What you eat before, during and after each stage is key to your swimming success. Our nutrition guidance is built specifically for multi day open water endurance swimming by our partner Precision Fuel & Hydration.
Nutrition and Fuelling
Swimming 33.3km across four consecutive days places very different demands on your body than a single endurance event. Your carbohydrate stores need restoring overnight. Your muscles need protein to rebuild. Your hydration strategy must account for salt water exposure and warm conditions across multiple stages. We have developed our nutrition framework alongside sports nutritionists who specialise in multi day endurance events, and every element of our guidance is designed to keep you performing on day four as well as you did on day one.
Our guidance covers daily carbohydrate targets based on your body weight and stage distance, protein timing windows for overnight muscle repair between stages, hydration and electrolyte strategy for warm water open water swimming, and pre stage morning nutrition protocols to avoid GI distress in the water.
The two hours before you enter the water on stage morning require a very specific approach. Eat too much and you risk GI distress during the swim. Eat too little and you will hit the wall before the final kayak turn. Our stage by stage nutrition guides walk you through exactly what to eat, when to eat it, and how to manage in water fuelling for stages over 8km. We also cover the critical recovery nutrition window after each stage, because what you eat in the 45 minutes after you finish is just as important as what you ate at breakfast.
Our stage by stage guides cover stage morning meal timing and composition by stage distance, in water fuelling options and how to take them without stopping, post stage recovery nutrition and the 45 minute replenishment window, and managing appetite across four consecutive high output days.
Training plans
UltraSwim 33.3 specific Open Water Training Plan
Nutrition for swimming differs slightly from that of running or cycling.
MID SWIM NUTRITION
TRAIN WITH GELS
Gels are the fastest way to maximum energy input - along with the much loved Precision chews, they form the basis of your energy replenishment during each swim. Feedstations are never more than 5km apart, and usually at every 3-4km on the longer swims. You can of course also carry in your costume or in the top of the provided tow float 1 or 2 extra gels - and the kayakers carry emergency rations too.
Hydration
DO SWIMMERS SWEAT?
Yes - you actually sweat a lot when you swim even if you don't feel it. That's why getting your hydration strategy right is so important. With the added complication of not taking water with you when you swim, it is really important to hydrate before your swim, but you should avoid drinking too much plain water the morning before your swim as this can dilute your salt levels. We suggest having electrolytes the night before your swim and the morning of. At UltraSwim 33.3 you will never swim more than 5km without a feedstation where you have access to all the main Precision Fuel & Hydration products including hydration salts and carb drink.
Precision Fuel & Hydration
BOOK YOUR 1:1 CALL
Precision Fuel & Hydration Team are available to you for a free one-to-one call to discuss your strategy for the challenge Book a 1:1 call
Read more HERE on how to Fuel and Hydrate in the UltraSwim 33.3 guide
Your full nutrition guide is part of the UltraSwim 33.3 Preparation Programme, available to all registered swimmers. Reserve your place and get immediate access.
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