The weather in the dead of winter does not necessarily tempt you to fall into ecstasy. What's more, we are being led on ice in the truest sense of the word. In addition, the almost perpetual darkness ensures that our daily rhythm gets completely out of balance. If your job requires normal working hours, you get up in the dark, go to work and come home in the dark. Sun and good weather are hard to find here. Combined with the cold, the emotional compass slips. But once the well-being is no longer in balance, then your, our entire health is in distress. It is not for nothing that essential things such as sleep hygiene, healthy nutrition and an active lifestyle are not only popular with athletes, but have also become therapeutically relevant.
But what can you do if you're sporty, take care of yourself, eat well and still don't get anywhere when it comes to your motivation? In this case, it can help to put your mineral balance through its paces once more. After all, a lack of vitamins and minerals can lead to problems in no time at all. We break down the most important minerals and their active ingredients so that your supplement routine can gain new impetus!
(Editor's note: We don't want to look at mental illnesses in any way here. We lack both the individual case study and the therapeutic expertise. We only look at life models that are characterized by emotional slip-ups, but not by serious (mental) illnesses. Watch out you and your surroundings!)
The Introduction: What are Minerals and Vitamins?
We are all familiar with the macronutrients, i.e. carbohydrates, fats and proteins. But when it comes to the variety of the smaller elements in our diet, you're safe to swim (which is perfectly fine.) These smaller pieces, which include minerals and vitamins, are logically called micronutrients. In combination with our macros, they round off a healthy diet. At the same time, in a way, they tip the scales when it comes to a defensive immune system and smooth regeneration. But the actual areas of application of our micronutrients are extremely diverse for you as an athlete and as a health-conscious person. They range from a functioning blood circulation and healthy blood cells to cell renewal. The stability of our bones is supported by minerals and vitamins as well as the possibility of channeling food through our digestion and thus being able to use nutrients for muscle growth. While the macronutrients, figuratively speaking, represent the scaffolding, mortar and rebar in a house construction, the micros are both craftsmen and construction aids and units of measure. All nutrient elements only work together to ensure that we can get out of bed healthy every day and return to it at the end of the day. But now it should be about the micronutrients themselves: which ones should you know and what triggers them?
The power duo: Vitamin D3 and K2 combined
Especially in winter, this pair of two is an integral part of your daily routine. Vitamin D enters the organism in its original form through exposure to the sun on our skin. But the colder it gets, the more clothes you pack. The consequence of this is clear: You cannot take in the amount of vitamin D that your body needs through normal walks, sunbathing on the balcony, etc. This in turn causes increased, permanent fatigue and a weakened immune system to varying degrees. So if you feel more powerless in winter than in summer, there are two reasons: First, the periods when darkness prevails occur at longer intervals in winter than in summer. Second, you absorb fewer sunrays due to the amount of clothing covering your body. Your skin cannot be irradiated. Dietary supplements can help here. In a way, vitamin K2 serves as a catalyst in the form of supplements for D3. It improves the possibility of absorption and brings "nutrients more directly" to the body. In short, K2 simplifies and enhances the intake of D3.
Endless benefits:
At the same time, the combination product of the two substances has a second positive factor for you as an athlete. D3 and K2 help relieve joint pain and facilitate the absorption of calcium, which in turn is responsible for stronger bones. It doesn't matter whether your wrists have stretched a little too far during a snatch or whether the second winter jacket on top of each other isolates you too much: Vitamin D3 and K2 are excellent for you and your micronutrient balance!Magnesium: once was aching muscles!
Fatigue doesn't always have to be related to a lack of sunlight. You can also show a lack of regeneration in other forms. On the one hand, this can be related to the quality of your sleep, but we’ll get to that later. On the other hand, your muscle regeneration can simply be impaired. Do you give full throttle in training? Allegedly. Were you the first or first in the box and one or one of the last to get out of there? Maybe. And yet your strength values hardly increase, your stamina only increases moderately, but you are completely exhausted for two days after each training day? Maybe you're stepping on the gas too much, or maybe you're simply missing minerals that provide the support you need after training.How should you take magnesium?
One of these useful little helpers finds its way to you either as a capsule or as a powder and goes by the name of magnesium . It is mainly found in plant greens, but is more concentrated as a supplement. As such, it performs vital tasks. Everything essential in your body is promoted by magnesium and therefore increases your performance in almost all areas. It supports you with a healthy heartbeat and provides blood circulation support. At the same time, magnesium maintains the nervous system and the communication between muscles and brain waves. As a mineral, it creates a “free path” for effective signal transmission. For you, this means that from now on, preparing for the unknown will be almost child's play, since muscle memory and the "functional survival mode" are activated more quickly. As if these effects weren't enough, the nerve connection maintained by the mineral also ensures that your muscles relax more quickly and, in turn, do not become acidic as quickly. So heavy squats no longer cause every stair climb to cause traumatic quad pain!
Are you bored alone? Combination preparations for athletes are exactly yours!
Not everyone wants to swallow a whole handful of individual capsules every morning or evening, especially since the uniform dosage poses an additional difficulty and eats up even more time. Time is short and patience is not your strong point anyway, we at wodstore understand that. That's why in this blog post we're providing you with two variants of how you can cover a large part of your daily requirement of micronutrients without stress and "eternal planning".Immune system and energy from Optimum Performance:
From our point of view, Optimum Performance stands out from other companies for dietary supplements simply because their team is full of professionals and everything that comes into our shop is backed by scientific evidence. Nothing is added to the nutrient cocktail here that has no raison d'être for athletes, athletes and functional, healthy nutrition. The immune system and energy therefore only have three ingredients, but the combination is clearly a tough one: we have already highlighted vitamin D3 and K2 for you. In addition, there is highly concentrated vitamin C if your daily amount of fruit and vegetables leaves something to be desired. With this trio of products, your inner self is strengthened and hopefully you are a little more awake every day from now on.
Vegan Basics by Braineffect:
Similar to Optimum Performance, Braineffect has more than clearly proven over the past few years that they understand what each of our bodies needs. Active athletes are just as much a part of the team as well-founded scientific employees. This symbiosis ensures an optimal mix for customers, regardless of whether they are competitive athletes or weekend warriors. As the name suggests, the Vegan Basics are primarily aimed at substances that are often neglected in a plant-based diet. Nevertheless, these minerals and vitamins used there are beneficial for all of us and not only of value in certain forms of nutrition. You will also find vitamin C here, but this time as a support for iron and zinc. These two metals have an antidepressant effect on you and are part of countless enzymes. Iron supports the transport of oxygen, so together with magnesium it helps to improve performance in every area of sport. Zinc not only improves skin quality, but also has an anti-inflammatory effect and accordingly prevents injuries. On top of that, there is a control function of the immune system in that zinc has a positive influence on relevant metabolic processes.In summary, the following applies:
So as you can see, after a little thought, mineral balance isn't all that complicated. However, the adjustment screws that you can turn can be reached quickly, so that your vitality can soon wake up from hibernation. It doesn’t matter whether it’s magnesium after a strenuous session at the rack, vitamin D3 and K2 after a while without fresh air, or vitamin C as a daily companion: your body has different needs that you can meet. You can easily test what these are by adjusting your diet, taking supplements or having a mineral blood count taken. After all, everyone is individual. There is hardly any "one golden way" to better health.
What helps you against tiredness and sore muscles? What should not be missing from the morning routine? Let us know in the comments!