This is the ideal time in which to begin a supplement program. I want you to know that you are not going to walk into the nearest pharmacy and pick up any old bottle of vitamin supplements. No. You need supplements that are 10-15 times the U.S. Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA). This is true for many people toady and if you are serious about building lean muscle mass, then you have to be serious about your vitamin supplements.
When it comes to vitamin supplements, you will need to take a complex that contains all the vitamins in the following amounts:
20,000 international units beta-carotene
50 milligrams of vitamin B-1 (thiamine)
50 milligrams of vitamin B-2 (riboflavin)
50 milligrams of vitamin B-6 (pyridoxine)
50 milligrams of vitamin B-12 (cyanocobalamin)
50 milligrams of Niacinamide
50 milligrams of D-pantothenic Acid
0.5 milligrams of Folic Acid
500 milligrams of vitamin C
400 international units of vitamin D
400 international units of vitamin E
20 milligrams of iron
200 milligrams of calcium
100 milligrams of magnesium
50 milligrams of potassium
10 milligrams of zinc
25 micrograms selenium
Aside from being higher than the RDA values (although not in megadoses), I have included a lot of antioxidants. These include vitamins such as vitamins C and E, selenium, and beta-carotene.
Antioxidants have been found in recent years to be vital to our health. They minimize the effects of free radicals that are present in our bodies. Free radicals are highly-reactive molecules that are strongly suspected of reacting with the cells of the body to cause diseases such as:
Cancer
Arteriosclerosis
Hypertension
Alzheimer's Disease
Arthritis
Immune Deficiency
Diabetes
This is an extensive list of damaging and degenerative diseases. Antioxidants have been found to have the great effect of neutralizing the free radicals, thus keeping us healthy and slowing down the aging process.
If you are into really building muscle mass, then you need to know that there is evidence to support the fact that extreme exercise promotes the production of free radicals and inhibits the supply of antioxidants, especially vitamin E.
Experts believe that it is stress that causes these things to happen. We know that stress causes the production of free radicals in the body, another reason to remain stress-free, and this can increase the speed of aging. For all of these reasons, you MUST have enough antioxidants in your body. Here is a list of extra antioxidants that you might want to consider taking:
800 international units of Vitamin E
1 gram of Vitamin C
50 milligrams zinc
25,000 units beta-carotene
Take these extra antioxidant supplements only on the days you train.