Greetings all!
I'm a recreational-level Masters swimmer who's been going for nearly a year now. I swim a mere 2x a week, 1hr a workout, and generally finish less than 5KM a week. This is fine for me, swimming is a hobby for me, and it fulfills my "hobby" requirements quite nicely.
I do, however, like to have goals, and distance goals just don't cut it for me. I decided that my main goal was to compete regularly, and to fill my event card, eventually, with times from 17 or 18 different events.
I want to do my best when it comes down to swim meets and being timed, and coincidentally, I also want to improve my (currently shoddy) eating habits, so I figured I'd come to others who might know...
What kinds of foods should I be eating the week before the competition? What kinds of foods should I be avoiding?
I would assume that McDonalds and the likes is assumed - but how harmful are things like chocolate and high-sugar foods, aside from the fullness they give you and the lack of other foods you consume as a result?
If anyone has special meals they like to eat before competition, and they don't mind sharing the logic behind the meals, I'd really appreciate the info!
Jill
Some Chick's Life
Parents
Former Member
which really seem like ancient history, now......... We used to play a LOT of handball; played very hard, long sets and would frequently have cramping problems. We figured it was from salt loss and so we would take salt tablets, which helped some, but not completely. In college, I remember doing a psuedo-scientific study about cramping, where I learned quite a bit. If memory serves me, the calcium helps buffer the surface tissue of the muscles, keeps the electrical charges in line and at least forstalls the onset of cramping. So we went with calcium tablets way back then, and IT WORKED !! I have at least 20 incidences over my swim coaching career of Tums helping kids get rid of and avoid cramping. Myself, no leg cramps in 20 years of swimming; except: when I tried Creatine a couple of years ago and if I use fins, since I am not used to them. My favorite Tums are the tropical fruit variety, especially coconut. Now, how about some discussion of D.M.S.O., which I have used for 40 years with no visible bad effects, other than my wife says I am a crazy person for swimming butterfly !!!!!! Bert
which really seem like ancient history, now......... We used to play a LOT of handball; played very hard, long sets and would frequently have cramping problems. We figured it was from salt loss and so we would take salt tablets, which helped some, but not completely. In college, I remember doing a psuedo-scientific study about cramping, where I learned quite a bit. If memory serves me, the calcium helps buffer the surface tissue of the muscles, keeps the electrical charges in line and at least forstalls the onset of cramping. So we went with calcium tablets way back then, and IT WORKED !! I have at least 20 incidences over my swim coaching career of Tums helping kids get rid of and avoid cramping. Myself, no leg cramps in 20 years of swimming; except: when I tried Creatine a couple of years ago and if I use fins, since I am not used to them. My favorite Tums are the tropical fruit variety, especially coconut. Now, how about some discussion of D.M.S.O., which I have used for 40 years with no visible bad effects, other than my wife says I am a crazy person for swimming butterfly !!!!!! Bert
