According to Harvard Health, there are 31 recommended daily vitamins that everyone should take in order to be healthy and be in top-notch shape. When, where, and how to take vitamin c has been a heavily debated topic. After reviewing over 42 research articles dated from 1987-2020, the conclusion is that the scientific data supports taking under 100mg of vitamin C before you train.
The reason we take vitamin C as a pre-workout supplement is not for muscle gain or endurance, but mainly for our immune system and recovery. What good is training hard if you end up with a virus or the flu?
You will never run out of uses for vitamin C and it is the most popular and accessible vitamin you can find in the store.
Actually, the above statement might have been true 2 months ago, but I was looking to buy some vitamin C supplements during the apex of the pandemic, and, to my surprise, the shelves were picked clean! Just like toilet paper, alkaline water, and other essential products, people are panicking and over-consuming. Meanwhile, science anchors us to a more rational point where we only need the recommended 90mg of vitamin C per day, which is equivalent to an orange.
Some of The Ingredients Found Inside Vitamin C Preworkout Products Include
Citrulline Malate
This ingredient found in most vitamin c pre-workout supplements may boost the health of blood vessels and lower blood pressure, predominantly in people experiencing heart conditions or high blood pressure. For strength training, citrulline malate has been studied frequently by medical professionals. A dose of 8 grams may reduce fatigue and improve strength training in the gym combined with vitamins c.
Nitric Oxide
Nitric oxide is created by every cell in your body and one of the most important components for blood vessel health.
It’s a vasodilator, meaning it calms the inner muscle of your blood vessels, causing them to widen in a favorable way inside of your body. In this way, nitric oxide increases blood flow and tandemly drops unhealthy blood pressure levels with correct amounts of supplementation.
Ascorbic Acid
Vitamin C, also known as ascorbic acid according to WebMD. It is vital for the growth, development, and repair of all body tissues. Ascorbic acid plays a role in many bodily functions, including the promotion of collagen, intake of iron, the proper function of the immune system, abrasion healing, and the ongoing maintenance of cartilage, bones, and teeth making it a must for collagen production.
Beta-Alanine
Beta-alanine in pre-workout supplements enhances athleticism by boosting your exercise capacity and decreasing muscle fatigue. It also has antioxidant, immune system increasing benefit if you are looking for anti-aging supplementation. You can consume beta-alanine from foods that contain carnosine or through the most typical vitamin c supplement.
Arginine
Arginine is known to stimulate the release of growth hormone and improve insulin sensitivity. Arginine is used for the treatment of heart and blood vessel issues including congestive heart failure known as CHF, upper chest pains, high blood pressure, and coronary artery disease caused by in some cases oxidative stress complications.
Collagen
Collagen is crucial for your skin. It plays a role in fortifying skin elasticity and collagen production can reverse the effect of cellulite which has been one of the focus points in natural cellulite removal. Unfortunately, As you age collagen production diminishes, leading to non-hydrated skin and the formation of wrinkles the right vitamin c supplement can be the best secret weapon against cellulite.
Creatine Monohydrate
creatine monohydrate is considered by many professional trainers as the Mount Rushmore of supplementation. Creatine is especially effective when taken frequently especially as a pre-workout formula in the load up phase. The daily recommended dose of creatine monohydrate is 3–5 g before and after workouts and should also be taken during resting periods. Ideally, you should consider taking creatine around meals for the optimal effect.
Vitamin E
Vitamin E is a vitamin that works as an antioxidant. It has been rumored to decrease your risk of heart disease and even different forms of cancers, eyesight problems, and cognitive function. Vitamin E keeps blood vessels dilated and stops clots from forming in your blood vessels, you can commonly find this vitamin present in most BCAA supplements and pre-workout products found on the shelves today.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D helps maintain the levels of calcium and phosphate in the body. This vitamin is needed to keep bones, teeth, and keep the muscle you work so hard on in healthy states. This vitamin is also quite common in BCAA supplements and pre-workout products.
Caffeine
I bet you didn’t know that when drinking a cup of coffee with an orange as a morning meal the caffeine from the coffee prevents normal absorption of the orange’s vitamin benefits. Not to entirely knock on the benefits of caffeine as a workout supplement it is proven to increase blood flow through your body but unfortunately, The vitamin C may be eliminated in your urine before your body has had a chance to absorb the positive use of this vitamin.
caffeine is a stimulant that stimulates your digestive system by enticing muscle contractions within your intestinal tract. This function enables waste to be excreted faster than if you hadn’t consumed a caffeinated pre-workout drink. While this can be good to keep you that energy boost needed for a long workout, it can also inhibit vitamin c along with other nutrients before they’ve had the opportunity to be fully absorbed into your body.
knowing the effects of caffeine consumption on vitamin absorption may make you think twice before choosing a pre-workout supplement infused with caffeine, it’s much easier to make a simple change to your dietary supplement consumption which can offset the potential negative attributes related to caffeine consumption. Instead of taking a pre-workout powder with caffeine present, you can opt to take supplementation with only pure vitamin c like in vitamin c supplements such as Burn One by Nutraone.
Stevia Leaf Extract
The leaves of Stevia are cured to produce stevia leaf extract and are packed with nutrients and phytochemicals. It’s no secret that the sweetener has gained much interest for people seeking a healthy alternative to sugar and stevia leaf extract is also aligned with numerous health benefits making it the manufacturer’s alternative to sugar in much pre-workout powder.
The Best Time To Take Vitamin C Is In The Morning
The vast majority of endurance training and fitness sessions take place in the morning typically with a dose of caffeine followed by some whey protein. It has been proven that water-soluble vitamin C absorbs better on an empty stomach, so consider taking your daily vitamin C first thing in the morning, 30 minutes before eating if you are going to do breakfast before your workout as a dietary supplement. Water-soluble ascorbic acid vitamins dissolve in the water quite rapidly so your body can use them utilizing nitric oxide during the pre-workout phase in the session.
Vitamin C Sports and Fitness
Many athletes claim that vitamin C is an integral part of keeping their immune system and muscle groups working seamlessly and slashes recovery time between workouts. This time-honored vitamin reduces the cause of muscle damage after gut-wrenching training and minimizes fatigue after your workouts.
How Much Vitamin C Should An Athlete Take?
Athletes should consider supplementation of around 100mg of vitamin C each day before training times. There have been contradictory studies stating that large amounts of vitamin C, such as 1000mg pre-workout powder intakes, can actually hinder strength training and blood flow, so to be on the safe side, sticking to the daily recommendations is ideal.
What Do Bodybuilders Say About Vitamin C?
Vitamin C pre-workout products are vital for connective tissue repair. Although beneficial to athletes participating in a variety of sports and strength training, vitamin C is especially important to bodybuilders that are most prone to connective tissue damage due to the intensity and style of training. Vitamin c supplement pills can also assist with protein synthesis and repair muscle damage promoting accelerated muscle growth in the body.
Vitamin C is also important to athletes and bodybuilders for muscle mass because, as an antioxidant, it is known to help to reverse some of the oxidative damage that may occur from training and lower cortisol levels. This oxidative damage, caused by free radicals, can hinder the cells’ ability to function regularly and is believed to be the culprit behind many negative health conditions, including aging, cancer, and heart disease. Antioxidants can
Vitamin C contributes to a healthy immune system and prevents the dip in immune function that may occur right after exercise. Combining vitamin c with some whey can help relieve some oxidative stress on the body and replenish some amino acid levels that can also take away common muscle soreness. Antioxidant supplementation can also help with insulin sensitivity which in turn can help promote weight loss over a period of time.
Taking Vitamin C Helps With Weight Loss
I think you will agree that the vast majority of people interested in fitness either want to drop pounds, gain muscle or make sure they maintain the hard work they put into the gym already. Along with a balanced diet and a dedicated training regimen, you shouldn’t overlook getting enough vitamin C pre-workout to really combat insulin sensitivity.
Studies have shown that vitamin C status is correlated with body mass. People with sufficient amounts of vitamin C oxidize 30% more fat during a moderate exercise session compared to individuals with low vitamin C intake making antioxidant supplementation an interesting change you should make to your pre-workout rituals. The takeaway is that you’ll get the most out of your fat-burning workout if your vitamin C levels are bountiful during your exercise and you will notice your muscle gains increase in the gym with minimal muscle soreness.
Should You Get Your Vitamin C from Supplements Or Fruits?
The common orange contains nearly 100mg of vitamin C and it is the choice of many to get their daily intake. Some people such as myself have to avoid oranges and juices because of low carb diets so, supplementation is the suitable choice. Vitamin C supplements do not have any carbs or calories and I can get my daily recommended dose through a single pill. Additionally, with pesticides and harmful bacteria in the majority of our products, taking vitamin C boosting supplementation can serve a useful purpose.
Vitamin C and Lowering Cortisol Levels.
Some early studies revealed that vitamin C eliminated the amount of cortisol in the body that had been plagued with repeated stress. Cortisol is a hormone secreted by your adrenal glands in response to stress, which many people are experiencing with the current situation in the world today. Once cortisol gets into your system, it’s a disservice to your overall wellness relaying the news of stress to all parts of the body and mind.
Cortisol is the culprit that triggers a negative “fight or flight” response to stress. This allows us to biologically jump into action when we sense external dangers. But like many natural emergency signals our bodies produce, the stress amplification comes with a negative effect to our system. It’s not good for our well-being to have frequent exposure to high levels of stress that deprive the body’s resources. Cortisol impairs the mind causes a stall in memory and learning making people vulnerable to depression and laziness.
If you are exhibiting the known signs of physical and emotional stress, including loss of body weight a vitamin c pre-workout supplement might be the answer to obtaining overall mood improvement and advancement in gaining muscle mass and ultimately muscle growth.
Vitamin C Role in Muscle Damage and Muscle Recovery
Fatigued muscle symptoms after a workout are common in newcomers to the gym its also referred to as delayed onset muscle soreness the acronym being called DOMS. It is the result of tears in your muscles that happen when you put newfound stress on them during workouts. You may feel this soreness 24 to 48 hours after a workout as a post effect of why many trainers advise you to take BCAA supplementation post-workout. This time frame is usually how long it takes for your body to create inflammation responses when an injury occurs and causes discomfort and pain in the muscle.
Vitamin C can be a great antioxidant response to this ailment that will work to shield muscle cells from damaging free radicals. Ideally, it stimulates the production of anabolic hormones and testosterone. Vitamin C also helps with collagen formation mentioned throughout this article which is the main element of connective tissue. Vitamin C becomes an integral part of bones and muscles avoiding injury. When boosting collagen levels with the use of vitamin c supplementation, joints are able to handle heavier weights for strength training for building muscle mass with lower chances of injury. Vitamin C also helps purge the muscle of built-up lactic acid making optimal muscle recovery.
Having Too Much Vitamin C
The body tightly audits the amount of vitamin C you have at any given time. Scientists discovered a pre-workout formula if you absorb approximately 70 to 90 percent of vitamin C when you consume 30-180 mg a day. When megadosing vitamin C (above one gram a day), absorption falls to less than 50 percent. The rest gets excreted in your urine. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t use higher doses and have a “the more the better” type of attitude, because vitamin C is an affordable supplement that plays multiple roles just like a branched-chain amino acid.
Why It’s Better To Take Vitamin C Before Workouts Instead of After
One interesting report showed that taking vitamin C after a workout instead of a pre-workout application blocked protein signaling and stopped muscle cells from growing after a workout and had an inferior effect on protein synthesis and caused more oxidative stress. After you complete a workout, the general idea is to recover and eat a well-balanced, protein-rich meal so that your muscles can feed. The study showed that Vitamin C disrupts your gains blocking this powerful antioxidant.
What Happens When You Take Too Much Vitamin C When Training
The old saying says that too much of a good thing is not always good for you. In regards to vitamin C, that’s what researchers at the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences determined after a study on how supplements with vitamins C and E affected athletes undergoing endurance training.
The researchers enlisted a study group of 54 athletic people (defined as individuals who had trained 1 to 4 times per week in the six months before the study consisting of 28 women and 26 men). They segmented them into two groups: a “placebo” group that received no vitamin supplementation, and an experimental group that supplemented their diet with 1,000 mg of vitamin C and 235 mg of vitamin E per day.
Members of both groups participated in a fitness training program for 11 weeks, performing three to four cardio workouts of different types of intensity each week. Participants were given the choice to swap one running session with either cycling, cross country skiing, or a similar whole-body activity as a variable to the program. The training sessions spanned from 30 to 60 minutes, except for the interval-style exercise, which is a 4/4-minute routine.
All subjects had blood samples and muscle biopsies taken three days before and three days after the study. They were also tested for VO2 Max and their total distance covered in a 20-minute running examination.
When the experiment was finished, both groups showed many of the same improvements with respect to maximal oxygen uptake and in the running test.
However, the placebo group showed an increase in muscle mitochondria, the “power source for cells.”
The researchers believed that the antioxidant properties of vitamin C and E are what lowered mitochondria development among the group that took the supplements. Exercise is an oxidative mechanism; it tears down the muscles so that they can rebuild themselves back up stronger. Therefore, the vitamins act as antioxidants worked against the oxidative stress process, and ultimately caused resistance with muscular endurance development.
So, if you’re training for a marathon and are worried about catching the flu before the event, skip supplements that contain large amounts of vitamin C.
Why Burn One is Second To None When Comparing Antioxidant Supplements
Antioxidant supplements are nutrient-dense concentrated forms of antioxidants. BurnOne has a plethora of lab-tested vitamins that stabilize free radicals. Your body naturally produces free radicals when you exercise and digest food. To put in perspective this all-natural supplementation can prove you with all the benefits you need and convenience when electing to improve your Vitamin C intake.
Burn One By NutraOne, The Best Fat Burner With Vitamin C
What if there was a pre-workout supplement that contained the perfect amount of Vitamin C ? If you’re looking to take a pre-workout supplement that will give you a boost and the exact amount of vitamin C your body needs, you should look into taking Burn One supplements by NutraOne. Burn One contains 45mg of vitamin C in a single pill, which is no more or less than you need.
It’s easy to remember to take one pill when you first get up in the morning, which will give you sustained energy all day long and improve your morning workouts. It’s one of the only true thermogenic supplements that will not make you feel nauseous or dizzy after taking it like many overloaded with unnecessary caffeine. You will get a burst of clean energy, which is great if you’re on the go and don’t have the time in the morning to brew coffee or tea before your workout. Taking one fast-acting pill will give you the increased energy and focus needed to concentrate on work and other activities.
Burn One will help you achieve your fat loss goals faster than you ever dreamed possible because it solves the issue for people with slow metabolisms. Taking a single pill a day will ignite your metabolism and have it working to burn fat throughout the day. Burn One will also help diminish your cravings for food as it enables you to control your appetite instead of your appetite controlling you.
NutraOne is a standup company that shoots from the hip when creating supplements that do what they are meant to do. There are too many fly-by-night supplement companies sprouting up every month, but NutraOne has a solid reputation and is one of the most respected names in the bodybuilding community. This company is based in the USA and follows Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP Certified). Choosing to consume supplements from certified vendors is a wise investment for your health.
Final Thoughts On Vitamin C and Training
To summarize, despite negative studies on the effect of vitamin C and strength training, I still find it important to focus on recovery and our immune system just as much as muscle building and endurance. Getting sick each year usually prevents me from training at full capacity for almost a week or longer.
Taking the 45 mg of vitamin c contained in Burn One is adequate for me and helps me avoid catching viruses or illnesses. What you buy can be just as important as what you buy, so that’s why I strongly recommend NutraOne products, particularly Burn One, for anyone who is looking to shed unwanted pounds and be healthy.
*Athletes and fitness advocates may claim benefits for this supplement based on their personal or professional experience. These are individual opinions and testimonials that may or may not be supported by controlled clinical studies or published scientific article
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