“Ensure you get enough protein. Lower carb consumption. Avoid unsaturated fats.”

Each of these lines stands true and anyone who has ever worked out might have come across either one or all of these lines in their journey. There is no doubt that all these play a huge factor in your health and fitness. However, there is another key ingredient that many people tend to overlook and personal trainers seem to forget to mention.

Vitamins

These are organic compounds that need to be fed into the body since the body cannot synthesize many of these itself. Vitamins can be either taken via a healthy diet that includes fruits and vegetables or through supplements taken in the form of pills. Whatever the form, it is important that the body gets its fair share of vitamins daily.

13 basic vitamins play their respective roles in keeping the body at its optimal to ensure a proper workout. Vitamin B is needed for the body to ensure adequate energy production and also to repair muscle tissue while Vitamin D is crucial for calcium absorption and maintaining bone health. Another important vitamin as far as workouts are considered is Vitamin E. This has proven to reduce inflammation and soreness during muscle recovery especially after strength training and HIIT exercises.

Vitamins A, D and K are fat-soluble and hence will be stored in the body. This means these can be obtained right from a diet rather than pills. Vitamin B and C are water-soluble and thus do not get stored in the body, so if your diet doesn’t adequately provide these vitamins, they can be taken in the form of pills.

Another important point to note is that excessive intake of vitamins is detrimental and can actually do more harm than good. If your diet already meets all the daily vitamin requirements, ensure that you stay away from pills and supplements because that could lead to adverse effects, since excessively taking too many vitamins is not going to achieve better results.

The Bottom Line?

To obtain the best benefits of a workout, adequate vitamin requirements need to be met. The required amounts are much less compared to daily protein, carbohydrate, and healthy fat requirements and can easily be fulfilled with good quality supplements. Although vitamins will not enhance performance during the workout, it provides essential benefits post-workout that will help in attaining those long-term fitness goals. The effects of vitamins may not be immediately evident on your body, but over time it will have a large positive effect on improving your workouts and living a healthy lifestyle.