Difference in recovery between tapered vs. non-tapered meets
Former Member
Just wondering if any of you have experienced a difference in your recovery between tapered and non-tapered meets. This weekend I swam my first truly non-tapered meet. My times weren't that far off my best times, which was fairly encouraging. However, I did notice that on the second day of the meet I was more fatigued than I normally am on the second day of meets, with other variables being similar. And today I had a particularly crappy practice -- couldn't hit intervals that normally wouldn't be a problem for me, even the day after most meets. Should I be concerned, with Nationals two and a half weeks from now? Or is this to be expected and the result of not tapering for this meet?
I think I'm probably obsessing too much. Nats nerves, I guess. :)
I've heard chocolate milk is as good as the pre-mixed drinks. But.. at a pool it's not always available. I drink Protein Plus which I get at Target. It's grape flavored and is pretty good. The key is to drink it within 20 min to be most effective. Once I get home, I have a banana for the carbs. Our team uses ART stretching and the same woman has been giving us good nutrition advice which has been helping me (and others). I've gotten this from her and my recovery from hard practices has been a lot easier lately.
Yeah, that is a problem with chocolate milk. Meant to mention that I brought a few small containers of the kind that you don't have to refrigerate with me, which seemed to work fine, for me at least. Of course, I do have a few friends who don't like uht milk and won't drink it.
At any event, getting something right after a hard swim (as you say, within 20 minutes) really does seem to make a big difference in speeding recovery.
I've heard chocolate milk is as good as the pre-mixed drinks. But.. at a pool it's not always available. I drink Protein Plus which I get at Target. It's grape flavored and is pretty good. The key is to drink it within 20 min to be most effective. Once I get home, I have a banana for the carbs. Our team uses ART stretching and the same woman has been giving us good nutrition advice which has been helping me (and others). I've gotten this from her and my recovery from hard practices has been a lot easier lately.
Yeah, that is a problem with chocolate milk. Meant to mention that I brought a few small containers of the kind that you don't have to refrigerate with me, which seemed to work fine, for me at least. Of course, I do have a few friends who don't like uht milk and won't drink it.
At any event, getting something right after a hard swim (as you say, within 20 minutes) really does seem to make a big difference in speeding recovery.
