Nutrition after a training session is essential for swimmers to recover and train hard at their next session, particularly if you are training twice a day or when a swimmer has a full day at school.
Swimmers should look to consume around 50g of carbohydrate within the first hour of finishing the training session.
After morning training an ideal takeaway breakfast that can be brought from home are overnight oats – oats soaked in a liquid of your choice – ideally sugar free almond or rice milk together with a fruit for sweetness and flavour. These are made the night before and stored in the fridge, they can be packed before training and brought with you to eat after you leave the pool or finish the fitness session.
Other choices include:
- 2 slices toast/bread with jam or honey or banana topping
- 1 large bowl (2 cups) breakfast cereal with milk
- 200g tub of yoghurt
Successful swimmers refuel after training, they feed their muscles to repair, becoming stronger and faster.
Together with the correct food, it is essential swimmers remain hydrated; performance deteriorates after just a 1% decrease in hydration. Swimmers should always have with them a water bottle and continue to hydrate both throughout the session and also the day ahead. Just because you are in water does not mean you are not sweating.
