Best supplements for a short-distance swimmer and a long-distance swimmer?

Question

Randy Bird,MS,RD,CSSD,CSCS · Answer

So the question is, what are the best supplements for short-distance swimmers and a long-distance swimmer? First of all, short-distance, you think Sprint. So things that can help you in high-intensity short bursts would be what we're looking for. The two most researched supplements to fit that would be creatine and beta-alanine. So first, from a supplement standpoint, I always stress you need a third-party certified supplement. NSF Certified for Sport or Enform Sport is the way to go. That way you know what you're getting. You also know you're not getting dangerous banned substances contaminating your products. For creatine, you want creatine monohydrate. Nothing has outperformed that from a creatine standpoint. Don't buy into the hype of all these other forms of creatine. Creatine monohydrate is the way to go. Beta-alanine, you need to split throughout the day or you're going to have what's called paresthesia, which is tingling, pinprick sensation, flushing. So it's best to split that up throughout the day. From a long-distance standpoint, the main thing is carbohydrates. So you're wanting to have the fuel to get through that workout. But from a supplement standpoint, other things that may help, it's more of a food, and this can help with short distance as well, is sodium bicarbonate. In short, that's baking soda. So using that can decrease fatigue from acid. The problem with baking soda is it can cause severe GI or gastrointestinal distress, so you definitely want to play around with that.

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"Best supplements for a short-distance swimmer and a long-distance swimmer?"