If you’re planning on getting serious about bodybuilding, it would be good for you to be aware that it isn’t only about exercise. Intake of vitamins plays a key role, whether you are looking to buff up, gain strength, or tone your muscles. Of course, understanding the importance of vitamins is only the first step towards achieving your goal in a safe and healthy way. It is important to know the hows, whats and whys of vitamin intake. By understanding the needs of your body, you increase the effectiveness of your exercise.
Vitamin A
Quite universal and essential for many bodily functions, vitamin A offers numerous benefits. In addition to improving your vision, it is known as a cellular growth and development inducer. It is rich with Beta-carotene, an antioxidant with the ability of neutralizing free radicals. Dry skin, damaged vision and reduced immune system function are all signs of vitamin A deficiency, so benefits of the mentioned are not only closely related to bodybuilding. However, an important property of this vitamin is bone growth, which is an essential factor in lifting weights and maintaining a strong, firm stance. It is a quintessential part of any athletes’ diet, not to be overlooked.
Vitamin B
The vitamin B12 can be found in foods rich with protein, such as meat, fish and dairy products. Due to its body stress-relieving properties, this vitamin should be a vital part of an athletic or bodybuilding diet. Additionally, its ability to assist energy release from food makes vitamin B the ideal ingredient for any workout. By helping the body efficiently turn food into energy and providing spare energy in times of tension and stress, vitamin B has secured its place on the very top of the Amino Z list of essential vitamins.
Vitamin C
Perhaps the most important of them all, vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin, which plays a key role in body growth and development. This vitamin helps our bodies form a protein that is used to form skin, tendons, ligaments and blood vessels. By strengthening your ligaments, vitamin C increases endurance and decreases risk of injury, thus making it essential for gym day. Enabling the body to heal wounds and form scar tissue is quite important in muscle recovery and vitamin C also does this job. Its ability to repair and maintain cartilage, bones and teeth only comes as an additional bonus of appropriate vitamin C intake. There is some debate on whether you can have too much vitamin C, but the point that most agree on is that excess vitamin C attained from a healthy nutrition will be flushed out with urine, but vitamin C attained from supplements can cause some worries.
Vitamin D
A vitamin that dissolves in fat, vitamin D is not naturally present in many foods. Its unique property of promoting calcium absorption in the stomach helps the body enable normal mineralization of bones, which need to be strong and healthy in order to adequately perform exercise. Vitamin D deficiency is a known cause of thin and brittle bones, which is not something to be taken lightly. In addition to bone-related benefits, this vitamin modulates cell growth, improves neuromuscular and immune functions and reduces inflammation. As mentioned, the vitamin in question is quite scarce, but can be found in fatty fish such as tuna, mackerel, and salmon. Cheese, egg yolks, and beef liver also contain vitamin D, but in very small amounts. Luckily, there are many products with concentrated vitamin D on the market, so if you’re looking to get serious about your exercise, don’t refrain from visiting your local supplement shop.
Vitamin E
Also fat-soluble, as is the case with vitamin D, this vitamin is known for its distinctive antioxidant activities. Naturally found in eight chemical forms, vitamin E is also involved in immune function. By producing antioxidants, this vitamin helps protect cells from free radicals – molecules that contain an unshared electron. It is generally found in nuts, seeds and vegetable oils, along with leafy vegetables and fortified cereals. Canola, corn and vegetable oils are also rich in vitamin E. Vitamin E deficiency comes as a rarity and it’s mostly found in premature babies, in complications involving the retina. People who suffer from fat-malabsorption are also known to suffer difficulties with vitamin E absorption, which can result in skeletal myopathy. This can cause quite a bit of complications in terms of exercise and bodybuilding. If you feel you may suffer from Vitamin E deficiency or skeletal myopathy, do a blood test before you even sign up for a fitness regime.
Everyone understands the importance of consuming enough vitamins – we’ve all heard our mothers’ worried reproaches. However, not many bodybuilders pay attention to them. Mostly concentrated on protein and carb intake, these athletes often overlook the benefits of vitamins and the dangers of their deficiency. Maintaining a steady, recommended intake of vitamins is crucial if you want a fast but controlled progress, no matter if your goal is to achieve bigger body mass, lean muscles or to simply stay in shape.
Keep those vitamin orders as persistent as your whey protein orders, and you’re in for a safe but swift muscle-up!