Evaluation of High Intensity Pre-Training Nutritional Choices by Competitive Swimmers

Pre-training nutrition for swimmers

Abstract

Background: Nutritional planning is a fundamental aspect for performance in swimming. The literature evaluating whether competitive swimmers adjust their nutritional intake according to the training performed is limited. Objective: To analyze the adequacy of dietary intake in competitive swimmers for high-intensity interval training series, and to verify the correlation between nutritional variables and time until exhaustion. Methods: Fourteen male swimmers performed 400 m series (with 40 s of passive rest) on two separate days at 90% (s90) and 95% (s95) of the average speed of the 400 m (s400) test under maximum intensity), previously determined by the 400 m front crawl test. Dietary intakes were recorded in the 24-hour period preceding the series. Energy and macronutrient intakes were compared with literature recommendations. Results: Swimmers reported inadequate energy intake (s90 ?64% and s95 ?85%, below recommendations) and carbohydrate intake (s90 ?57% and s95 ?85%, below recommendations) when compared to specific recommendations for high-intensity training phases. No correlations were found for the two series between performance and nutritional variables. Conclusion: There was an inadequacy of the diet to the needs required by training.