About Us - The History Behind VitxCycle

Do you exercise a fair bit?
Are you starting to get those random odd pains you can't explain?
Finding yourself getting laid low a bit too often but eating a relatively healthy diet?

Well that was me too! And that's why I would like to introduce myself and tell you how and why I started VitxCycle…

Hi. I’m Will - Founder of VitxCycle.

I’m in my mid 40’s and I’m an ‘enthusiastic’ cyclist! I like to think I’m in pretty good health for my age, but that hasn’t always been the case.

My story

When I was closing in on 40 - after years of playing hockey, badminton, football, cricket, cycling, compounded with 15 years of sitting at a desk and an active social life - my body wasn’t in the best of shape.

I was suffering with a bad back, sore knees (thanks hockey!) and tight hips to name a few of my ailments. I was eating a relatively healthy diet, exercising a fair bit, yet still made those groaning noises when I got out of a low chair and I was getting ill too often!

(Sound familiar?)

Well, I needed to make a change. Not just for me, but also for my wife and two young daughters. I didn’t want to be the Dad who couldn’t have a kickabout in the garden for fear of doing myself an injury!

Where to start?

I researched what a 40+ year-old should be doing to improve their health. I spoke to my GP, Osteopath and Physio (the last two I had on speed dial. Told you I wasn’t in great shape!). I started doing strength and conditioning gym work, Pilates and made my cycling more focused by working with a coach. I even started running and I hate running!!!

But it wasn’t until my wife was diagnosed with Coeliac disease*, that I dived into the nutritional side of things as it became really important that we understood what was in our food, so not to make her ill.

*Coeliac disease is a condition where your immune system attacks your own tissues when you eat gluten. This damages your gut (small intestine), so you are unable to take in nutrients.

During my research I discovered that despite eating a balanced diet and spending time outside it was likely that I was still lacking several key ingredients my body needed to maintain good health. Two of the obvious ones were Vitamin D (especially during the winter months where we hardly see the sun here in the UK) and Omega 3 (which in a typical UK diet is on the low side).

Time to supplement

So, I started taking some off-the-shelf multivitamins and Omega 3, bought in a well-known high street store and I did start to feel a bit healthier. But remember those aches, pains and groans, the sore knees and bad back? I still had them. So I kept digging...

And I found my answer to this through a little-known supplement recommended to me by my osteopath.

MSM (or Methylsulfonylmethane to give its full name) - a naturally occurring form of sulphur.

There are lots of claimed benefits to adding MSM as a supplement to your diet, including decreasing joint pain, anti-inflammatory effects, speeding up recovery post exercise and boosting immunity.

So, I now had the ‘Complex’ of dietary supplements I wanted to take – a multivitamin, Omega 3 and MSM, to support my overall health and exercise plan. But after taking them for a few months I was still getting ill and my aches and pains were still there!

Let's get Scientific

That’s when I dug further into the science and discovered something interesting - the key to helping my body get what it needed. It’s all about capsules…..I’d been using tablets instead. (You can read more about this on our blog Capsules V Tablets.)

I discovered that the tablets I’d been taking had ingredients added during the manufacturing process which actively reduced their effectiveness; they also had binding agents (glue), fillers, bulking agents and sweeteners!

Who wants that stuff going into their body? Not me!

On the flip side, capsules have none of these!

So where do you find quality pure supplements in capsule form? Well right here in the UK it turns out! So I ditched my old supply of tablets, found a supplier of capsules (albeit I had to buy bulk loads of the stuff!) and started my new routine…..

The results

But, what were the results? Well, if they weren’t good… I wouldn’t be writing this?

Over the first couple of weeks there was little change. But after four weeks I felt significantly better in myself. Changes in diet are subtle and can take time to become apparent.

A couple of months on, my knees were noticeably less sore, my back was less tight and my muscles weren’t as stiff the day after a ride. I also noticed my skin looked and felt better AND I hadn’t succumbed to any of the bugs my kids were bringing home from school!

I was so happy with everything, that I mentioned what I'd been doing to a ride buddy who replied “I could do with some of that” and as they say, the rest is history….

...but don’t just take my word for it, check out our Cycling Blog and see what our subscribers say about what VitxCycle has done for them.

Now VitxCycle isn’t a miracle cure! It’s a dietary supplement to be taken as part of a healthy lifestyle, which includes a balanced diet, S&C training, cardio work, while ensuring you are properly hydrated and getting enough sleep.

It’s not sexy, in the way a new bike or jersey is. But if you give your engine what it needs to help maintain itself, support training levels and aid post ride recovery, it’ll help keep you in the saddle longer, to ride further and recover quicker.......

Wherever your bike takes you, happy cycling.

Will