The sources of a drop in the immune system in an athlete
Over the course of intensive training and weight training sessions, your body will suffer considerable consequences such as deficiencies in antioxidant vitamins (AECD), antioxidant trace elements (iron, zinc, selenium), white blood cells, antioxidant enzymes (Super Oxide Dismutase , Glutathione Peroxidase).
You will also need to increase your protein intake to improve your ability to create antibodies such as enzymes, amino acids such as glutamine and taurine. If you do nothing to remedy it, you will have more and more difficulty recovering after your sports sessions and will be more exposed to viral and bacterial infections such as locker room angina or infectious mononucleosis.
A healthy and balanced diet to strengthen your immune defenses
Even if it is tempting to opt for a high-protein diet to build muscle quickly, nothing beats always eating healthy , varied and balanced foods to improve immune defenses.
Thus, favor fresh fruits and vegetables to fill up with vitamins and folic acid, cereals, nuts, pulses, dairy products, meats and fish for their iron content, zinc selenium, copper and vitamins D and B12.
But above all, hydrate yourself well by opting for a daily ratio of 1.5 to 2 liters of water, herbal teas, fruit and vegetable juices or unsweetened teas. Obviously avoid all that is soda and sugary drinks which will have a deleterious effect on your health. If you have to choose a drink to strengthen your immune system, it would undoubtedly be green tea which has many virtues. Indeed green tea contains polyphenols, from the family of antioxidants in very large quantities. But that’s not all, these polyphenols also manage to trap the free radicals of certain molecules at the origin of oxidative stress. This way you avoid the premature aging of your cells.
Targeted muscle exercises
Because the immune system tends to be reduced with the decline in muscle mass, a study by the University of Bologna confirmed in 1999 that athletes were more likely to improve their immune system . Thus, the strengthening of muscle mass contributes to increasing the level of white blood cells and improving the immune defense, provided that you choose the exercises to do well and by favoring the intake of vitamins D. To put it simply, the more you train, the more you increase your chances of improving your immune defenses and being more resistant to diseases and viruses throughout the year.
To strengthen your immune system with your weight training sessions, make sure you always stay active while doing targeted and varied exercises , without ever going overboard to avoid injuries. To guide you, know that 30 to 45 minutes of targeted physical exercise per day in the open air will help you strengthen your immune system. Also know that it is possible to obtain the heart rate necessary to maintain the form. For this, respect 180 beats per minute to which you reduce your age to have the ideal rhythm.
Do not hesitate to inform yourself about the most suitable bodybuilding exercises for your age and the results you hope to obtain. What’s more, when you do physical exercises, you manage to relax, especially since permanent stress is one of the main sources of a drop in the immune system.
Good restful sleep
A good night’s sleep helps improve the immune system. Indeed, the human body takes advantage of these hours of sleep to increase the number of immune cells that fight bacteria and viruses. In order for your body to repair itself overnight, you need to get 7 to 8 hours of sleep . During the day, make sure to ventilate your living spaces to bring in fresh air rich in oxygen.
And for an athlete, sleep not only helps boost your immune system, but also builds muscle. You may not know it, but every weight training session causes micro tears in your muscles. And it is during the resting phases that your body will rebuild muscle fibers. It involves an increase in the size of these fibers and makes the muscles bigger and stronger.
