Coach Chris Tips and Advice
Stretching ...
Pre and Post Session Stretching Guidance
Why should you stretch?
- It may play a role in injury prevention or minimization.
- It may help you recover from injury.
- It may increase your range of motion.
But, perhaps, the most important reason why you should stretch is that it increases your flexibility. Being flexible allows you to get into the right positions for efficient technique with little or no effort.
Like everything else in swimming, ideas on stretching have changed considerably in recent years. Following are some of the current ideas on the role of stretching in swimming.
Traditional stretching the "old way"
In the "old days," stretching just meant to lean against a wall and pretend to stretch your shoulders, back and arms. Although these static stretches still may have their place, there are more effective flexibility options available.
If you must stick to the "old favorites," try to follow these tips:
- Hold each stretch for 30 seconds.
- Keep breathing long, slow and relaxed while stretching -- about five to six breaths per minute.
- Try to stretch while in a "swimming position" (i.e., keep your body long and tall and your spine straight).
Nutrition ....
PRE TRAINING MEALS
Pre exercise meals should prepare you for activity and leave you neither hungry nor with undigested food in your stomach. The size and timing of pre-exercise meals are inter-changeable.
It is not ideal to exercise on a full stomach, therefore larger meals should be consumed 3-4 hours before exercise, whilst small snacks can be consumed in closer proximity.
Meals/snacks should provide sufficient fluid to maintain hydration, relatively low in fat and fibre to assist gastric emptying and minimise gastro intestine distress but relatively high in carbohydrate to maximise maintenance of blood glucose, be moderate in protein content and consist of foods familiar and well tolerate to the individual athlete.
Examples of pre-exercise meals and snacks ....
2-4 hours before exercise(e.g breakfast before swimming session or lunch prior to afternoon session) |
| Breakfast cereal (2-3 weetabix) with low fat milk & fruit |
| Porridge (medium to large bowl) with low fat milk & fruit juice |
| Toast (2-3 pieces), muffins or crumpets with honey/jam |
| Beans on toast (half large tin with 2 thick slices) |
| Low fat rice pudding with tinned fruit (large tin) |
| Pasta (100g-150g) with low fat tomato sauce |
| Jacket (medium) potato with beans (half large tin) |
| Large roll/tortilla/sandwich with meat filling & banana |
| Fruit salad with low fat yoghurt (150g) or fromage frais |
| Smoothie based on low fat milk, low fat yoghurt (250ml) & fruit |
Within an hour before training (examples of snacks which can be consumed in the hour before training sessions, e.g early morning session) |
| 1 large banana and cereal bar & water/fruit juice |
| 1 or 2 cereal bars and fruit juice/water |
| 150-200g jelly beans or babies & water |
| Medium bagel / 2 x toast and fruit juice / water |
| 2 Weetabix with low fat milk and orange juice/water |
POST TRAINING MEALS
The timing and composition of post exercise snacks and meals depends on the duration and intensity of the exercise session (i.e whether carbohydrate stores were depleted) and when the next intense workout will occur.
After intense exercise sessions then muscle glycogen stores are depleted and the athlete should aim to consume 1g of carbohydrate per kg of body mass immediately after exercise to replenish glycogen stores.
Protein consumed immediately after exercise will provide amino acids for the building and repair of muscle tissues. Consuming 10-20g after exercise will be valuable after an intense pool session and especially after a S & C session.
Examples of foods which could be consumed immediately after your sessions and be stored at the pool in your lockers or fridge.
Any One of the Following Items: |
|
| 1 bottle of ForGoodness Shakes | |
Any Two of the Following Items : |
|
| (One item from the left and one item from the right) | |
| 1 tin of low fat rice pudding | 1 large piece of fresh fruit |
| 1 pint of low fat milk | 1 large tin or pot of fruit salad |
| 1 pot of low fat yoghurt | 1 cereal bar |
| 1 pot of low fat custard | 1 carbohydrate bar |
| 500ml carbohydrate drink/juice | 2 jam tarts |
| 1 sandwich (meat or peanut butter filling) | 1 75g flap jack |
| 500ml low fat milk shake | 2 medium slices of malt loaf |
This is not extra nutrition during and should make up part of your daily energy intake. The examples shown are based on a 70kg athlete and should be adjusted accordingly to suit your nutritional requirements.
PRE EVENT MEALS
To prevent gastro-intestinal discomfort & pain pre event meals and snacks should be:-
- High in carbohydrates
- Low in fat
- Low in protein
Timing is individual but 2-4 hours before the event is suitable for most.
If solid foods are difficult due to nerves then sports drinks or smoothies are just as effective.
Suggestions include:-
- Plain breakfast cereal with low fat milk & fruit
- Porridge with low fat milk & fruit juice
- Pancakes with low fat milk & fruit juice
- Toast, muffins or crumpets with honey/jam/syrup
- Beans on toast
- Low fat rice pudding with tinned fruit
- Spaghetti with low fat tomato based sauce
- Jacket potato with beans
- Roll/sandwich with banana & honey
- Fruit salad with low fat yoghurt or fromage frais
- Smoothie based on low fat milk, say milk, low fat yoghurt and mango/banana/berries
If time is limited and you do not have 2-4 hours before you swim to prepare properly then:-
- Consuming high glycaemic index (GI) foods 30-90 minutes before an event can still aid performance
- Best examples include sports drinks & jelly babies
Experiment! Everything should be tried and tested in training, particularly if planning to eat 30-90 minutes before you swim as this can sometimes cause discomfort and even vomiting in some individuals.
All images on this site are ©2008 Denbigh Dragons Swimclub unless otherwise stated and connot be used in any form in any other publication, be that paper or web-based without the written permission of the webmaster or an officer of Denbigh Dragons Swimclub.