Understanding Energy Systems for Swimming

A swimmer’s success directly correlates to his / her power, speed and endurance.  To achieve these, training both in-water and dryland should target the most relevant type or a combination of the three basic types of energy systems that power the athletes: the anaerobic a-lactic system, the anaerobic lactic system, and the aerobic system. Depending on the athletes training goal (long distance vs sprints) one system may need more buildup than the others. Thus having an understanding of the energy systems that power different types of swimmers will help athletes select the right set of exercises to best complement and complete their training regimen.

1. Anaerobic A-Lactic Energy

Bursts of power and speed that require high amounts of short duration acceleration use the anaerobic a-lactic system.  Swimmers rely on this energy system from the instant they explode off the starting blocks through the first few strokes after break out. The anaerobic a-lactic system creates energy that is sufficient to last around 10 seconds.  

2. Anaerobic Lactic Energy

The anaerobic lactic system provides energy for medium to high intensity bursts of activity that lasts from ten seconds to two minutes. Sprint distance swimmers and mid-distance swimmers rely on this system. The anaerobic lactic system, as well as the anaerobic a-lactic energy system explained previously, are capable of high intensity levels, and do not rely on oxygen for fuel.  

The primary difference between the anaerobic lactic and a-lactic systems is in the amount of time the system can support your race at peak efficiency before dropping off.  We have all seen races (or been the one) where a swimmer who initially looks full of energy and speed suddenly slows down, when his anaerobic lactic energy ran out.

The anaerobic lactic energy system can work at capacity for as long as two minutes. However, the bad news is lactic acid also accumulates in the blood and in muscle cells in the process as waste product from energy usage. The burning sensation in the muscle, shortness of breath and fatigue are all symptoms of lactic acid build up.  Thus it is critically important for swimmers to warm down immediately after their races, especially after sprints.

Strength is important for sprint and mid-distance swimmers whose races depend on the anaerobic a-lactic system and the anaerobic lactic system as their main sources of energy.  Strength can be improved through progressive resistance training. Because the body adapts and becomes resistant to the same training load over time, in order to improve strength and make progress, one needs to constantly change the resistance level, reps, sets and rest period to be effective.  It does not mean the higher the resistance level, the bigger the increase in strength one will get. The biggest benefit for a swimmer comes when the body learns to effectively manage changes in resistance as in swimming races. A word of caution on using weights as part of strength training: muscle cell size increase could affect the body balance of a swimmer, which could in turn affect a swimmer’s stroke positively or negatively.

3. Aerobic Energy

The aerobic system provides energy for comparatively less intense movements that last anywhere from two minutes to a few hours. Unlike the two anaerobic systems, the aerobic system requires oxygen but takes much longer to overload. Long distance races that primarily depend on continuous sustained efforts rely on the aerobic system.

Endurance swimmers are required to overcome a relatively lower and more consistent resistance for a prolonged period of time. Effective dry-land workout for aerobic training often involves longer sets of low resistance reps, done with a breathing pattern.  Because the aerobic system is an efficient energy system that relies on oxygen instead of muscle strength, distance swimmers are often coached to breath every stroke.

So to conclude, training should be focused on the most relevant energy system depending on a swimmer’s race/distance focus. While the right set of exercise can build power, speed, and endurance, a sound nutrition foundation is also required to ensure that energy and nutrient needs are met and allow for recovery between practices. Lastly, let’s not forget a swimmer’s psychological focus is as important as physical training.

While swimmers, parents, and coaches start to set goals and plans for a new  training season, make sure to include nutrition as part of your seasonal planning and daily goals.  The best and most successful athletes do!

Here are some simple actionable guidelines for every swimmer:

In-Season Nutrition: (Hard Training)

• You need carbs!  Target 50% Grains, 25% Lean Protein, and 25% Vegetables each meal.
• FATs: include 2 tablespoons portion of healthy fats with your meal.  Avocadoes toast sounds yum yum…
• Fruits: We highly recommend Pineapples, Oranges, Apples, Bananas, and all kinds of berries for recovery and snacking
• Our pick for between meal snacking: Acai Berry Greek Yogurt Smoothie
• Supplements: Add a teaspoonful of Whey Protein Isolate or Probiotics will boost your workout and help you body last through one more training set.  Beta-alanine is also an excellent natural supplement.  It is a naturally occurring amino acid in the body. Supplementing it with your diet will help improve exercise capacity. It is a great supplement for those working mid-distance or long-sprint training.
• Who needs five meals a day?  Swimmers do!  Having smaller meals, smaller portions of protein, but more often, is a much better meal plan than downing 5 portions of chicken pasta in one sitting.
• Don’t forget to monitor your hydration.  For every pound lost during training, drink 16-24 fl oz (2-3 cups) of water.

Initial Taper (Moderate Training)

• During initial taper, slowly reduce your grain/carb intake to target a 1/3 Grain, 1/3 Lean Protein, and 1/3 Vegetables balance.  Make your food colorful for the best nutrient density.
• FATs: 1 tablespoon.  Add the nuts and seeds to your portion of salad

Final Taper (Easy Training)

• The final taper (10 day count down to the Championships) is when you need to watch the weight gain/loss very carefully.  Think about it, no one will want to swim the championships in a totally different body than what the swimmer trained in all season.  So, sticking to this diet guideline is really important.
• 50% Fruits and Vegetables, 30% Lean Protein, 20% Whole Grains
• FATs: reduce to 1 teaspoon
• Supplements: High dietary nitrate concentration helps increase blood flow to the working muscles to increase oxygen availability and improve muscle efficiency during high intensity activity.  Beets Juice is a great source of dietary nitrate.  We recommend adding beets to your diet during the final taper period.

Race Day

• The biggest fallacy young athletes often make is to think that what you eat on race day is only time that matters.  We have to break it to you that if you haven’t done your in-season and taper diets dealing up to race day, you will see very little benefit and perhaps a negative effect to changing your diet on race day. That said, there are some simple guidelines that you should follow non-the-less.
• Go for the fast digesting lunch options between your prelim and final: Chipotle (brown rice, chicken, black beans, corn, lettuce are a good easy combo) always works!
• Pack your bags with natural quick absorbing natural antioxidant foods such as oranges for a quick boost of energy 45 minutes before your race.  Fresh pineapples, chocolate milk and a bottle of tart cherry juice for post race recovery. These foods can help you recover quickly from your races by increasing total antioxidation capacity, reducing inflammation and helping the muscles recover.  Natural sources of antioxidants can help to decrease stress markers increased during activity.
• Keep to the natural foods, skip the dietary supplements on race day — whatever the label might say — unnatural supplements forms of nutrients take much longer for the body to absorb, and may actually inhibit the natural training response and be detrimental to performance.

Do you have a favorite swimmer meal recipe to share?  Send us your suggestions to contact@swimmerbook.com

Swimmerbook wishes all of you good luck to a new season ahead!

Do you feel the stress?  Right about this time in the season, when the championships kick off relentlessly one after another, we all feel our blood pressures, anxiety levels, and stress meters hit the highs — swimmers and parents alike.  Welcome to the mental side of swimming!  The power of mental tapering is such an important piece of the sport because the skills that swimmers learn in regards to mentally preparing for success in a meet, are the same skills that will allow them to mentally prepare for success in their lives outside of the pool.

Swimming teaches athletes to push themselves to the brink of their abilities day in and day out. This is what makes the sport great. The ability to strive for a goal that is just outside of our reach and know that through hard work we can achieve more tomorrow than we could today.  But what do you do when the swimmer grows tired of reaching for that goal and feels emotionally exhausted? One of the ironic things about time based sports like swimming is that while the workouts can be physically taxing, the emotional stress of the season is what exhausts many athletes, right at championship time.

The grind of morning workouts, class, afternoon workouts and homework day after day can be draining. When this demanding schedule is combined with the winter months, a lack of sunlight and long meets that eat into sleep and weekends; it’s enough to drain the emotional reserve of even the most dedicated athlete. The result is that by the end of the season, when swimmers are preparing for their most important races, they lose the drive that they had early in the season. Taking time off isn’t an option because of the importance and the buildup to the upcoming meets.

The traditional answer is to taper the approach and get more rest. While this is the perfect answer for getting the body ready to perform at its peak level, it does not address the mental condition of the athlete. It lessens the demand on the emotional bank account, but just because you stop withdrawing money doesn’t mean the bank account will go up on it’s own.

This concept of tapering shouldn’t be exclusive to the physical load that swimmers are experiencing.  Mental tapering is just as important.  Here are a few simple things that can help:

For the swimmers, if you need a quick dose of courage and spirit, listen to the story of “Eric the Eel” (the swimming underdog who swam at the 2000 Olympics without having ever seen a 50 meter pool before), and relive the phenomenal 4×100 free men’s relay at the 2008 Olympic Games (“Most Phenomenal American Swim Ever!”).  If you are having doubts about achieving the seemingly impossible, watch the “Miracle on Ice” (the 1980 US Olympic hockey team pulled off one of the greatest upsets in sports) will certainly make you believe your hard work will deliver.

For the parents, it is especially important that you play a positive role during the psychological tapering period.  As much as possible, you should limit the psychological burden on the athletes. This does not mean not holding them accountable to completing their homework and chores around the house. Instead, it’s about removing as much pressure on their performance as possible and instead focus on making deposits to their emotional bank account.  These deposits can take many forms and should vary based on the child. A couple of starting ideas could be a nice dinner out where the topic of swimming is off limits. It’s common for swimmers to feel like the sport is consuming their lives. A night away from the sport is a nice reprieve that allows both the parents and swimmers to return to the sport fresh in the morning.   Another great activity is to review old pictures and video footage from other activities the family did together, and remembering that your swimmers are also talented writers, artists, or joke masters.  This is the time when swimmers and parents can reinforce the bond between one another and understand that your lives are not defined by the results of one swim meet.

You might just be surprised that by removing the stress of competing at a high level, athletes release the burden and tension that the season has pinned on them. By letting this burden go, they are then free to achieve some of their best results.