Vitamins
Vitamins play crucial roles in literally thousands of biological
processes that keep out bodies fit and healthy on a day to
day basis. It can only take a deficiency in one particular
vitamin to short circuit an essential process and leave your
body operating at a less than optimal level.
As we have established by now, a successful bodybuilding
regime requires your body to be firing on all cylinders to
get the maximum benefit from your workouts, so it is a good
idea to make sure you are getting all the vitamins and minerals
your body needs to stay 100% healthy.
It is increasingly difficult in todays fast-paced modern
world to eat a balanced diet every day. And even eating a
well balanced diet is no guarantee that you are getting all
the vitamins and minerals that your body needs in order to
operate at its peak, because there are just so many variables.
Multivitamin supplements then are a convenient and safe way
to ensure that your nutritional requirements are fulfilled
every day without fail, and that your body has all the materials
it needs to support you in your training and turn your hard
work into lean muscle mass.
When searching for a good multivitamin supplement, you will
want to look out in particular for the following vitamins
and minerals which are specially important for bodybuilders:
Vitamin A is crucial in the development of healthy bones
and the maintenance of good eyesight. Healthy bones are obviously
important because they support your muscle, and help maintain
good form and good technique, the foundation of good weightlifting
practice. Vitamin A is naturally found in eggs, milk, and
other dairy products.
Vitamin B1 assists in the conversion of carbohydrates into
energy, and can also increase muscle endurance. It is found
in cereal, wheat and fish amongst other things.
Vitamin B2, also known commonly as riboflavin, also assists
in the conversion of carbohydrates into energy, but is not
stored by the body, so deficiency is much more common. Almonds
and leafy green vegetables are a good source of B2.
Vitamin B3, or Niacin, plays a crucial role in repairing
damaged DNA at the cellular level, as well as supporting the
metabolism, which is of course crucial for bodybuilders, particularly
those seeking to lose fat as well as gain muscle.
Vitamin B5 (Pantothenic acid) assists in the breaking down
of protein, carbohydrate and fat in the body, and is therefore
crucial in creating and maintaining the right internal environment
for lean body mass gain to occur. It is also necessary for
the growth and maintenance of healthy hair.
Vitamin B6, Pyridoxine, is involved in the synthesis of
many amino acids in the liver. As we have established, amino
acids are the building blocks of protein and without them
you would not gain much muscle mass at all. It is also involved
in the conversion of glycogen into glucose in the muscles,
which is essential for any kind of intensive weight training.
Vitamin B7, also called Biotin, is involved in the metabolism
of amino acids and fat, and the production of essential fatty
acids, as well as general cell growth.
Vitamin B9, Folic acid, assists in the synthesis of protein
(without which there would be nothing to build new muscle
tissue) and the production of red blood cells.
Vitamin C, Ascorbic acid, helps maintain healthy bones,
teeth and skin, and ward off conditions such as anemia and
immune deficiency. An anemic bodybuilder is not going to achieve
much of anything.
Vitamin D has a variety of functions in the body, including
many in the muscle and nerve tissues. Studies show that it
can also help to reduce, or even prevent osteoporosis.
As you can see, each vitamin is responsible for a whole range
of processes, many of which overlap and depend upon one another,
such is the complexity of the human body. A multivitamin supplement
will ensure that you are getting enough of everything and
that your body can function to its maximum, which will mean
that when you are pushing yourself to the limit every training
session, you will be able to rely on your body to support
you all the way and make the most of your efforts.
It is easy to overlook vitamins as a bodybuilding supplement,
but if you do not already take a multivitamin, and are about
to embark upon a serious body building programme, now is the
time to start.
Vitamins
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