Collagen & Fitness, Does it Help You With Better Results in The Gym?

Buzzword or Aesthetic Booster?

You are promised beautiful skin, shiny hair, strong nails and better training. Collagen is one of the most popular buzz words in the field of beauty, health and wellness. But what exactly is collagen – and does it work at all?

What is collagen?

Collagen is found in everything from tendons, muscles and connective tissue to skin, hair, nails and bones. New research suggests that collagen can help you perform better during exercise, avoid injuries and keep your body moving and pain-free, even as you get older.

Collagen is a protein that occurs naturally in your body. It makes up about 30% of the body’s total protein mass and is thus the protein you have the most of in your body.

You can easily eat your way to the benefits of collagen as collagen is found in abundant amounts from fish, meat and poultry, but it will probably require you to make some new less appealing choices in the supermarket. The helpful ‘Gold’ is hidden in parts of the animals which unfortunately often end up in the rubbish bin, require cumbersome cooking or have less appetizing serving potential.

What are the benefits of collagen?

Collagen has several key roles for your body. Though your body itself produces collagen, here’s some benefits to consider before making choices about adding extra Collagen in the form of either Collagen Powders, Pills, Liquids or setting up your own home lab to extract the golden protein from various sources.

Research provides several good reasons to consider extra collagen in the form of dietary supplements. One of them is that your body’s ability to produce collagen decreases continuously throughout life as you get older.

When your body’s own production of collagen decreases continuously with your age, it affects your skin, your hair and your nails, among other things, results suggest that you may lose strength and elasticity.

Several experts and researchers suggest that a supplement of Collagen will help restore the natural collagen levels in your body. There are also results that suggest that other resources in your diet can strengthen your own production or contribute to your health and body functions, other research supports that veggies, fruits and other plant based variations of nutrients helps your body to stimulate its own production of Collagen.

Flexible and Elastic Skin?

Collagen has an important role for your skin. The upper layer of the skin slowly becomes thinner with age, this is one of the proponents of adding a supplement of Collagen which can help strengthen the body’s own production of collagen. With the help of substances such as biotin and vitamin C, it is possible to maintain normal skin and stimulate collagen production in the skin.

Collagen is found naturally in the body, even before we start consuming it through the diet. It is the most common protein in connective tissue in both humans and animals, and it is found especially in skin, cartilage, tendons, ligaments and bones. Collagen promotes healthy skin, hair and nails.

Food, Cooking & Collagen has long been used as a dietary supplement for healthier skin, hair and nails. Gelatin, a culinary form of collagen used in cooking, has been popular for years as a thickener for liquid ingredients and dishes from pudding, gravy and many other everyday dishes.

Beauty & Skincare, Collagen is also a popular “message” in the beauty industry, where many creams, masks and skin care products have collagen as one of the ingredients. Collagen also showcases many labels and ads, to get you to choose brands or skin care products containing collagen, if you have not reacted to the word collagen directly, anti-aging and reduction of wrinkles may have paved the way for the choice of creams and skin care.

Massive research and marketing suggests that there are benefits to consuming extra collagen in your daily diet or applying the thick on the skin, although the body can make it itself, an extra supplement can help give you supple and elastic skin, and many believes it helps maintain the suppleness of the skin.

Aid to Healthy & Well-Functioning Joints?

Collagen promotes healthy joints. Another benefit of using Collagen is the preventative effect if you experience joint pain. Many Collagen supplement products often also contain other plant extracts, which at the same time help you keep your joints healthy and well-functioning during exercise.

Many people experience joint pain during the aging process, but it can also be a problem for professional athletes, bodybuilders or for ordinary people with an active lifestyle during the daily visits in the gym. When your body’s connective tissue slowly degrades with your age, during illness or injury, a low level of collagen can often be one of the variables if you feel joint pain.

Collagen is considered to have a key function for strong and healthy joints. Collagen as a supplement helps to scar increase the body’s creation of new collagen. Research shows that it is beneficial to take supplements 1-2 hours before you begin your workout.

Does Collagen Help With Muscle Growth and Muscle Repair?

Muscle growth, fat loss, a healthy lifestyle or other specific goals with your body are a fine balance between strength training, exercise, planning, workout programs, diet, sleep, recovery and many other lifestyle adjustments.

A single dietary supplement alone makes no difference to how your clothes fit you tomorrow if the diet, exercise and a generally well-considered diet do not follow and are a consistent lifestyle. And collagen is no exception to give you the miracle of tomorrow for healthier skin, bigger muscles or weight loss unless combined with the whole package, hard work, healthy lifestyle and many small everyday choices.

Like everything else, collagen, when combined with a healthy diet, good exercise routines and dedicated goals, can help you build and strengthen your muscles. Studies have shown that Collagen can contribute to increased strength, lean muscle mass and reduction of body fat mass.

However, not by consuming the supplement alone, but in combination with a customized diet and exercise routine tailored to your particular body.

If you are serious about your muscle growth, fat burning and generally a healthy lifestyle with respect for your skin and your appearance, then collagen is probably one of the better supplements to choose.

Different Types of Collagen?

Collagen is mainly composed of three different amino acids: Proline, hydroxyproline and glycine There are different types of collagen, the vast majority of which are built up as fibrillar structures. Collagen is divided into different types, which are categorized based on where in the body you find them. Collagen is built as a helix structure consisting of three chains, typically with a length of about 300 nanometers.

You’ll find more than 10 different types of collagen proteins. There are 4 primary types that play key roles for your body and have an influence on your skin, muscles and your athletic results.

Type I collagen is the most common protein in the body and is found as an example in tendons, connective tissue, skin, bones and teeth. Type I makes up most of the collagen in the human body and up to 90% which provides structure to your body components.

Type I collagen as a dietary supplement is often praised for its ability to minimize wrinkles, which is not conclusively proven, but by adding ingredients such as vitamin C, selenium and zinc which together with collagen can help increase the elasticity of the skin.

Type II collagen is more elastic and stretchable, less tightly packed than type I and helps with shock-absorbing effects for your joints.

Type III collagen makes up the second largest proportion of collagen in the body and is found as an example in muscles, blood vessels and various organs. The role of type III collagen is to provide structure to your arteries, organs and muscles.

Type IV Collagen is essential for skin health and helps provide a filter. Type IV collagen is the main collagen component of the basement membrane. It is a network-forming collagen that underlies epithelial and endothelial cells and functions as a barrier between tissue compartments.

Type I collagen as a dietary supplement is often praised for the ability to minimize wrinkles, which is not conclusively proven, but by adding ingredients such as vitamin C, selenium and zinc which together with collagen can help increase the elasticity of your skin.