Lately, I’ve been seeing more and more talented young swimmers in my pool – kids between the ages of 12 and 14 who are on fire. Some of them train six times a week, reel off kilometer after kilometer, but they have a huge deficit: they don’t understand their own swimming style.
It’s almost painful to watch: Enormous amounts of energy are invested without ever having done a sound video analysis. How are these young athletes supposed to develop a feeling for water resistance and efficiency if they have never seen themselves? One example is the video of the talented young swimmer A. that we have analyzed here – the potential is huge, but technical blindness is holding her back.
The training misconception: only water allowed?
Another critical issue is nutrition during exercise. I keep hearing that coaches forbid their protégés from eating carbohydrates during the 90-minute training session. The rule is often: “Only drink water.”
I ask myself: How is that supposed to work?
When a 13-year-old body runs completely dry during high-performance training, exactly what we want to avoid happens: The ravenous appetite after training becomes uncontrollable. As soon as the kids get home, they “hit the ground running”. They eat too many low-quality carbohydrates too quickly.
The result: visceral fat despite competitive sport
I already see the consequence of this “water-only” policy in far too many young athletes: despite the high workload, they develop visceral fat (belly fat). Why? Because the insulin peak after training fuels fat storage directly around the organs due to massive overeating. This is logical from a biochemical point of view, but a disaster in terms of sport and health.
When the parents sit at the table with me, I explain to them from my 40 years of experience in endurance sports: performance needs control.
- During training: Targeted intake of long-chain carbohydrates to keep blood sugar levels stable and prevent the “binge” afterwards.
- After training: The right nutrients at the right time, instead of indiscriminate replenishment.
Stop defining young talent solely in terms of endurance. We need to start making technique visible and understanding the biochemistry behind it. This is the only way to create athletes who are not only fast, but also stay healthy in the long term.
Your Roy
- #SwimChannel #Newcomer development #Swimming technique #Sports nutrition #Visceral fat #RoyHinnen #Video analysis #TriathlonJunior