Potassium is a crucial electrolyte that is located in muscle cells and is connected with sodium to help control the body's water levels. It also helps greatly the electrical potentials with nerve and muscle cells the help achieve muscle contraction. It is involved in the storage of glycogen as well. The balance between potassium and sodium must be kept healthy as it can lead to several bad side effects if not. Potassium can come from a variety of foods and supplements.

Copper is a mineral that helps oxygen transportation and helps with many enzymatic reactions that help produce noradrenalin. High intensity exercise is reflected in the increase of copper found in the bloodstream. Many people need to improve their levels of copper in the body.

Vanadium is a non-electrolyte mineral helps storage of glycogen in our bodies. There has not been much research on this mineral yet but it seems to be an important mineral forth production of oxygen in the bloodstream. Taking it as a supplement is possible but we do not know the side effects yet in the long run.

Iron is a component of hemoglobin and moves the blood around the body and therefore helps with the oxidative energy production. This provides quicker muscle recovery, especially important after intense exercise. For women, iron is important to replace the amount lost during menstrual cycles. Iron can be found in red meat as well as a supplementary form.

Phosphorus helps the body through exercise metabolism. It is responsible for the production of adenosine triphosphate and creatine phosphate. It works directly with calcium so it is important to keep the balance correct. It also has been shown to limit the level of lactic acid when exercising.

Sodium is an electrolyte that helps regulate body fluids. Sodium in the body helps with water retention and if a lot is taken, it can cause body tissue swelling. It is important to have a regular intake of sodium. It also helps with nerve impulse transmission and contraction of different muscles.

Chromium is a mineral that plays a crucial role in glucose tolerance. This helps the insulin to bind to its receptors on tissues. It acts as a facilitator of transportation of glucose and amino and fatty acids into cells. It has also shown to help lipid metabolism and plays an important part of physiology.

Zinc is an important mineral as it helps with growth. It involves a lot of growth phases and during high intensity exercise, much zinc is lost and therefore needs to be replaced. Many people do not have a sufficient supply of zinc and should therefore get their intake from foods and/or supplements.

Calcium is the most plentiful mineral in the body. A high protein intake means a high phosphorus intake, which throws off the balance with calcium. It is the principle mineral involved with muscular contraction and a steady supply is needed to help with bone density too. Females need to up their intake of calcium as an estrogen level that is low can contribute to calcium loss. Vitamin D is also known to help calcium absorption and therefore eating vitamin D fortified foods is recommended.

Magnesium is a mineral with many performance-enhancing effects. With high intensity workouts, people are prone to losing magnesium in their sweat and it is therefore important to replace this loss. It has a theoretical mechanism of action that centers itself on producing energy and synthesizing protein in the body. People can get their intake of magnesium from foods such as nuts and legumes, and also various different supplements.