The top ten minerals for bodybuilders

All those mountains of muscle you see on magazine covers month after month, the ones you sweat to look like, don’t actually train any differently from the way the rest of us “mere mortals” train.

Okay, of course they train with heavier weights, but they probably don’t have nearly as much genetic advantage as people assume. If you’ve ever had the chance to spend time around a professional athlete, you’ll understand that sweating the small stuff, and keeping close track of training and meal plans, is what separates the elite from the average lifter. For example, the details include a thorough warm-up before training, weighing portions of food, planning your menu for the coming days in advance, and so on. Watching these athletes, it’s easy to see that their attention to seemingly insignificant things is what sets a successful bodybuilder apart from everyone else.

Think back: when did you last wonder whether your menu contains enough of the right minerals? We don’t mean the times you took a supplement or two, but a serious analysis of the mineral content of your meals. If it’s been a while, or you’ve never done it, you’re not alone.

Many bodybuilders pay very little attention to the nutrients that contain no calories. That’s a big mistake, because the food you eat contains many other essential elements besides the substances that allow muscle growth, energy production and so on. These elements, known as trace elements, can actually matter far more to a bodybuilder than the calorie-containing nutrients, thanks to their properties.

The aim of this article is to present the top ten trace elements a bodybuilder needs, along with the reasons, that is, why these substances are necessary for a bodybuilder. How important is it to know this at all? If you’re already as muscular as you’ve always wanted to be, there’s no point reading on, because in the end these are only small details.

If we analyze the role of trace elements in a bodybuilder’s menu, then based on the research done in this area we can answer at least one of the questions below.

Are minerals directly involved in muscle function or protein synthesis?
Does bodybuilding training increase the need for minerals?
Is it common for athletes to get too little of these minerals?
Does supplementing trace elements help build muscle mass and increase strength?

Based on these questions, we’ve put together a ranking of the most needed minerals, starting from the last place.

10. Potassium

This mineral is an important electrolyte found inside muscle cells. Working closely with sodium, it regulates the level of water in the cell. Potassium also plays an important role in transmitting the impulses between nerve and muscle that cause muscle contraction. It is even involved in “storing” glycogen. A poor sodium-to-potassium ratio causes dehydration, muscle cramps and weakness. Fortunately, potassium deficiency isn’t a problem for most people, but a bodybuilder should know its role and the foods it’s found in.

9. Copper

Copper may be more vital to a bodybuilder than was previously thought. It has earned its place in the ranking not because of its link to oxygen transport and use (it is also involved in the production of noradrenaline and in other enzymatic processes), but because it has shown itself to promote blood flow during intense exercise.

This suggests that copper plays a direct role in high-intensity muscle work such as bodybuilding. That is why bodybuilders may be prone to copper deficiency. Although they probably get enough copper, it doesn’t hurt to take a critical look at your meal plan. Since copper has been researched quite a lot recently, you’ll likely hear more about it in the future.

8. Vanadium

This non-electrolyte mineral has recently drawn attention among bodybuilders thanks to one particular form of its salt, called vanadyl sulfate. Vanadium is to marine animals what iron is to humans: for example, it makes jellyfish blood green, just as iron makes ours red. Although most of the research on vanadium has been done on laboratory rats, the published results show an increased glycogen-storing effect in muscle tissue.

This may explain why some bodybuilders who have used vanadyl sulfate report that the muscle feels “full”. The problem is that we don’t yet know enough about the beneficial effects of vanadyl sulfate on improving athletic performance. Nor do we know enough about its longer-term effects, although the information available so far is promising.

7. Iron

What you should know about iron is that it is a component of hemoglobin, is responsible for transporting oxygen to the tissues, and is indirectly involved in oxidative energy production. What does that have to do with bodybuilding? This much: recovery between sets depends on your aerobic fitness level. The more oxygen your body can deliver to the working muscles, the faster the muscle can recover for the next heavy set.

Iron is all the more necessary for female bodybuilders, because women lose part of their iron stores every month through the menstrual cycle. Iron deficiency in female bodybuilders can also result from a menu that doesn’t contain enough red meat, so they are at risk of developing anemia if the iron content of their food isn’t monitored.

6. Phosphorus

This is a mineral found in large amounts in the body. Phosphorus is directly involved in metabolism, because it produces high-energy molecules such as adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and creatine phosphate. Phosphorus works together with calcium, so it’s important to keep the phosphorus-to-calcium ratio at 1:1. It has also been observed that phosphorus reduces the level of lactic acid that forms in the blood during exercise.

5. Sodium

As mentioned earlier, sodium is an electrolyte that plays a vital role in regulating the body’s fluid balance. The sodium level determines the amount of water the body holds inside the cell, and at higher doses it causes the body’s tissues to swell (because of the water). (It’s not at all unusual to be up to a kilo heavier after eating a Big Mac meal the day before.) In general, a typical diet contains enough sodium.

You should be careful about restricting sodium intake before competitions in order to look ultra-dry and defined. If you overdo the restriction, the body triggers a defensive response that makes it hold on to water and sodium. Finally, it’s worth remembering that sodium plays a major role in endurance training: its function is to transmit nerve impulses to the muscle, which is important for muscle contraction. Taking it as a supplement is not a bad idea at all, but make sure you don’t get too much of it.

4. Chromium

The mineral chromium is a substance that helps insulin bind to receptors in tissues. In other words, chromium helps insulin do its job – transporting glucose, amino acids and fatty acids into cells. Athletes probably need more chromium than ordinary people, but whether chromium is an anabolic substance or not is still a bone of contention among scientists. The fact is that chromium promotes glucose synthesis and probably fat synthesis too, but it has not yet been established whether it also helps increase lean muscle mass.

3. Zinc

If you want to build muscle, zinc is definitely worth thinking about, because zinc is involved in all phases of muscle growth. Zinc matters even more for a bodybuilder because studies show excessive zinc loss during intensive training, and some athletes have also been found to eat diets low in zinc. These two factors are why we’ve put zinc in third place: possible under-consumption of zinc and rapid loss during intensive training. If the body doesn’t get enough zinc, muscle growth is suppressed.

2. Calcium

This mineral, found in large amounts in the body, deserves second place in our view when it comes to its importance for a bodybuilder. There are several reasons for this.

– Bodybuilders can find it hard to maintain a 1:1 calcium-to-phosphorus ratio. First, some athletes try to avoid dairy products (which contain calcium) out of an unfounded fear that their muscles will lose separation. Second, the typical bodybuilder’s diet is high in protein and therefore high in phosphorus (which throws the calcium-to-phosphorus ratio in the body out of balance), and this causes excessive excretion of calcium compounds in the urine.
– Calcium is the primary mineral involved in muscle contraction
– For the skeleton to withstand the stress caused by resistance training, the body must have enough calcium
– Female bodybuilders should be especially careful, because low estrogen levels make calcium absorption poorer and increase calcium loss.
It’s also worth remembering that vitamin D helps calcium be absorbed better.

1. Magnesium

We’ve given magnesium first place because it can help increase strength. Magnesium’s effects cover both energy production and protein synthesis. Athletes from various sports have been studied, and the conclusion is that the body loses large amounts of magnesium through sweat, while a bodybuilder’s diet doesn’t contain enough magnesium-rich foods (nuts, legumes, etc.) to replenish the body’s magnesium stores.

Brilla and Haley of Western Washington University in Bellingham recently published the results of a study in which a group of weightlifters were given magnesium, and the strength of those athletes’ leg muscles increased faster than that of the athletes who didn’t use magnesium. That is why magnesium is a popular supplement among many bodybuilders and powerlifters, and nutrition specialists who advise athletes also rate magnesium’s potential highly.

Avoid overdosing

Minerals play an important role in development, but keep in mind that overdosing on even a single element can lead to health problems. Too much of one mineral throws the body out of balance with respect to another mineral and causes only negative side effects without bringing any benefit. For example, too much zinc can lower HDL levels (“good” cholesterol). In conclusion, minerals are good only in sensible doses.

It’s also worth remembering that, thanks to their unique functions, minerals can be even more important to an athlete than calorie-containing nutrients. Make sure these 10 minerals are adequately present in your diet, because in the end it’s the small things that count.

Author: translated by Kristjan Pinka

Get the minerals you need here!

Source: WHO – physical activity.

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