Vitamin C: Bodybuilding Power Nutrients - Part 1

By: MuscleSports.net

“Although beneficial to athletes participating in a variety of sports, vitamin C is especially important to bodybuilders whose training causes the most connective tissue damage.”

BULKSUPPLEMENTS.COM
Essential Amino Acids Powder
EAAs Amino Acids Powder - Unflavored & Gluten Free, 1kg (2.2 lbs)

It's the new year and time to start planning our workout and training year. When we began this process we always start with the training aspect before anything else, which the easiest thing because planning workouts is the most fun thing to do because we get to try new thing every training cycle to see if something works or not. Hey for the workout junkies that we are training is a fun part of our lives.

When doing our nutrition planning we most definitely focus on the big 3 macros, protein, carbs and fats! Now these 3 are very important to our success both health wise and bodybuilding goals wise. Another nutritional aspect we need to focus on are those micronutrients that help get the macros across the finish line doing what we want them to do - INCREASE ENERGY, BUILD STRENGTH, and GROW MUSCLE!

I know what allot of people are gonna say, I eat healthy and include a good variety of veggies in my eating plan when not in contest mode or trying to cut so I really don't have to worry about any nutrient deficits - WELL NOT REALLY! The 2 biggest micronutrients we are gonna talk about are the only 2 that don't get place in your fatty tissue for your body to come grab when it needs them but are washed away a little at a time when you pee under normal circumstances and allot when under stresses like injury, environmental, or strenuous workouts! Those 2 micronutrients are Vitamin C & Vitamin B (the whole complex). In this article we are gonna just focus on Vitamin C we will get to Vitamin B in a later addition.

Vitamin C

So what the hell is vitamin C any way: Vitamin C (also known as ascorbic acid and ascorbate) is a water-soluble vitamin found in citrus and other fruits, berries and vegetables, also sold as a dietary supplement and as a topical "serum" ingredient to treat melasma (dark pigment spots) and wrinkles on the face. Vitamin C is also used to prevent and treat scurvy.

For the bodybuilder Vitamin C is an essential nutrient involved in the repair of tissue (muscle), the formation of collagen(joints), and the enzymatic production of certain neurotransmitters(cognitive function). It is required for the functioning of several enzymes function such as protein synthesis and least but not least it is important for immune system function(so you don't get sick).

Hell look at that vitamin C is all over the damn place, so just think what happens if you were low on Vit C, which one of these function you think would get cut first. Could it possibly be the production of new tissue or would it just let that virus attack your blood cells. Yeah your workouts will suffer first before any of the other 1000+ function get touched.

Best food sources of Vitamin C

Some of your best sources of vitamin C are as follows:

Citrus (oranges, kiwi, lemon, grapefruit)
Bell peppers.
Strawberries.
Tomatoes.
Cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower)
Cantaloupe
White potatoes.

Even with the inclusion of these foods into your diet the average hard training bodybuilder or athlete will fall short of the required intake because the stress and loss of water through sweat & urination coupled with the fact that just the body warming up depleted it as well. If you say you loose the nutrient just waking up in the morning - You are Correct!

Bodybuilding Test for Low Vitamin C:

Muscle & Liver glycogen level drop quickly leading to a lose in energy.
Phosphocreatine levels in muscle tissue decrease even though you had your pre workout - Energy for high intensity power movement is diminished.
Lactic Acid levels increase quicker then normal and fatigue come early.

Supplementation for the Bodybuilder & Strength Athlete:

Athletes adding 250 - 500 mg of vitamin C a day to their diets have been shown to have tolerance to heat, fatigue, and water loss. Since vitamin C is water soluble our best advice to most athlete is to consume 2-3 doses a day broken down between 100 - 150 mg at a times. Your not gonna over dose because what ever is left over gonna go straight down the toilet until you eat some food or take another dose.

Conclusion: Vitamin C is such a critical element to your diet that we here at MuscleSports.ne don't ever give advice to any person pursuing a sports lifestyle with out checking on their daily nutrient requirements being met. Vitamin C is very much one of those requirements. If your training hard in any kind of sport your gonna need to supplement it to stay on top of your health.