Why is Recovery Important?

One of my biggest fights after every swim at every swim meet has to do with recovery.   You would not believe the number of coaches I talk to that deal with the same issues.  I just do not think swimmers (and parents) understand the importance of recovery.

There are two main parts to recovery at a meet.

Part I

The warm-down.  If you swim a 50 Free (a sprint race) you actually need to warm down until your body feels good.  This probably means swimming at least a 400.  I always have swimmers say “I only swam a 50 I do not need to do much to warm down.”  This logic is completely WRONG!  During any sprint race your body switches from aerobic respiration to anaerobic respiration. ***Aerobic respiration uses oxygen to produce energy and anaerobic respiration is done without oxygen*** Why does the body switch? This is because your body is burning oxygen faster than you can replace it.  The biggest bi-product of anaerobic respiration is lactic acid.  Now this may be way too scientific, but I do not know a better way to explain it.  Lactic acid in your muscles leads to muscle fatigue and cramps.  To get lactic acid out of your system you need to spend time warming down and making sure you drink plenty of WATER!  Just because you are a swimmer, swimming in a pool of water, does not mean you do not need to drink water.  You actually need to drink more! 

Now if you are swimming anything 200 and above your body still produces lactic acid which feels like your muscles are literally burning or “Muscle Burn.”   And because you are swimming for a longer period of time your body is producing more lactic acid and you will feel that “muscle burn.”  A good rule of thumb is your warm-down should be twice as long as your race.    Yes, that does mean if you swam the 1500 you should probably swim about 3000 for your warm-down.  This is why coaches have such a battle with warming-down.  It seems like a lot work, and it is, but it is necessary.  Your body is like a high performance race car.  You cannot turn it on and off over and over again and expect it to perform at its peak every time.  Many times I tell my more experienced swimmers to swim until they feel good.  If you were ever a swimmer you know that feeling and generally that is produced by swimming double your race. 

Part II

Refueling.  You just burned a lot of energy.  You need to make sure you are refueling your body properly before your next swim.  Of course, this means drink more water!  Nothing is more important or can replace water!  You also need to provide your body with protein, complex carbohydrates, and simple sugars.  One of my favorite items to suggest is a simple peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  This covers all three categories and it is simple to make.  I see people with all these performance bars, gels and whatever else they think might work; however, nothing refuels you like water and simple natural foods. 

Great things to have in your cooler at meets:

Fruits: watermelon, bananas, strawberries, grapes, etc.

Hard boiled eggs (great source of protein)

Pasta Salad

Yogurt

Fig Newtons

Peanut butter crackers

Gatorade/Sports Drinks

WATER!

Common things found in coolers not ideal for refueling:

Crackers (think gold fish and other cheesy varieties that does not supply protein)

Chips

Candies/Cookies

Soda

Why is the warm-down & refueling so important? 

I started this year reviewing results from various meets throughout the season and I have started to notice a trend.  At almost every meet the swimmers first race(s) of the day were their best.  The reason is that they all had eaten a proper meal before the meet and their body was ready to perform.  But as the meet continued I noticed their swims were getting weaker.  I started asking my swimmers what they had eaten, how much they were warming-down and how much water they had to drink.  Shockingly enough the answers normally went like this, “I swam a 200”, “I have had some (insert some form of Junk food)”, “I drank this much water (normally less than a cup).”  They wonder why they are not swimming well.  So, I started having my swimmers carry water bottles with them everywhere.  We live in Phoenix you cannot possibly drink enough water.  I ask them before and after every race what they have had to eat and what they are planning to eat.  Lastly, until they fully understand what the feeling is too completely warm-down I am giving them an exact yardage to swim.  It is amazing the difference it has made.  The swimmers have more energy throughout the sessions of the meet and throughout the weekend.  

Now the meet is over. What does this mean? It does not mean your recovery is over.  It means you still have some recovery to complete. Even if you did your full warm-down at the meet and ate properly throughout the weekend you still need to make your next practice. Yes, make your next practice, even if it is the next day.  In my opinion that is one of the most important workouts.  This way your body can work through any remaining lactic acid, fully recover and hopefully avoid injury associated with the lack of proper recovery. 

Disclaimer: These are my opinions and are to not be a reflection on anyone other than myself.