MudRunFun Magazine Oct. 2013 | Page 35

then you need to find something that fits your tastes. would need to keep a journal of your habits before Look for the following: taking the vitamins and again for a couple of months Size. The pill should be a size that you are comfortable swallowing or chewing every day. The best vitamin is the one that you will actually take, not the one with the best ingredients that stays in after taking them. The changes are subtle, but they are there. It is easy to take these for granted because they are not the same rush that you get from caffeine or sugar. the bottle for years. Smell. Some vitamins have an odd smell. If that turns your stomach, then choose a different one. Taste. Many people think a vitamin should taste like candy. If that is you, then get a gummy or chewable vitamin that tastes great, or a small tablet that you can’t taste at all. One Daily. Some vitamins are designed to What are all of those other supplements for? If you talk to health nuts, athletes, and back-tonature enthusiasts about their vitamin supplements, you will find that all of them take more than just a single multivitamin. They all swear by a different combination of supplements that enhance their specific activities. In most cases, these devotees have be taken two, three, or six per day. That is too built up their stock by reading books and articles complicated. Choose a vitamin that has everything or talking to other healthy people that they respect. you need in one single pill. They have arrived at a mixture that works well for Cost. We all have financial limits. Choose a vitamin that you can afford to purchase regularly for the rest of your life. That is simple. Choose what works best for you. them both physically and psychologically. If you stick with the Mud Run Blueprint for Fitness™ program, you will find yourself on that same journey in a few months or years. But, right But do not choose to skip it. now you are just getting started and there is no Why don’t I feel a rush? to be. Today you need one simple habit that you can Taking a vitamin and mineral tablet is not like downing an energy drink. You will not feel an immediate rush of energy. Rather, over time, you reason to make this more complicated than it needs continue for the rest of your life. Take one small, simple, affordable vitamin pill every morning. should notice subtle, but solid, improvements in your health. When your body has these nutrients it can perform its daily activities better. This includes a sound sleep, regular and reliable digestion, preventing and repairing injuries to the joints, stable blood chemistry, and improved oxygen absorption during exercise. To really notice each of these you Dr. Roger Smith is a researcher at Florida Hospital, prolific author, and avid mud runner. He competes with the old guys in every mud run around Central Florida. This column was drawn from his book The New Blueprint for Fitness: Mud Run Edition, which is available at Amazon.com.