A professional athlete needs not only to spend a lot of time in the gym in order to maintain excellent shape. In addition, it is important to eat right. It is a full-fledged diet in conjunction with physical activity that contributes to the establishment of many processes, including weight loss and weight gain.
Despite all the arguments of specialists in healthy nutrition, with food a person does not receive the proper amount of trace elements and nutrients. Today we’ll talk about which vitamins for muscles are needed first.
Special diet
What causes muscle tissue growth? We are used to thinking that this is a merit of purely physical effort. In fact, with increased load, the muscles are stressed, and the fibers are torn. The resulting microtraumas are restored due to the protein that enters the body with food. And for the proper absorption of protein, vitamins for muscles are needed. Therefore, today we decided to talk in detail about which of them are the most necessary and important in order to get embossed muscles.
Leading fitness trainers fully agree that in order to meet the daily requirement for intensive loads, vitamins for muscles must be taken in the form of special balanced complexes. Otherwise, the performance of classes will noticeably decrease as fatigue accumulates. Let's analyze the main groups and features of their application.
Features of the reception
Despite its apparent harmlessness, vitamins for muscles can also harm the body, especially if you use them in too large quantities. Therefore, without individual purpose it is not recommended to use them. And in order to get the maximum benefit from their reception, you must have certain knowledge. It will not be superfluous to get acquainted with the following classification:
- Water-soluble vitamins are B and C. Once in the body, they are instantly absorbed, and unclaimed residues are excreted. Therefore, even synthetic substances of this group do not threaten an overdose. But the consumption of these elements is large, so the sources of these vitamins in the diet should be daily in abundance.
- Fat soluble vitamins. Their feature is that they can accumulate. On the one hand, this is a big plus, because the created reserve can be spent quite a long time. On the other hand, there is a risk of overdose.
Let's now take a closer look at all the necessary vitamins for muscles.
Vitamin A
As the alphabet begins with this letter, we also want to start our list with retinol. And how else, because vitamins A and E are the most important substances for growth. And our muscle tissue obeys the same laws as the whole organism as a whole.
The main function of vitamin A is protein synthesis. But that is not all. If there is a sufficient amount of this element in the diet, glycogen production is accelerated. As you know, this is a source of energy that the body spends during a period of maximum physical exertion.
Athletes need vitamins A and E in large enough quantities, since physical activity significantly impairs its absorption. This is especially true of retinol. Most of the vitamin A entering the body is excreted unchanged. It is important to know that there are natural sources, of which there are many. These are milk and tomatoes, fish and melon, as well as all fresh herbs.
Source of youth and activity
Speaking about vitamins for building muscle, you can not forget about tocopherol. Vitamin E is the main element of beauty and activity. Without it, you will not get the necessary amount of energy. If you decide to build muscle at an accelerated pace, then you definitely cannot do without it. It is tocopherol that regulates muscle activity. Moreover, it is a source of strength and energy, so necessary for athletes. Another important function is the protection of cell membranes, which are also damaged during intensive training. It is from this that muscle growth will depend. However, you should not rely only on vitamins; you have a difficult and long work on each muscle group.
The main sources of vitamin E are vegetable oils. It is necessary to eat only unrefined product made by cold pressing. Additionally, you need to enrich your diet with peanuts and almonds, cereals and avocados, as well as leafy vegetables.
Gift of the sun
In summer, vitamin D is produced in our body by itself under the influence of ultraviolet radiation. Its main function in the process of muscle growth is the normalization of the absorption of phosphorus and calcium. It is thanks to these elements that muscle contractions occur. The duration of strength training depends on their intensity.
Without enough vitamin D, muscle growth slows significantly. In addition, the serious stresses that the body is exposed to in the gym significantly increase the risk of injury. Vitamins for strengthening muscles contribute to their growth and speedy recovery, and calcium strengthens the bones that hold these muscles. In other words, in order to withstand increasing loads, the body needs more calcium, the absorption of which is much more effective in combination with vitamin D.
To get vitamin D fully, you need to eat fatty fish, liver, eggs and mushrooms. And on sunny days it is extremely important to be outdoors more.
B vitamins
When considering vitamins for muscle recovery, special attention should be paid to this particular water-soluble group. Vitamins B have an extremely positive effect on all metabolic processes, including muscle growth. This is a key element for digesting protein and building muscle tissue. Fitness trainers agree that these are the best vitamins for muscles. It is they who take part in the production of energy, increase muscle excitability, reproach the intensity of muscle contractions and help in building muscle mass.
Vitamin C
We are finishing the list of vitamins needed for muscle. And the list of the most useful substances includes ordinary ascorbic acid. It has a multifaceted effect on the body and is directly involved in the process of muscle building. It is thanks to vitamin C that protein is absorbed into the body. But that is not all. Ascorbic acid is involved in the formation of collagen, which strengthens connective tissue and restores joints that suffer from heavy loads. Contains vitamin C in almost all vegetables and fruits.
Choosing a suitable complex
The vitamins necessary for the muscles must enter our body every day along with the main food. However, under extreme loads, conventional power is not enough. Therefore, you have to supplement your diet with special complexes. And the first in this group are zinc preparations. In sports stores, you can often find stimulants for the production of testosterone, or ZMA. They include zinc, magnesium and B vitamins. But their price is inadequately high.
Alternatively, you can choose Zincteral (zinc sulfate). One tablet gives the body 45 mg of elemental zinc. And all the other components of ZMA can be obtained from conventional vitamin-mineral complexes.
Affordable Sports Nutrition
In specialized stores, everything is really very expensive. Therefore, learn to choose vitamins for muscles in a pharmacy. And the best of modern complexes is Elevit Pronatal. Yes, it is intended for pregnant women. That is why there are many macro and micronutrients in the composition that are so necessary for growth. Elevit Pronatal contains macro and microelements essential for muscle growth and development, such as pyridoxine hydrochloride, ascorbic acid, vitamin D, calcium and magnesium, iron and zinc. Athletes with high physical activity can take two tablets per day.
Universal drug "Vitrum"
As a rule, popular pharmacy complexes are not very suitable for athletes, as they are intended for people with normal physical activity. A pleasant exception is the relatively inexpensive and balanced Vitrum. It contains all the vitamins necessary for muscle growth, as well as an amazing set of minerals. The body with one tablet receives calcium and magnesium, potassium and iron, copper and zinc, chromium and manganese, tin and nickel, silicon and vanadium, phosphorus and molybdenum, selenium and iodine. The only drawback of this complex is the insufficient iron content. Athletes are recommended to take two tablets a day at once, at lunch and dinner.
Alternative in the modern market
If the complexes recommended above are not sold in neighboring pharmacies, or you don’t have enough money to constantly take them, then you can choose the more common and popular ones. This is the Russian Complivit. The Czech drug Duovit is also of good quality. However, he did not receive wide popularity among athletes because the tablets are very large, and you need to take them at once in two.
Instead of a conclusion
If you choose the path of a professional athlete, then the issue of nutrition will be very acute for you. Only with a balanced diet is it possible to achieve the planned heights. At the same time, it is not necessary to buy expensive complexes in specialized departments. It is enough to maintain a varied menu, as well as take good vitamin and mineral complexes. And in your free time sign up for the sports section and start working on your body. Very soon you will get the first results. They will be even higher if the program is developed by a professional trainer who can adequately assess the capabilities of your body and help increase the load gradually, without unnecessary stress.