When you're cleaning out the fridge after practice is better to get the protien or carbs? I find myself always craving protien after practice, especially a hard one. Does it make a difference to muscle recovery what you eat? Thanx!!
Originally posted by gull80
You need carbs to replenish muscle glycogen after working out.
true, but doesn't protein get converted into carbohydrates anyway?
I've heard that protein is best for an after practice meal. My mom is a long time supporter of a fruity smoothie with protein powder in it for right after a hard workout.
At the Olympic Training Center we were taught that swimmers training hard should eat 50% carbs,25-30% protein and 20-25% fat. Within 1 hour of swimming the ideal meal has a 4 to 1 carb to protein ratio to replenish muscle glycogen. If you don't replenish the glycogen you will feel weaker the next day and not be able to workout as efficiently.
protein doesn't get converted into carbs. Carbs are an easier form for digestion. You should get a mix of both.
They now have lots of supplements (legal and natural) with a balance carbs and protein. Also, don't forget fat, you need a small amount of that too everyday.
I come from a weight training background and don't really do any distance training, so my thoughts may not be as useful to distance swimmers.
I would think that you would want more carbs after longer distance training and more protein after short fast sprint training.
Even though I only do short distance sprint training, my swim training still uses more calories than my weight training. So on the four days I do weight training, I take quite a bit more (about twice) protein. On the other three days I swim, I try to eat more carbs.
And again, don't forget the fat. :) You will need good fat (nuts, flaxeed oil etc.) daily too. Many strength training programs now use the 45-35-20 formula (carbs, protein, and fat calories). Each gram of protein and carb is worth 4 calories and each gram of fat is worth 9 calories. You can do the math.
I truly believe that in order to be successful, one must have a combination of good technique and strength. Just swimming 3000 yards every day is not going to get you any faster.
Do you guys do sprint training or long distance training? Do they tell you to eat more differently for either?
I think the 45-35-20 is leaning more toward strength training than endurance (buidling fast twitch muscles than slow twitch muscles).
Originally posted by Seagurl51
I eat a Nutra-Grain bar about a half and hour before my workout. It almost always gets me through the entire workout, unless it's really a tough one.
So then in terms of percentage of things to eat....I usually eat 2 eggs and 2 pieces of toast with butter...and sometimes an Eggo with butter. Is that the right combo of stuff? What would y'all recommend?
Chicken *** is a good source of protein. So is a lot of fish. I love salmon. Rice is not a bad source of carbs. Wheat bread too.
It's very difficult to say what to eat and what not to eat since there are millions of edible things and it depends on your taste.
Generally you stick with high complex carb, high protein, and low good essential fatty acids.
I am a bit neurotic as I almost always look at the nutrition facts before I buy anything.
Also, go to www.nutritiondata.com. It tells you the nutritional facts of a lot of foods.
