It is crucial to your muscle building, as well as to your overall health and well-being in general, that your body gets the nutrients it needs to function at it’s peak. Very few people get 100 percent of their recommended daily intake of vitamins and minerals through their natural diet, and without them your body will not perform as well as it can, and should. An easy way to solve this is to combine your workout regimen with a healthy diet and a daily multivitamin.

Glancing at the supplement facts on its label, you will notice that multis offer an array of beneficial nutrients. Vitamin A is important for maintaining healthy vision. Vitamin C helps to keep your immune system strong and prevent illnesses. Magnesium helps you maintain normal muscle and nerve functions and regulates your blood sugar levels. Zinc, Calcium, and Vitamin B-12 are a just a few more examples that are commonly included in most multis, and that you probably don’t get enough of in your regular diet.

If you’re not taking a daily vitamin supplement, you’re not maximizing your potential in the gym. You are not experiencing your peak energy levels because your body needs more than what you are giving it in the form of food; so you are short changing your efforts in the gym by not lifting as much weight for as many reps as you can. Additionally, your body at rest is not repairing the muscle fibers you break down during your workout as effectively because your body’s chemical processes are lacking the nutrients they require to fire on all cylinders.

Multivitamins are probably the single most important nutritional supplement you can take. Before you even think about protein or creatine, I would definitely recommend doing some research and heading down to your local drugstore for a multivitamin.