Personal experience about recovery

I wanted to share something as a parent, because it may help another parent or swimmer.

During the last camp, in august , David wrote that proper post-training recovery is essential and that “this is not a joke.” I could not agree more.

We learned this ourselves. My swimmer was not always refuelling properly after hard sessions, and little by little performance started to drop and other problems appeared the real issue being that the body is simply not getting enough energy for everything it is being asked to do.

And in a teenager, this matters even more than in an adult athlete. An adolescent needs energy not only for training and recovery, but also for growth, bone development, hormonal maturation and normal puberty.

This is where parents should know about RED-S — Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport. It can develop when, over time, an athlete does not take in enough energy to cover both training and the body’s normal needs.

The signs can be surprisingly easy to miss: persistent fatigue, slower recovery, declining performance, loss of strength, recurrent injuries, changes in mood or concentration, reduced immunity, and disturbances in bone and hormonal health.

What makes RED-S tricky is that it often develops gradually, and many of these signs can easily be blamed on adolescence, school stress, poor sleep or “just a bad season.”

That is why I really appreciate the way Swim Pros insists not only on training, but also on proper post-training nutrition, carbohydrates + protein, hydration, electrolytes when needed, and enough sleep..and mental coaching of course.

We caught the problem in time, but it made me realise how easy it is to overlook.

So yes, David was absolutely right: this is not a joke. Recovery and adequate fuelling are part of the training itself — especially in a growing athlete.

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Personal experience about recovery