Nutritional Recommendations for Synchronized Swimming

Abstract

The sport of synchronized swimming is unique, because it combines speed, power, and endurance with precise synchronized movements and high-risk acrobatic maneuvers. Athletes must train and compete while spending a great amount of time underwater, upside down, and without the luxury of easily available oxygen. This review assesses the scientific evidence with respect to the physiological demands, energy expenditure, and body composition in these athletes. The role of appropriate energy requirements and guidelines for carbohydrate, protein, fat, and micronutrients for elite synchronized swimmers are reviewed. Because of the aesthetic nature of the sport, which prioritizes leanness, the risks of energy and macronutrient deficiencies are of significant concern. Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport and disordered eating/eating disorders are also of concern for these female athletes. An approach to the healthy management of body composition in synchronized swimming is outlined. Synchronized swimmers should be encouraged to consume a well-balanced diet with sufficient energy to meet demands and to time the intake of carbohydrate, protein, and fat to optimize performance and body composition. Micronutrients of concern for this female athlete population include iron, calcium, and vitamin D. This article reviews the physiological demands of synchronized swimming and makes nutritional recommendations for recovery, training, and competition to help optimize athletic performance and to reduce risks for weight-related medical issues that are of particular concern for elite synchronized swimmers.

Physical and Energy Requirements of Competitive Swimming Events

“…The fact that these sports are performed in water where resistance to movement is much greater than on land presents additional challenges to the competitors. In successive articles in this series (Bernadot et al, 2014;Cox et al, 2014;Mujika et al, 2014;Robertson et al, 2014;Shaw et al, 2014b), each aquatic sport is discussed in reference to how its training and competition demands affect the nutritional requirements in developing and maintaining competitive success. Here we primarily examine the physical requirements of swimming because locomotion or movement in water is common to all aquatic sports, and many of these principles help to form the basis for understanding nutritional considerations in the aquatic sports.…”

“…Synchronized swimming is more technique oriented but requires well-developed fitness to undertake the extensive training as well as the physical demands of competitive routines (Mountjoy, 1999). Weight management is a key issue to ensure competitors meet aesthetic expectations (Mountjoy, 2014). An additional physical stress is imposed by the frequent and relatively long breath-holding times during performances.…”

Elite synchronized swimmers display decreased energy availability during intensified training

“…While many athletes in esthetic sports voluntarily restrict food intake, attempting to minimize body weight and fat mass in hope to obtain a competitive advantage (Sundgot‐Borgen & Garthe, ), athletes may also lack the hunger and appetite to increase their food intake in accordance with their energy expenditure (King et al., ; Loucks, ; Drenowatz et al., ). Studies on the energy intake and expenditure of elite synchronized swimmers are scarce, but suggest that energy deficiency is common in these athletes (Ebine et al., ; Lundy, ; Robertson et al., ). Ebine et al.…”

Hair and Saliva Trace Elements Content in Young Athletes from Kazan Region, Russia

“…Sport disciplines different in speed, power, endurance, and environment have different sport-specific mineral losses [11][12][13]. We studied two groups of athletes representing field hockey and fencing, two sports quite different in the trained skills.…”