Ball State University. Muncie, IN 47306. Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action . Results of the study found Vitamin E protects muscle membranes during resistance training, said Bruce Craig, a physical education professor and a researcher in the Human Performance Laboratory.
Vitamin E acts as an antioxidant and reduces free radical formation.
Since free radicals can damage the muscle membrane, a reduction in their formation is a major part of the protective effects of vitamin E. From a weight trainer s point of view, if you don t have as much muscle damage and soreness, you can recover faster, he said. Vitamin E may reduce the oxidative and mechanical damage induced by resistance training. Craig points out the effectiveness of vitamin E supplementation during aerobic exercise has been well established but has not been thoroughly studied in anaerobic activities like weight training. Six of the men took a daily capsule of vitamin E and the remaining five took a placebo. Each participant weight trained in a circuit format, going from machine to machine without resting for about 50 minutes each session.