Have you ever seen one of those pictures comparing someone in their 40s who looks much older than they actually are next to someone ripped, who looks much younger? The surprise is when you find out that the ripped individual is either close to the other person’s age or older than them!
This isn’t purely because they workout and take care of their body, either. While that does play a huge role in helping to keep you healthy and spry at any age, working out alone doesn’t necessarily keep you looking drastically younger than your age. Other things can help, too.
As you might have guessed from the title, collagen protein can do wonders to your body. In addition to all these benefits, it even has some anti-aging properties that can help you look younger than you actually are–maybe even de-age your features.
What Is Collagen Protein?
We’ve been talking about all the different protein sources that can help your body, and collagen shouldn’t be forgotten. Collagen is the protein that makes up the proteins that are in our joints and bones. It also makes up the forms of protein that exist in our hair and nails.
And that’s not even mentioning its benefits in making up the connective tissue surrounding the muscle.
What Are the Benefits of Collagen Protein?
All these things we’ve mentioned might indicate that collagen protein is actually a great protein for muscle growth, just like whey protein. However, collagen also has some recovery properties due to the nature of what it affects.
Studies show that the biggest thing affecting your training volume is the soreness you get after exercising (assuming you workout until failure). That soreness we get is actually the connective tissue of the muscle being damaged.
This is why when you supplement with collagen, you’ll find that you’re less sore and you recover faster, which helps you train harder. In addition to helping with recovery, collagen can also help with healing after an injury.
Suppose you injured your back during an exercise. Part of that injury recovery is going to rely on your connective tissue. Collagen helps make your tendons, ligaments, and joints more resistant to injury, which is a massive benefit for the longevity of your bodybuilding career.
You don’t want to practice 20 sets on the bar so you can start lifting your average weight just because your joints are constantly sore and inflamed, do you? If you were practicing without proper form when you were young, collagen can help alleviate some of the side effects of joint soreness.
Even if you’re not looking after your longevity and just work out for the aesthetic aspect of it, collagen can help keep your skin and hair healthier, and is important for the health of your skin, which can support your bodybuilding goals, since bodybuilding is an aesthetic sport.
If you want to stay healthy and young, your skin needs to look god, which is why collagen is important for its anti-aging properties. When you combine collagen with vitamin C, it’ll help you look younger and even can de-age you.
Recommendations for Supplementing with Collagen
We recommend taking at least 30g of collagen a day and using it as a pre- and post-workout supplement, as there is more blood flow to your tissue when you train. This can help the collagen get where it needs to go.
You can find collagen naturally in things like bone broth, which is super high in collagen. Pair it up with vitamin C and you are good to go for your day!
We hope this article helped you understand all the benefits of taking collagen and how it’s actually one of the best ways to look younger naturally and boost the longevity of your bodybuilding career.
