Vitamin D Benefits For Bodybuilders

Every bodybuilder works hard in the gym day by day to get an increase in muscle mass and strength. Despite they put big efforts in reaching this goal, many of them are far from that ideal body look even after many months of heavy training. There is much reason for this, but one which is very often ignored by almost all bodybuilders is the  Vitamin D benefits for their body.

Vitamin D Benefits for Bodybuilders

Many bodybuilders, especially novice one tend to pay a big attention to what type of training to choose, how many sets and reps to do, how often should they work out, what protein supplements to choose, what diet to follow, while namely the necessity of vitamin D benefits for people who want to build up big muscle and high strength is a less discussed subject.

And this is not the way it should be. As vitamin D in your body determine the level of testosterone, libido, and other highly important functions of your body. In this article, you will find out in detail why it is so important to take care of Vitamin D level, what is its role and what happens in case of its lack or excess use.

What is Vitamin D?

In the beginning, let’s understand what is vitamin D and why our body needs it. Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin. It can be found in some type of food, but mostly it is synthesized by exposing the body to the sun. It is responsible for bone health, and help the absorption of calcium and phosphorus from the food you eat.

Until this moment there is nothing special that can rock you since Vitamin D seems necessary for all people, and you do not see its importance especially for bodybuilders. But here is why: there have been done some researches meant to show the importance of vitamin D on testosterone production and muscle strength.  It was proven D is not a simple vitamin that influences these indicators, it should be seen, in the chemical sense, as a steroid hormone.

The main way to get Vitamin D is to expose your body to sunlight. Our skin is rich in provitamin D, which is activated by sunlight. Most of the people get 90-95% of the daily dose of vitamin D from sunlight. Also, it can be found in some food like oily fish, eggs yolk, milk.

Must Read: 4 Best Multivitamins for Athletes

But you have not to rely on food only, as it contains very small doses of vitamin D, which is insufficient for your body. Sunlight exposure is also avoided by many people, go shift toward a Vitamin D supplements. This happens because of concerns about skin cancer, the specific of nowadays lifestyle and easiness of getting vitamin D from supplements.

Vitamin D Benefit For Increasing Muscle Strength

As we said, vitamin D get converted in our body to a steroid hormone called 1,25-dihydroxy vitamin D. This type of vitamin D increase muscle strength through its action on muscle cells protein synthesis and cell growth. Another study done back in 200 has shown that people with low level of vitamin D, has the higher level of muscle fat.

This percentage even higher than 20. In fact, the higher is the level of fat, the lower is the muscle strength ability, since muscle is composed of more fat than muscle tissue. During the same study was observed that people with vitamin D deficiency has a higher level of under skin fat or also called subcutaneous fat and abdominal fat. Thus, it comes clear that if you want to get rid of excess fat and get a shredded look you have to keep your vitamin D level at the normal or even a bit higher.

For people who participate in bodybuilding competitions, this is especially important. They need to make sure their vitamin D level is topped up during the drying stage, as this will help them, along with right diet and training, get ripped and cut.

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Vitamin D Increase Testosterone Level

The end form of Vitamin D  -1,25- dihydroxy vitamin D- influence the level of testosterone and reduce the level of estrogen in men. In order to prove it, there have been done some researches (Horm Metab Res. 2011). During one year a group of men took 83 µg of vitamin D. During the same period, was created a placebo group. As a result, in case Vitamin D supplemented was observed a significant increase of testosterone level. Contrary, in the placebo group there was no modification of testosterone measure.

As you know testosterone has the great anabolic effect. Every bodybuilder who want to get bigger and stronger look to get this effect in all ways possible. One of this is supplementation with vitamin D. Regardless of the way you choose to get it- supplementation or sunlight exposure- you have just to remember all the time that it helps you to increase testosterone level and to reduce estrogen.

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Vitamin D Positively Affects Fertility

Since vitamin D greatly influence testosterone level, is not a surprise that it has benefits for other male characteristics. One of the is male fertility. A research done by the European Journal of Endocrinology has shown that vitamin D is very important for the development of sperm cells. Also, since Vitamin D has great effects on the testosterone level, it increases libido too. Women fertility is also positively influenced by the use of vitamin D.

Checking Your Vitamin D Levels

Bodybuilders have always to check their vitamin D level as its deficiency means that you will not be able to take advantages of all mentioned above. Bone pain, skeletal malformations, muscle cramps are signs of severe deficiency of vitamin D. Also, among the most dangerous side effects of vitamin D deficiency is osteoporosis disease, which may cause bone breaks.

Among the most common risk factors for vitamin D deficiency are dark skin, old age, unexposed skin to sunlight, overweighting, and others. If you live in northern countries, then there is absolutely need to supplement you with vitamin D. However, the best advice is to visit your doctor before taking any vitamin at all.

Consult Your Doctor

The doctor will recommend the best dose of vitamin D after a blood test. Do not get involved in taking vitamin D without consulting your doctor, as vitamin D excess is dangerous for your body. It may cause calcification of soft tissues. Usually, there are no toxicity cases related to vitamin D excess use. Just follow the recommended doses and not for a very long time.

Read More: Micronutrients for Bodybuilding – Water and Vitamins

Usually, the recommended dose of vitamin D supplementation is about 0.12 mg (400 IU) - 0.18 mg (or 600 IU) daily. Since bodybuilder put their body under big strain, they may increase vitamin D dose 0.24 mg (800 IU). And all this with no risk for their health. Be wise, and do not exceed this threshold, as may occurs serious side effects.

Taking into consideration the big importance of vitamin D use for bodybuilders community was designed a special schedule of vitamin D intake for a year.

A Simple Procedure 

-Within the first 4 weeks daily intake  of vitamin D is 0.24 mg;
-During the next 8 weeks, the dose should be cut in half. Thus at the end of 8th week, the dose of vitamin D should be 0.12 mg.
-Repeat this cycle throughout the year.

It was observed that during such a cycle increases thirst. This could be helpful especially in the final stage when you need to temper your appetite and use water as a diuretic.

The same pattern of vitamin D is the best choice for those who use creatine. As it is known that, without any side effects that maximize the effect of creatine, an athlete has to drink a lot of water. Vitamin D will serve a great service as a means of causing thirst.

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Vitamin D Supplements

There is a wide range of stand-alone vitamin D supplements you can choose from. Also, you can opt for complex vitamins which have in their composition vitamin D too.  Not be surprised if you find in some protein powder vitamin D, as many manufacturers include it. And this is a good choice if you take in consideration the anabolic features of vitamin D and the goal of vitamin protein powders.

The quantity of vitamin D in protein powder mixtures is a bit low than in vitamin D tablets. Thus, if your goal is just to maintain your actual vitamin D level than you can choose them. This will be a smart decision. Instead, if you have a deficiency of vitamin D than you have to take vitamin D supplements which contains 1000 IU. The concentration of vitamin D in protein powders is about  200-400 IU.

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Should Vitamin D Be Taken Alone or it Can Be Stacked With Something Else?

This is a very common question among people who use vitamin D for increasing muscle mass and strength. The answer is yes, you can stack it with calcium, protein powders, and creatine. This will help you to increase muscle strength. Also, You will realize Vitamin D benefits better if you stack it with Tribulus, which is a natural testosterone booster.

Conclusion

Vitamin D is essential for bodybuilders. Since it is not a vitamin, but a hormone, it greatly increases the testosterone level and reduces estrogen. And this leads to muscle growth and strengthening. Also, vitamin D is very effective for burning fat, and thus it can be used to get ripped and cut. Experience vitamin D benefits today by buying associated products on our shop.

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