Several Hours Before You Workout

A pre-exercise meal is important for effective training and will vary depending upon your exercise style. A nutritious and balanced lunch is the key to a late afternoon workout.  This meal should include easily digestible foods high in complex carbohydrates, such as pasta, breads, fruits and vegetables. A big salad with a small amount of protein works well. Select a small amount of lean meat such as chicken or fish, and experiment with foods and combinations that work best for you.

Morning workouts require proper fuel, as well. You'll probably feel best if you eat a light breakfast. Great options include; oatmeal, fruit and yogurt, toast with peanut butter, or an egg. Again, everyone is different, so experiment with what works best for you. Regardless of what you choice to eat, you should drink plenty of water before and during a morning workout.

Thirty Minutes Before You Workout

Depending upon the type and duration of workout you do, you'll want to eat a small snack and drink some water a half hour before you get going. Trail mix is great for aerobic workouts over 60 or 90 minutes, but if you are going hard for thirty minutes, you probably only need a half of an energy or granola bar, a large banana, a few graham crackers, fig bars, or pretzels.

You should also start drinking water before your workout so you've consumed about 6-12 ounces in the hour prior to your workout.

During Your Workout

Hydration during exercise depends upon the intensity and duration of exercise, the fitness of the athlete, and weather conditions. In order to simplify the recommendations, a good starting point is to drink 8-10 fl oz of water every 15 min during exercise.

If exercising longer than 90 minutes, drink 8-10 fl oz of a sports drink every 15 - 30 minutes. Exercising for more than about 90 minutes usually requires that you replenish lost carbohydrates. Remember, hydration is just as important for swimmers and when the weather is cool.

Hydration After Your Workout

Swimming makes it more difficult to determine how much fluid you are losing during workouts due o the inability to track perspiration. The best way to determine this is by weighing yourself before and after exercise. For every pound of body weight lost, you'll need to consume about 3 cups of fluid.

Another way to determine how much liquid to consume is to check the color of your urine. Dark, concentrated urine may indicate dehydration. Your urine should be relatively clear in color.

Eating After Your Workout

The post-workout meal should be eaten within two hours of a long or intense workout in order to replenish glycogen stores for continued exercise. While research shows eating 100-200 grams of carbohydrate within two hours of endurance exercise an essential to building adequate glycogen stores, eating a combination of both carbohydrate and protein seems to be an even better option. Studies have found that a 4:1 ratio of carbohydrate to protein seems to the ideal combination of nutrition. And although solid foods can work just as  well as a sports drink, a drink may be easier to digest make it easier to get the right ratio and meet the 2-hour window. Chocolate milk is an excellent and readily available option.