In a previous article regarding a study performed with mice, we learned that vitamin D is per se necessary for muscle growth and development. The research showed that vitamin D deficiency brought about as a result of genetic deletion of the vitamin D receptor (VDR) led to significant reductions in muscle mass and strength and significant increases in the expression of myostatin and related catabolic genes. Similar but less pronounced changes were observed in healthy mice fed a vitamin D deficient diet as well, suggesting that it is vitamin D signaling that modulates the responses. Now if I were to ask what the number one way to build muscle is, I bet the response would be a majority “resistance training.” This raises the question: Does vitamin-D intake during resistance training improve the skeletal muscle hypertrophic and strength response? Fortunately, an answer comes from a recent publication by Agergaard et al, who...
