most sports pasta is that one food you want to stay away from because it causes cramps, but in swimming it is considered a good food because you burn a lot of calories and fat that pasta is a great way to restore those lost calories and get the energy you need for the sport. When I swam everyday before a swim meet my team and I would have pasta dinners so we would have the energy for our races the next day.
How to know if your eating right:
To tell if your eating right is by closely watching to see how you perform in the water after what you ate. If your eating right you can tell because you can feel energized and ready to swim. If your not eating right you wake up tired, cant swim without needing a break to rest, or even you level of alertness in the water. Eating right can help with how you perform as a swimmer and how well you can help your team. My experience and knowledge at eating right has helped me become one of the best swimmers I can be for my team.
This is really interesting! I was always told to never eat then swim, so I would always to go a pool starving! Does all kinds of food even healthy cause cramps when swimming on a team?
ReplyDeleteMainly the unhealthy food causes cramps but if you eat food that has starch in it like a potato it can cause cramps but not as likely to happen. Cramps can also happen if your muscles are tired. Its better to eat something healthy like an apple or a banana when your going to swim than eating a cookie. It truly depends on what your putting into your body. When someone says you got to wait an hour after eating they are full of baloney. If your worried about a cramp just eat a light snack and do some stretching before swimming.
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