icon-account icon-glass

Join the community!

We'll keep you up to date with interesting news, product information and offers so you never miss out.

No boring newsletters and we'll never share your address. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Popular Searches

Popular Products

The Lean Protein
Whey protein powder for weight-loss.
The Energy Booster
Pre/intra-workout powder with BCAAs.
The Glow Booster
Collagen supplement for skin.

CATEGORIES

How Super Supplement ZMA Can Improve Your Health And Wellbeing

8th August 2022

Fitness

8th August 2022

By Beth Shelper

If you’re looking for an article that breaks down the science surrounding the popular ZMA supplement – hello there. We’re glad you could make it.

Zinc Magnesium Aspartate, which is more commonly referred to as ZMA (as it’s a bit less of a mouthful), is a hugely popular supplement that combines the benefits of minerals Zinc, Magnesium and Vitamin B6. ZMA supplements are widely used as a result of this killer combination, as the benefits of these supplements alone (let alone with each other) are beneficial to your overall health in a heap of really great ways.

You may be thinking - why are these vitamins and minerals combined, and is that advised?  Well, here at Innermost we are huge advocates for the benefits of ZMA. Any supplements that pack the benefits of all three of these vital supplements into one easy source is a no brainer to us. In fact, we love the benefits so much, that we’ve included ZMA into The Recover Capsules to help improve your performance and enhance your recovery.

Before you start implementing ZMA into your routine, it’s good to read into some research and facts surrounding the supplement. That’s where we come in! So let’s dive into some of that all-important information and get you on board and clued up with all things ZMA supplements, shall we?

What is ZMA?

As above, ZMA is made up of three core components: Zinc, Magnesium and Vitamin B6. There’s been a lot of research into the effectiveness of ZMA supplements, with many of these studies concluding that athletes that implemented the supplement into their routine saw significant increases in performance and strength.

Let’s break down these nutrients and find out some more about their feel-good effects on our health, wellness and performance levels.

Zinc

Zinc is a great boost to your immune system due to the nutrient's essential role in immune cell functioning. Zinc is naturally occurring, with many people choosing to take ZMA supplements to enhance their zinc levels, as zinc has been linked to an in increase their metabolism.

Magnesium

The benefits of magnesium are huge. We won’t go into too much detail here, as we’ve written an overview surrounding the benefits of magnesium supplementation here. But simply put, adding Magnesium into your diet is beneficial in reducing anxiety levels, helping with migraines and boosting exercise performance – to name but a few benefits.

Vitamin B6 

Vitamin B6 is found naturally in many foods that you most likely already incorporate into your diet, including:

  • Beef
  • Vegetables
  • Non-citrus fruits
  • Tuna
  • Chickpeas 

This vitamin is often taken as a supplementation due to it's important role in regulating your memory and maintaining your mood. Vitamin B6 is also a key player in the creation of red blood cells, so it's important that you maintain healthy levels of this vitamin in your diet.

Who takes ZMA?

Generally speaking, ZMA is a pretty popular supplement amongst groups such as bodybuilders, high-intensity athletes and those that train regularly. This is because of the range of benefits that supplementation presents, which helps in areas ranging from sleep quality to muscle growth.

Many athletes also opt to take ZMA supplements as a healthy, natural replacement for anabolic steroids, due to the risks that taking these carry.

The health benefits of ZMA

Strap in, because this list is pretty long.

  • Improves physical endurance levels
  • Enhances recovery processes
  • Boosts muscle growth
  • Aids in sleep quality
  • Improved immunity
  • Ups your mood
  • Helps control blood sugar levels
  • Reduces inflammation
  • Aids weight-loss
  • Reduces your appetite

So, should I be taking ZMA supplements?

The answer to this can come from asking yourself a couple of pretty simple questions:

  • Are you feeling tired at the end of everyday?
  • Are you struggling to incorporate Zinc, Magnesium or B6 into your diet?
  • Could you do with that extra boost?

If the answer to any of the above questions is yes, then we would wholeheartedly recommend you give ZMA supplements a try.

Are there any health risks?

As with everything we put into our body, it’s important to know if there are any risks. With ZMA, there are no known side effects, but as with all supplementations, ensure you are taking the correct, recommended daily dose.

The Recover Capsules

When starting to incorporate a new supplement into your routine, you might be feeling a little bit overwhelmed with who to trust and where to start. Formulated by leading nutritionists, The Recover Capsules include ZMA as well as other active ingredients such as Selenium and Vitamin D.

Summary

Basically, ZMA supplements improve your health and wellbeing in a wealth of areas, so you can see why it’s pretty popular with fitness enthusiasts.

If you’re looking to improve your performance, ZMA supplementation will assist in any deficiencies as a result of your diet plan. For example, body builders commonly focus on a protein-rich diet, leaving room for zinc deficiency. If you’re looking to improve your sleep, the included zinc and magnesium will help you on you out with that.

It’s all about the balance.

References

  • Moëzzi, N., Peeri, M., & Matin, H. (2013). Effects of zinc, magnesium and vitamin B6 supplementation on hormones and performance in weightlifters. Ann. Biol. Res, 4, 163-168. Click here.
  • Khorsandi, H., Nikpayam, O., Yousefi, R. et al. (2019). Zinc supplementation improves body weight management, inflammatory biomarkers and insulin resistance in individuals with obesity: a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial. Diabetol Metab Syndr 11, 101.Click here.
  • Sheykh, A. V. D. & Bordbar, S. (2012). Effect of ZMA supplement alone and in combination with carbohydrates, with six weeks of resistance training on anabolic hormone levels and cellular damage indexes in untrained males. Click here.
< Older post Newer post >

Product Spotlight

The Recover Capsules. These nootropic capsules contain research-backed ingredients that support the recovery process, reduce inflammation, and regulate hormone activity.

The Recover Capsules
Daily capsules to help speed up physical and mental recovery, reduce inflammation and regulate optimal hormone activity.
Team Favourite

Need Expert Advice?

Take the quiz

Take the quiz

If you're not sure where to start, take our 5 minute health consultation to get product recommendations tailored to your goals.
Read more

Other Insights

7 Expert Gym Tips to See Faster Results at the Gym

7 Expert Gym Tips to See Faster Results at the Gym

Are you pushed for time in your daily life? Take a look at out top 7 tips to supercharge your gym results in less time!
Read more
From the Bedroom to the Gym: Is Your Sex Life Affecting Your Workout Performance?

From the Bedroom to the Gym: Is Your Sex Life Affecting Your Workout Performance?

The relationship between sex and workout performance is one that’s long been debated by scientists and fitness fanatics alike. It’s complicated and multifaceted, so answering the question of whether your sex life is affecting your training is difficult. That said, today we’re going to take a look at a variety of evidence, both academic and anecdotal, as well as several different scenarios and at least try to reduce some of the mystery around the subject. First, it helps to understand what’s actually happening to the body, both physically and psychologically, during both activities.   The Effects of Sex on the Body Sexual activity causes several changes to occur in the body:   Physical Changes That Occur During Sex During sexual activity and the lead up to it, the human body undergoes a process known as the sexual response cycle. This is the case for both males and females, though the cycle can be highly individual and may not be the same each time for each person. Describing the full sexual response cycle is beyond the scope of this article, however it consists of 4 phases: Desire Arousal Orgasm Resolution Factors such as elevated heart rate, increased blood flow and pressure and heightened muscle tension all come into play. If you’d like to read about the sexual response cycle in more detail, check out this great article from Cleveland Clinic.   Psychological Changes That Occur During Sex Several psychological changes occur both during and after sex. Most notable are the release of endorphins and oxytocin, which are associated with improved mood and a better sense of wellbeing. These are also responsible for reduced stress levels, which brings a multitude of additional benefits that are of particular interest to those of us participating in regular training and exercise. Cortisol, the hormone responsible for stress, is catabolic in high levels, meaning it can cause the breakdown of lean tissue. So, whilst it is unclear whether sex itself affects workout performance, the reduction in stress levels it may bring is definitely beneficial for preserving our results!   The Effects of Exercise and Training on the Body Exercise and training also cause the body to undergo a number of changes. These occur both during and after the physical activity. There are in fact a number of similarities in changes that happen during exercise and sex:   Physical Changes That Occur During Exercise The physical changes that happen in the body vary based on the type of exercise being undertaken, however, there are some that are common to exercise in general: Increased heart rate Increased blood flow, especially to the muscles Faster, deeper breathing due to additional oxygen needs Heightened activity within the circulatory, respiratory, musculoskeletal and endocrine systems A full summary of the changes that occur within these systems can be found here. More aerobically demanding exercise will, of course, place greater emphasis on the circulatory and respiratory systems as well as causing fat to be metabolised as an energy source. Resistance training, which often relies more heavily on the lactate and creatine phosphate energy systems, instead promotes greater muscular and endocrine (hormone) activity. Note the common physical changes between sex and exercise here, as they do crossover!   Psychological Changes That Occur During Exercise The psychological changes that occur during exercise are similar to those experienced during sexual activity and are mostly related to the release of endorphins and other ‘feelgood’ hormones. These help to regulate mood, and it is common knowledge that frequent exercise and leading an active, healthy lifestyle promotes a feeling of wellbeing.   Does Sex Affect Our Workouts? This is where things become complicated. Though extensive studies have been done on the subject, the results of these have varied massively. We must also take into account the experience of individuals, and this anecdotal evidence again has huge variance. Let’s look at both:   Sex and Training: What the Science Says Scientific studies on the relationship between sex and training are contradictory at best. There’s no denying the positive benefits of both activities, particularly from a psychological perspective, but as for the effect of sex on actual performance in the gym the results are inconclusive. A study, published in April 2021, by Kirecci, Albayrak and co. examined the effects of sexual activity of 50 men in the 24 hours prior to training on lower body strength. The study measured effects by having the men perform 3 separate squat sessions, each at the same time of day. Each of these sessions occurred after participating in or abstaining from sexual activity the night before. The men performed 5 sets of 5 repetitions of their maximum squat weight during these sessions and the difference in weight lifted was observed. The study concluded that ‘sexual intercourse within 24 hours before exercise [has a] detrimental effect on lower extremity muscle force, which suggests that restricting sexual activity before a short-term activity may be necessary.’ Aside from this study, most others found either no notable relationship between sex and athletic performance. A meta-analysis of 9 crossover studies, conducted by Zavorsky and Brooks and published on 16 September 2022, confirms this. The analysis concluded that ‘The results demonstrate that sexual activity within 30 min to 24 h before exercise does not appear to affect aerobic fitness, musculoskeletal endurance, or strength/power.’ This is perhaps more notable, because these studies incorporated different types of exercise and were not restricted purely to a strength/power based activity like squats.   Anecdotal Evidence: What About the Experiences of Real Gym Goers? The anecdotal evidence is, as expected, highly individualised. However, there tends to be a bias against the results of most studies, particularly in those participating in sports involving strength and aggression. For example, many fighters claim that they perform better when they abstain from sex in the days leading up to a contest. Similarly, bodybuilding forums are full of debate on this topic and many claim they note a significant decrease in motivation to train at maximum intensity after sexual activity. It has been hypothesised that this may be due to a downregulation in testosterone production after sex; during orgasm the mineral zinc is released in the body and this is also a precursor for natural testosterone production in the body and may, therefore, provide some reasoning as to the experience of many trainees.   Key Takeaways The relationship between sex and workout performance will always be a complicated one. The effects of one on the other in terms of physical fitness and, in particular, mental wellbeing, are clear, but when it comes to actual performance this appears to be highly individual. We’d advise doing what feels best for you but not worrying too much about it. Instead, prioritise your nutrition and make sure you’re fuelling your workouts properly. While you’re here, why not take a look at the Innermost range? We’re proud to be completely transparent about the ingredients in our products and we always ensure they’re of the highest quality. Check us out, and be sure to get in touch if you have any questions!
Read more