First myth - Dont''''t eat before swimming:
There is neither history nor science to support it. Cramps have
never caused drowning. People who have supposedly drowned from cramps probably had heart attacks. The fact is that once you start exercising, the circulation to the intestine shuts down and the blood goes to the muscles. I knew one young American swimmer who ate a hamburger with onions and mustard and four candy bars, and drank a coke, just before a 1968 Olympics race, then broke her own world''''s recore.
Second myth - Never drink while exercising:
This is wrong. You should not even wait until you are thirsty. If you feel you are losing water, you should immediately replace it. And if you intend to
exercise first thing in the morning, you should drink one or two glasses of plain water before you start. Part of the fluid you have lost is blood fluid. This means that the heart has to pump that many more times to recirculate the diminished supply of blood.
Third myth - Sugar taken before exercise raises the energy level:
Sugar taken before a contest or workout can do more harm than good. Even preparations like honey and lemon juice are counterproductive. We have found by physiological studies that sweets can trigger an insulin reaction. The effect is to drive the bydy''''s sugar into the storage organs. The only time you need to eat sugar to replace the amount that has been depleted is after an hour and a half or steady exercise such as a marathon race or a golf or tennis match. Extra sugar never gives extra energy.
Fourth myth - Use salt
tablets to prevent fatigue:
Never salt tablets can be worse than no salt at all. Be sure you are only restoring salt that you have lost by sweating. /the body can''''t store salt. If you overdo it, you may actually induce the cramps and muscular weakness you are trying to avoid. Just as you dry out meats to preserve them by soaking them in salt, so you have dried out the tissues of the body by overdoing the salt intake.