The life of a swimmer includes both dry land and water practices. Both help determine how each swimmer will perform in the pool, depending on the work they put into each practice.
But another aspect of a swimmer’s life that determines how they will perform is nutrition. While swimming laps and lifting weights are the seemingly obvious answers to improve as a swimmer, what you eat and put in your body might be more essential for the Utah swim team.
“Nutrition is important to swimmers — it is the most important aspect of an athlete’s health,” said head coach Joe Dykstra. “Whatever they chose to put in their bodies will determine how healthy they are going to be. It’s also important when they are trying to produce a peak physical performance. They need proper fueling, in terms of nutritional content, and timing when they are consuming different types of calories — all of that stuff will affect their performance.”
Another way nutrition affects the Ute swimmers is recovery. If a swimmer is not being properly fueled, their body is going to have a difficult time recovering between practices, making it hard for them to be prepared for the upcoming conference championships. And, if they are not recovering properly, they will be more susceptible to injuries.
But those who are conscious of what they put in their bodies are the ones who perform, and perform well. For Dykstra, it’s all about the tiny details in order to achieve personal greatness for the swimmers on his team.
“I think the ones that are the smartest and more diligent with their nutritional choices get closer to their maximum potential compared to anyone else,” Dykstra said.
As for the plate portion for these swimmers, balance is the most important thing when it comes to nutrition. Due to a high volume of exercise and physical activity, elite athletes require a much higher protein content than the average person, and it’s no different with swimmers.
“The athletic department works hard to provide protein to the athletes so they are properly fueled for muscle building and recovery,” Dykstra said. “That is why lots of fruits and vegetables are needed to get those vitamin minerals that these swimmers won’t get from processed foods and supplements.”
Along with fruits, vegetables and protein, carbohydrates are a big part of an athlete’s diet. As swimmers approach big meets like the Pac-12 and NCAA championships, at least 50 percent of the swimmer’s plate should contain carbohydrates. But they have to be smart with carbs, as well.
Previous research behind “carbo-loading” and huge pasta parties before these meets has really gone out of vogue, so Dykstra, along with the team nutritionist, helps lead his team in avoiding those simple carbs.
“An ideal plate I would like to see my swimmers have should consist of some fresh vegetables, like broccoli and carrots,” Dykstra said. “Colors are always really important to have because it means they are getting different nutritional content and different sources of antioxidants. But along with the broccoli and carrots, some brown rice and a piece of fish would be ideal for them.”
But maintaining a balanced diet is easier said than done.
“Sometimes I want to have food that is not too healthy for me,” said senior Bence Király. “But I feel like not having a balanced diet would affect my performance in a negative way, so I just try to eat what is really healthy.”
While the Utah swim and dive team fuel up, the Pac-12 Championships are in the near future. The women’s team will be competing next week (Feb. 24-27) with the men following the week after that (Mar. 2-5). Both meets will be held in Federal Way, Wash.
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