Vitamins support various vital systems within our bodies, and they are most effective when we take them with intention. Wide-spread multivitamin manufacturing has been highly valuable to men, women, and children of all ages for this very reason. An all-around approach to vitamins ensures that our body’s functions are running at peak capacity, but when we use our body for exercise, we are depleting our energy and need to replenish and support bounce-back with vitamins and minerals that target our more affected systems.
Ordinarily, exercise breaks down into two broad categories: Strength and Cardio. One builds your muscle strength, and the other builds your heart strength.
Best for Muscle Building
- Calcium: It’s key for bones and teeth, but also muscle contraction and energy metabolism.
- Iron: It’s an essential part of transporting oxygen to the lungs and maintaining high energy levels.
- Vitamin C: This is an antioxidant that not only boosts your immune system, but more importantly for exercise, it metabolizes carbs and turns it into energy for your muscles.
- Vitamin D: This is used by the body as a way to absorb different nutrients, such as calcium and phosphorus.
- Vitamin B12: It both converts food to energy and supports communication between the body and brain, allowing for better muscle growth.
- Zinc: This is a great recovery nutrient, and it provides your body with a form of testosterone used for building muscle.
Best for Heart Health
- Omega-3 Fatty Acids: One of the most common heart-health supplements, omega-3s work by lowering triglycerides, which can lead to a number of heart-related problems. Incorporating it into your diet will not only support regular exercise, but it’ll help keep the heart healthy on the whole.
- Garlic: This keeps the arteries clear and blood moving freely to every part of the body. It’s often used to treat high blood pressure and coronary artery disease.
- Fiber: It’s a cholesterol-lowering nutrient when paired with a healthy diet, plus it aids in digestion, which means fewer distractions during workouts!
- Magnesium: More of a preventative measure, healthy magnesium levels have been shown to reduce the likelihood of heart disease and other heart-related illnesses.
- L-Carnitine: It’s great for transporting fat to be converted to energy, and in some cases, it has been shown to protect the heart from damage due to insufficient oxygen.
- Coenzyme Q10: This makes enzymes that protect the heart and provides the energy necessary for cell growth and fast recovery after exercise.
Staying fit and ready for regular exercise is as easy as setting up a supplement regimen that supports your body and heart. Exercise doesn’t have to put as much strain on our bodies as we think, and with some of the vitamins and minerals listed above, you should be able to focus more on growth and less on recovery.