Sodium and potassium
These two microelements are vital for a bodybuilder . The reason is simple: our body is an electrical “machine”, and sodium and potassium salts are the most important components of biological electrolytes. The “dilution” of electrolytes directly affects muscle function. They lose the ability to fully contract. Sweating for a long time always leads to huge losses of sodium and potassium. As for sodium, a special condition develops in the body, which doctors call hyponatremia. It’s easy to make up for sodium deficiency (just eat something salty), but you can’t hesitate to do it. Otherwise, strength will drop sharply, convulsions will begin, breathing may stop, and even… an epileptic seizure. Sodium is found in many sports drinks, so if you sweat a lot during a workout, you should immediately buy and drink a can of Isostar or something similar. In general, our body’s sodium needs are not that great. Doctors call the daily intake 2.3 grams. Well, anything in excess of this amount will weigh heavily on your heart, since excess sodium causes severe swelling and water retention in the body. Eat less salted foods, such as tomato juice or Chinese noodles. A glass of tomato juice contains about 0.9 g of salt, and a cup of noodles contains approximately 1.2 g. A can of sports drink contains 110 mg.
Potassium deficiency affects the muscles even more painfully. They suddenly lose their ability to work. A sports drink is unlikely to help here, since it usually contains no more than 30 mg of potassium. It’s best to carry a couple of bananas with you to eat somewhere in the middle of your workout. One medium-sized banana contains at least 450 mg of potassium. After a workout, you can refuel with boiled spinach (one cup contains 840 mg of potassium).
Minerals that stimulate hormone production
Another mineral “duet” in the composition of zinc and magnesium is even more important for a bodybuilder. It turns out that these microelements in pairs actually enhance the secretion of anabolic hormones! By the way, experts evaluate this discovery as a real sensation in sports medicine. Here is the data from just one experiment. A group of athletes received 30 mg of zinc, 450 mg of magnesium and vitamin B6 per day (to improve the absorption of magnesium). The control group is a harmless placebo. It’s impossible to believe, but testosterone levels in the first group increased by 33%! And the level of IGF-1 is 4%, which is also quite a lot. As a result, muscle strength in the first group increased by 11%, and in the second – by only 2% (both groups trained intensively).
However, do not try to overload yourself with zinc and magnesium! In large doses, these trace elements are toxic! The optimal daily intake of these minerals is approximately 25 mcg of zinc and 6 mg of magnesium per kilogram of a bodybuilder’s body weight.
According to statistics, our diet does not contain even a third of the daily requirement of magnesium, and often does not contain zinc at all. Draw conclusions.
Don’t forget about this “trio”!
Selenium: The role of selenium in the body is still poorly understood. It is known that selenium deficiency leads to depression, but for a bodybuilder something else is much more important. Selenium appears to stimulate the secretion of thyroid hormones. The very ones that directly determine the efficiency of protein synthesis in muscles. It turns out that the results of your training depend on selenium! It is also important that selenium has an antioxidant function. The body of a jock is known to produce harmful free radicals in huge quantities. They are fought with megadoses of antioxidants – vitamins A, E and C. It turns out that the effectiveness of antioxidants can be increased many times over if taken in combination with selenium.
Calcium: This is the most valuable micronutrient for a bodybuilder. Some calcium salts can stimulate energy processes in muscles. A bodybuilder should never allow calcium deficiency in the body, otherwise the risk of ligament injury will dangerously increase. In addition, the absorption of other essential microelements, in particular magnesium, is closely related to calcium. A lack of calcium is always a deficiency of magnesium. Well, you know the role of this microelement.
Chromium: Chromium supplements once had high hopes as a means of weight loss. Scientific experiments have shown that taking chromium in the sense of “fat burning” is supposedly useless. However, the secret is that chromium must be taken together with the vitamin niacin. During a scientific experiment, a group of women received 600 mcg of chromium along with niacin and significantly lost subcutaneous fat while maintaining muscle mass. One way or another, the “activity” of chromium in the body is closely related to carbohydrate metabolism. According to scientists, chromium increases the sensitivity of muscle cell receptors to insulin, a powerful anabolic hormone. Again, it is known that our usual diet contains almost no chromium. So, increasing your chromium intake to the medical standard can be a good help in building muscle mass.
Microelements / Normal *
- Sodium – 2.5 g
- Potassium – 3.5 g
- Zinc – 12-15 mg
- Magnesium – 320-420 mg
- Calcium – 1,200 mg
- Selenium – 55-70 mcg
- Chromium – 50-200 mcg
* Doctors’ recommended daily allowance for men and women in aged from 25 to 50 years.
