A Swimmer's Diet

A swimmers diet is equally as important as their training.  Your diet plays a much larger role than most think in overall performance.  If you are not fueling your body properly throughout the day you can affect yourself more than you can imagine.  An improper diet can lead to tiredness, slow recovery and compromised immune system.  And improper eating during a swim meet is normally the #1 reason for poor swims and results. I just wish swimmers would believe me when I say they need to be constantly eating throughout the day. 

What do you think is the most IMPORTANT part of your diet?  Making sure you drink plenty of water.  NOTHING, I mean NOTHING replaces water.  And do you know how many times a swimmer says “but I am surrounded by water, why do I need to drink water?” Truthfully I just laugh to myself because that just shows how little younger swimmers get it. The truth is being surrounded by and swimming in water does not mean you get hydrated through osmosis. Swimmers need to drink more water than most people.  This is not just during training but throughout the day.  If you get dehydrated it will make you feel like you have to work harder and at the same time it will decrease your overall performance.  There are plenty sports drinks out their (ie. Gatorade and Powerade), but none of them replace water.  I tell my swimmers if they bring a sport drink to practice they should also bring and drink twice as much water.  I am not saying there are not advantages to sports drinks as they help replenish your electrolytes and also give you so much needed calories during training.  But sports drinks should never replace water.

As for the food you should consume…There are a couple of rules of thumb everyone should follow.  The first is to snack often.  Every hour or two you should eat something small.  Something like granola bars, fruit or nuts.  You should snack during training as most practices are longer than an hour.  Now I know some swimmers who if they eat during practice, they get sick to their stomach.  My suggestion is to try different things.  If all else fails this is a good time for a sports drink as it will help supply the energy needed to complete the workout.  At the end of workout it is just as important to consume something with protein to aid in your recovery as to hydrate.  This should be done within 30 minutes of finishing your activity.  That means if you have a 30 minute drive home you should bring something with you to eat at the end of practice.  You also need to make sure you are getting plenty of protein throughout your day as well.  

Now as we get close to a competition your diet should become comprised more of carbohydrates.  These include things like pasta, potatoes, fruits and breads.  This will act as your fuel during competition. One of the most common things I get asked at a meet is “what should I eat?”  One of my favorite things to suggest to my athletes is to eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  This gives them the protein to recover (peanut butter), the simple sugar for immediate energy (jelly) and complex carbs (bread) they need to sustain their energy.  Other great things are bananas, apples, cheese & crackers, granola bars, and trail mix. Food such as wheat thins, cheez- its and gold fish are not great sources of nutrition, but I see them all the time at meets with the assumption they are “carbs”.

But despite what you eat,  at meets hydration is still key.  I tell my swimmers I want to see them with a water bottle in their hands at all times.  I expect them to bring their water bottle with them when they are warming up, warming down and heading behind the blocks. 

Now the last thing and probably the most controversial thing I need to talk about are supplements.  Supplements are not regulated by the FDA.  What this means for you as an athlete is you can never know 100% what is in the supplement.  Of course there are two different levels of supplements.  There are your high risk (stay away from):  Muscle Builders, Weight Loss Supplements, and Mega-Doses and there are your low risk (use at your own risk): Carbohydrate drinks, Iron/calcium, and Vitamin D.  I always tell my swimmers when I am asked about supplements to talk to their physician as there are just too many variables involved and I would never want to be responsible for suggesting something that could be potentially harmful. However, the truth comes down to the fact that I am a big believer if you cannot get what you need out of the foods you are eating, you need to change what you are eating. 

Ultimately, I hope that if you get anything out of this it is that you need to eat throughout the day and drink plenty of water as those are probably the two most important things to starting a successful nutritional plan. But as a swimmer you are responsible for taking control over what you eat, how you eat and learning how to create/manage and prepare a proper swimmers diet.

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

High School/Club Swimming

High School/Club Swimming

Swimming high school and club seems to present a challenge every year for those swimmers who choose to do both.  Every year I deal with conflicts between high school and club swim expectations and this year (though it is not the first) I was on both sides of the conflict. For many families this is a true battleground. 

When I first got into coaching I started as a high school swim coach.  I had absolutely loved my time as a high school swimmer and I wanted my high school swimmers to have the same experience.  My team had very few club swimmers but we had enough for me to learn what the battle as between high school and club swim.  High school swimming is all about the team, your school and fun!  Most schools cannot offer the type of training that can be done with your club because the lanes are congested and you have a large variance in abilities.  As a result, I worked with each of the club swimmers on my team to come up with a practice schedule that worked best for their training in club and also gave them the full high school swimming experience.  It was not easy for them all, but we managed to make it work.  Because of the requirements of club swimming I only required my club swimmers to attend one practice a week. Now this year I am an assistant coach of a high school team so the control I have is very limited when it comes to administrative duties. This year my high school team required 3 practices/meets a week.  In my opinion this can put a strain on your overall training, but the truth is it is not impossible to find a balance for both the high school experience and maintaining your club training.  Lately, I hear some schools expect even more from their swimmers and have varying expectations. Some of these expectations, which I will not mention specifically, in my opinion are beyond unrealistic and are actually detrimental to the club athlete. 

What it comes down to is that each swimmer needs to make a decision on what their expectations are for their overall swimming goals/expectations. 

One thing I noticed this year, and one of the biggest misconception about swimming, is that if you do not swim for high school you will never get noticed by colleges.  I am here to tell you that is completely untrue.  The truth is college coaches are paying more attention to what swimmers are doing at Sectionals, Junior Nationals, etc. What someone does in high school weighs very little on the college recruitment process and the truth plenty of swimmers swim for colleges without ever swimming on their high school team.  This does not mean the swimmers who swim in high school have no shot of getting noticed by a college, but the likelihood is very slim. 

The reality is club swimming is all about the individual.  Club swimmers are focused on much larger more individual goals than just swimming well for their high school team.  This does not mean they should not be able to get the enjoyment out of swimming for their high school and skip the whole experience;  they simply have different overall priorities.  As a result, I suggest that club swimmer take the time and discuss with both their high school and club coach their schedule, expectations and goals.  If reaching your goals is going to be hampered by swimming high school, which 95% of the time is not the case when both coaches have the best interest of their swimmers in mind, you really need to weigh your options.  I would never suggest not swimming high school.  I enjoyed it too much and think it is the experience that helped make me who I am.  But I also have to emphasize that you need to go into high school swimming with a clear understanding of what your overall goals and expectations are from the sport.

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

Setting Goals

It has been a while since I have posted.  I have been working on this post for a few months.  Now that High School Season is over and we are getting through Championship Season I should have a few more to post soon.  If you have ideas on things I should post please comment.  Also if you like what you read I would appreciate you sharing my posts.  

Swimming is a sport of delayed rewards.  What this means is that you put in a lot of work and do not see the results for weeks, months and sometimes even years.  This can be extremely frustrating and difficult to deal with.  One way I have helped my swimmers deal with this is through goal setting. 

Of course when I ask a swimmer what are their goals and they tell me, “Make the Olympics” or “Swim at (insert College name)” I cringe.  These are great long term goals that require a lot of hard work and perseverance to achieve, and when I am looking for goals I am also looking for ones that are more short term. Obviously these long term goals are what we are working towards, but to even hope to achieve them a swimmer needs to strive towards short term and intermediate goals.   I also do not like the long term goal that is so concrete.  The reason is a lot of the swimmers who say this to me are 13 or 14 years old.  In 4 years they may not even want to go to whichever school they picked.  I would much prefer “Swim in College,” or “Get a scholarship to swim.”  These are goals that are achievable and do not box you in.

Short term goals are goals that require a lot of work and I normally base them on the immediate swim seasons.  These goals can be to achieve certain cut times or break a certain time barrier.  I do not like to hyper focus on getting a certain time in one event but something broad like achieving a certain amount of cuts for a meet.  Every season I sit down with my swimmers and discuss these short term goals and what we need to do to achieve them. 

As we work towards our short term goals we will focus on more intermediate goals.  These are goals that you focus on day-to-day.  Every day you are at practice the swimmer should be focusing on the intermediate goals we set.  These goals normally include improving under waters, kick strength, technique flaws, etc.  These are what we spend hours focusing on during practice and they have a direct correlation to achieving our short term goals. 

This is a challenge because sometimes you get so focused on trying to achieve your short term goal you forget all about the intermediate goals you are supposed to be working and focusing on.  You always want that instant gratification and unfortunately with swimming you do not get that very often.  When you are younger instant gratification comes more easily because we are more likely to see time drops at more meets, but as the swimmer gets older those time drops come fewer and farther between.  I have seen some swimmers go years between time drops in some events.

Why are time drops more difficult to achieve as you get older? Let’s just say there are many factors, and I will probably not name them all.  The most common reason is everyone eventually reaches a point where they stop growing.  You see time drops all the time when you are younger because you are constantly getting taller and stronger.  You do not have any control on when you stop growing, so that is why focusing on the aspects you can control like the intermediate goals is so vital. 

I read an article earlier on Swimswam ( http://swimswam.com/swimming-sysiphus/) that gave a great explanation on swimming and some of the trials of trying to achieve your goals.  Just because you do not achieve them right when you are hoping does not mean it cannot be done.   Please take a moment and read the article.  I could not agree more with what it says.

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

Quality vs. Quantity

There is always a great debate in swimming of quality versus quantity.  Every coach and team has their own thoughts and feelings on this, but I am a big believer in quality. 

To start off, quality is all about learning to do things the proper way.  I believe this has to start from the very beginning.  This means when a young swimmer first joins a team they need to be taught through drills by focusing on how to swim smart.  What do I mean by swim smart? Do not recreate the wheel.  I am a firm believer in streamlines, jumping off the wall with power, and using your whole body when swimming. Yes, even during drills.

Any coach can give a kid sets to complete and just have them swim laps back and forth across the pool (quantity) and some swimmers will do fine in that setting. However, this form of coaching in my opinion does not hold a swimmer accountable for what they are doing.  I have been known to call these kinds of practices “Garbarge Yards!”  What I mean by this is that they are likely swimming yardage but in the process forming bad habits such as not holding their streamlines, breathing on break outs, not focusing on body position or head position.  “Garbage Yard” practices normally do not focus on the quality of the swim rather just yards. Think of this as a runner who simply runs to run and not a runner who runs to train for a marathon where they focus on stride, breathing and technique. 

By focusing on quality you can also prevent many swimmers from becoming injured. Most injuries occur when coaches just push the kids to get as much yardage in as possible.  Rather, when swimming for quality the simplest drills can help teach proper hand entry, kick and body position.  And yes, even when doing mainly drill sets the kids are being challenged.  Again, this challenge may not come at yardage but rather forcing the swimmer to focus on and implement technique. It makes them responsible in not only understanding directions that I give them but forcing them to be accountable and apply what I am saying each and every time. I find that focusing on quality keeps the swimmers, as well as me, engaged in what they are doing.  They are constantly being challenged and learning to swim smarter not further. 

This form of coaching can make my job more challenging, but it also makes it that much more rewarding.  It is also much easier to keep your kids progressing through the sport because they are more like to stay injury free, which becomes imperative as swimmer begin to add more hours in the water.   

Now, as you get further into the sport there is a point where your quantity needs to increase.  With an increase in quantity it cannot be at the cost of your quality.  There is no point in doing a long yardage challenge set if part of the way through your technique falls apart.  This is where even with quantity swimming I also expect them to swim with good quality and where implementing my coaching comes into play. As a swimmer, they need to create a strong base so when those long yardage sets are done the swimmer is set up to be successful. 

How can you create that strong base?  Personally, I start off every season focusing on “long axis” strokes. Long axis stokes are free and back which are the strokes that rotate around your spine.  With this focus, I break each stroke down to underwaters (jumping off the wall, streamlines, and underwater kicks).  Then I focus on kick strength and speed.  Your kick is your motor, it drives your body rotation and helps maintain your body position.  Lastly, I focus on body position.  I spend a couple of weeks teaching them stroke and technique breakdown by implementing them into all the drills and then working it into their swimming.  As we work on each stroke and continue to focus on specific technique I continue to add new sets that will challenge the swimmers, but still focus on the details. Don’t worry… I did not forget “short axis” or breast and fly, but I focus on those once a strong base is set on long axis strokes.  

Now just because I focus mainly on quality does not mean I do not focus on quantity.  Quantity at a young age I feel is a detriment to the swimmer.  If they are just swimming yards to swim yards they are not learning anything.  It would get rather boring for the swimmer and I see this commonly leads to them burning out at a much younger age.  But as a swimmer gets older and they have a strong technique base behind them the quantity does need to be increased.  This can be increased in a couple of ways.  The first is adding more practices in a week.  Many teams offer morning and evening sessions which makes getting in additional practices in easier. With the added days the quantity of yardage each week will increase.  I also will add longer sets with tougher intervals but I still expect smart swimming.  I never write a workout with in the intention of swimming “garbage yards.”

With all this said I am a firm believer in quality over quantity.  I know there are plenty of people who disagree with me, but in my experience those swimmers who swim for coaches who focus on yardage commonly get bored with swimming, are burnt out too soon or are injured too quickly in their swimming careers. However, I think there is room for both but never at the cost of quality.

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

The Supportive Parent

Swimming is one of the few sports that require a lot of support from parents.  This support can be shown in various ways from being your swimmers biggest cheerleader to being an official standing on the side of the pool for hours during a meet so your swimmer can compete. 

I know each parent sacrifices a lot of time between commuting and getting your child to and from practice, meets and other team activities.  I know several weekends a month are spent on a pool deck when you need/want to be doing other things.  And the truth is this is the sport your child has chosen and it is difficult.  However, there are a few things you can do to make the time you are spending more enjoyable.  Get involved!  How you may ask?  Every team is different, but several have the same needs.  Does your team have a booster club?  Do you wish to understand the sport more? Become an official.  Every team I have ever coached for is always in need of officials.  These two areas can help you get involved in ways that help the team, support your child, get to understand the sport of swimming, and allow you can meet other parents. 

This is your child’s sport. 

The most important thing to remember is…This is your child’s sport.  The focus should be on your child and not anyone else’s child. And truthfully the focus should also not be on yourself and how you feel. 

With that said there are some parents who take getting “involved” too far. And this is not in ways that I just mentioned above. Too many parents sit in the stands dwelling on a bad swim or a bad meet with their child, which does not help the swimmer.  Your swimmer is going to have bad races, bad days, or bad meets.  It is normal and it is natural.  I have so many swimmers every meet walk up to me saying my mom/dad are upset because I got beat by so and so, or they are upset because I did not drop any time.  Honestly this is one of the few times parents you can be the good guys.  I ask my parents no matter what to tell your swimmer they did good job and ask “what did your coach say?” Let me be the bad guy if necessary.

Now sometimes you may not understand why a coach is doing what they are doing.  And if this is the case, the best way to find out is to communicate directly with the coach.  There are several appropriate times to do this, but during practice is not one of them because the coach needs to have his full attention on practice/swimmers.  If you can catch the coach prior to practice, after practice, via e-mail or by phone those are the ideal times to talk to the coach.  You can also set up a meeting with the coach.  As a coach I appreciate those parents who want to understand what I am doing, my method and my goals; however, there is always a place and time for this communication to happen. 

Ultimately, your child(ren) need to be swimming for themselves not being in fear of their parents and what they are going to say.  That is why I say get involved with the sport and/or the team.  This way you are not dwelling on the bad swim or bad day.  You are involved in your own way and your swimmer sees that you are involved in something they are passionate about.  Let the coach do their job and be there to help guide your swimmer through the rough patches.

 

By being a supportive parent you are helping create an environment where the coach can be successful, the swimmer can be successful and ultimately the team can be successful. 

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

How to Choose the right group and coach?

With a new season starting I always seem to have a lot of swimmers and families contact me expressing interest in my program.  During those e-mails, phone calls and face to face meetings I like to take the time to explain how I do things. This can be from selecting the right group, to why my groups practice as much or as little as they do, to my expectations and even explaining the dynamics of those swimmers already in my groups. 

I have learned over time I am not the right coach for everyone, as much as I would love to be.  I always suggest that a swimmer and their family come to try out a few practices to get a good feel the commitment.  Participating in just one workout does not give you a good example of what our training or practices are like.  You could choose to come on a day when the group is tapering, doing a drill heavy work out or even on a day when we are doing a test set. And if that is the case any one of these practices does not show you what our season plan will be. 

As a swimmer or family you should be looking for a couple of different things as you are trying to choose the best team/group for you.  First, does the schedule work with your school, after-school activities, family activities, etc.?  Second, does your swimmer seem to connect with the coach in charge of the group and do they respect him/her?  Third, after communicating with the coach do you agree with the direction he/she or the team is going?

Now this seems simple, but if one of these three items does not fit when you are looking at teams the team is probably not going to be a good fit for you.  The reason I say that is if you disagree or do not fulfill one of those items there will be constant strain when it comes to the team and your athlete’s training.  For example, if the schedule does not work and you are missing a lot of practices the coach is not going to be happy and your swimmer is not going to get the most out of their training. 

Now at the same time I have plenty of swimmers come and try out one practice and never return.  As I said before to get a real feel of the team and coach you need to come to more than one practice and I suggest coming for an entire week to get the best feel for the program and coaches. 

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

What to expect during Taper?

I have been thinking about this a lot the last couple of weeks as we head into our final Championship meets this weekend.  I have been having several conversations with swimmers and parents about what to expect so I thought I would write it all down. 

First, there are several very important things you must do to get the most out of your taper that does not even involve being in the pool.  My motto for the Taper Week is “Think Fast, Move Slow!”  The reason I use this motto is outside the pool I do not want you expending energy doing things that can cause you to get injured.  I could not tell you how many swimmers get hurt during taper doing something outside the pool.  This includes skateboarding, surfing, skiing, roller skating, etc.  Why do I see so many injuries during Taper Weeks? During taper your energy level begins to rise because you are not expending as much energy at practice as you were during your training phases.  This means when you are not at the pool the best thing to do is rest and conserve your energy.  You should also stay relaxed and positive.  Focus on the positive things that have gone on during your training and be ready to race. 

During taper a lot of swimmers have a tendency to also over eat.  They are used to eating like they would during their normal training schedule; however, during taper you are not expending as much energy so your diet should change to represent that.  About 2 days from competition you should switch your diet to a high carbohydrate diet.  This means about 80% of your total calories should come from carbs.  Great carbs include:

Pasta/Noodles

Potatoes

Pizza

Pancakes

Fruits

The above are two vital aspects you should be conscious of to make your taper a success. However, there are some other things you should be aware of as well.  A lot of swimmers come to me with concerns of not feeling right in the water or being sore.  This is actually very normal.  Many times you go into taper right after some of your most intense training and your body is recovering.  As a result, instead of focusing on is how your body feels you need to focus more on the little aspects of your training.  You need to focus on the little details from how you will be approaching the race to stroke counts and streamlines.  What do I expect from my swimmers during taper? I expect my swimmers to swim fast when they required.  We spend a lot of time working on speed.  Most of the time when I taper swimmers yardage is down, but the intensity is up. 

The Benefit of Taper

As a result of a proper taper on race day your body should be ready to compete at your highest possible level.  You have worked throughout the season on establishing your great routine at meets to include warm-up, warm-down, staying cool (or warm depending on the season), hydrating, refueling and focusing on the aspects you can control.  There are some things you cannot control which includes who is swimming next to you, what the water temp is, air quality, weather, how crowded it is, what lane you will swim in, etc.  You need to be prepared for these variables and adjust your routine as needed.  Otherwise, you need to do your best to stay relaxed and confident. If you can follow my rules of taper you will be ready to swim your best races!