Here at The Race Club, nutrition is one of our five disciplines of fast swimming. Frankly, it may also be the most controversial of them all. Yet of all five, it is also the one most likely to decide whether your training pays off in the pool.
Ask ten dietitians the same nutrition question and you will probably get ten different answers. No wonder, then, that swimmers and parents feel confused. The reason is simple, though: every one of you is genuinely different. On the surface we share a lot, but on a microscopic scale our bodies process food in their own distinct ways. As a result, there is no single meal plan that works perfectly for everyone.
Even so, two reasons make good nutrition non-negotiable for any athlete. First, it helps you live a longer, healthier, higher-quality life. Second, and most relevant for swimmers, it directly affects how you perform. You demand far more from your body than the average person on the couch. As a result, you also have to be more aware of what that body actually needs.
The Story of Nutrition at The Race Club
For years The Race Club taught only four disciplines. Then one experience changed everything, and nutrition was added as the fifth. It remains the most dramatic example of how food can transform an athlete’s results.
Rewind to the year 2000, the season before the Sydney Olympic Games. We assembled a remarkable training environment in Phoenix, Arizona. We brought in roughly a dozen of the world’s fastest sprinters. Furthermore, we pulled out every stop imaginable. Each athlete had a refurbished, air-conditioned condo for proper rest, plus an on-call massage therapist delivering daily recovery work. Meanwhile, a world-class strength coach pushed them through boxing and explosive training. In addition, a mental-skills specialist ran visualization sessions three times a week.
One month in, however, it simply was not working. Our head coach reported that the swimmers looked broken down, managing barely one mediocre practice out of every four. Something essential was clearly missing, and the clock to Sydney was ticking.
So the next morning we traced their daily steps and started interviewing the athletes. Then we opened one swimmer’s kitchen cupboards. Inside we found boxes of sugary cereal, bags of chips, and a refrigerator so bad we simply shut the door. Breakfast was cereal and milk, lunch was a fast-food combo every single day, and dinner rotated between burger chains. At that moment the answer was obvious: it was the food.
The fix itself was straightforward. First, a healthy cooked lunch arrived poolside each day, eaten the moment practice ended. Next, nutrient-dense bars with flaxseed oil, protein, and fiber replaced the junk-food breakfast. Finally, fast food was banned at dinner, so the athletes ate at real restaurants instead. Consequently the broken-down swimmers came alive, and the rest is history.
The results speak for themselves. Ultimately, that small group of six swimmers earned roughly eleven percent of every medal the entire United States won across all sports at the Sydney Games. Frankly, none of it would have happened without changing their nutrition first.
“When it comes to what you eat, pay attention. Because if you want to swim fast, you better eat well.”
Why One Meal Plan Cannot Fit Everyone
Different ages, genders, and body types all respond differently to the same food. Beyond that, the biggest difference of all lives in your gut. Inside each of us sit trillions of bacteria, collectively called the microbiome. Together, they act as the gatekeepers of everything you eat.
These bacteria decide what enters your body and what does not. Because everyone’s microbiome is unique, two people can eat the identical meal yet respond very differently, especially in blood-sugar glucose. In fact, that glucose response is probably the single most important metric for analyzing your nutrition.
You can even have your microbiome tested if you want to take a deep dive, and several companies now offer it. Generally, though, blood sugar is a reliable indicator on its own. You certainly need some glucose, but you never want it to skyrocket. For that reason, table sugar should essentially never be on the menu.
Five Nutrition Rules to Live By
Because the right foods depend on your individual microbiome, here at The Race Club we focus instead on what to avoid. These five rules apply to virtually everyone, so they make a reliable starting point.
For younger swimmers, enforcing these rules falls largely to mom and dad. After all, kids rarely cook for themselves, so parents control what actually goes in their mouths. Therefore, paying attention at home is where better performance truly begins.
When swimmers learn early what actually fuels a fast race, the lessons tend to stick for a lifetime. Meanwhile, the ones who never learn spend years guessing at the pool deck.
So the earlier that awareness begins at home, the better. In fact, teaching a young athlete to read a label or skip the sugary drink pays off long after the final race is swum.
Eating Around the Race
Carbohydrate loading works, though it matters most for mid-distance and distance races. For those longer events, load up the night before you compete. Gluten-free pasta is a great option here, and it actually tastes just as good as the regular kind. Therefore you can fuel properly without reaching for foods that do not agree with you.
On race day itself, you do not need to eat a lot. Still, you do need to eat, especially between a morning and an afternoon session, followed by a light meal after finals. A long event already draws on the glycogen stored in your liver and muscles. Therefore, you will not run out of fuel mid-race. Even the longest pool race lasts only minutes, so you simply will not bonk.
A Word on Supplements
Supplements are controversial, so let us be clear about where we stand. For a fuller breakdown, see our companion piece, Should You Be Taking Supplements? First, we detest the so-called Enhanced Games. They dangle a tempting carrot in front of young, healthy athletes, encouraging them to disregard their long-term health for speed. That trade is simply not worth it.
Instead, we believe only in things proven to be safe, never in something effective but dangerous. For recovery, almost every elite swimmer uses a long-chain carbohydrate drink. Moreover, we spike ours with protein to rebuild muscle right after practice. Additionally, an antioxidant that protects the mitochondria can deliver a noticeable energy lift in the morning.
Keep it simple and age-appropriate
Furthermore, hold off on most supplements until puberty, because good nutrition alone does the trick for younger swimmers. Whenever you do shop, read every label carefully, because many products on store shelves contain banned substances.
Yours in swimming,
Turn good habits into fast swimming
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