I’m Resting and Recovering… Do I Need to Add Supplements to My Training?
Being a runner in 2026 can be a scary and intimidating thing; social media and its’ army of influencers lead us to believe that we need to get daily massages, tons of injections and supplements, weekly IVs, cold plunges every morning… the list goes on and on. So how do we navigate this world of influencing and weed out the real from the, for lack of better words, bullsh*t?
Keep in mind, many of the influencers you see on your feed are getting these luxuries for free and are oftentimes getting paid to post, so don’t believe everything you see! Also, ignore your targeted ads (for the most part); many of these products will just end up draining your bank account!
But there is some real, science-backed evidence that certain wellness services will work wonders for your training. To help navigate the world of wellness, I enlisted the help of Aaron Landes (my good friend and strength coach), who owns Vivolo Wellness Club in Charlestown. Vivolo prides themselves on helping clients “recover faster, boost energy, strengthen immunity, and optimize long-term health.”
They offer IV therapy, vitamin injections, and NAD+ therapy, all of which runners could absolutely benefit from including in their training regimen if they choose to go that route or feel like they could use a little boost.
I sat down with Aaron to discuss all things wellness and how addition vitamins and IV therapy to a running plan works.
KJWC: Aaron, let’s start by giving a little background about you! How did you get into the wellness arena?
AL: I have lived in Charlestown since 2006. I was in sports my whole life, played baseball through college and for 2 years after, then coached college baseball until 2011. Found CrossFit, became obsessed with it, opened my first gym in 2013. Over the course of 13 years, have opened/sold two other locations, and now own Monument Fitness which has been here since 2016. I've always been interested in how much better we can make ourselves physically and the connection between that and mental health, which is why I have been in the fitness industry for 15 years. Now, I am fascinated by how accessible it is to optimize the human body for performance and resilience in a preventative manner, which is why we opened Vivolo Wellness Club.
KJWC: Vivolo is such an awesome space. Can you describe it in your own words?
AL: We are a wellness optimization club. We offer IV therapy and nutrient injections all focused on treating every day issues people deal with. Our ethos is we truly believe you don't have to be sick, tired, hungover, chronically fatigued, sleep deprived, unfocused, sore, or otherwise in pain. There are ways we can alleviate, if not compeltely get rid of, all those sumptoms that so many people deal with every day.
We specifically offer IVs that cover sickness, performance, stress, hair + skin + nail health, and of course hangovers. We also do targeted injections of B12, Vitamin D, a compound of co- vitamins and B12 called MICC for metabolism boost, and the super supplement NAD+.
We also offer deeper, long-term wellness plans focused on optimizing through peptides and hormone health. We offer customized bloodwork where people can get anything they want tested at a Quest lab at their convenience. Then, we can use those results to recommend treatments through our medical director and medical provider.
KJWC: What made you decide to open Vivolo in Charlestown?
AL: We have always believed in preventative wellness for years. The idea I said above, that people just accept being sick for 10-20 days a year, feeling like shit even after a good night sleep, accepting a mid afternoon need for 4 espressos or a power nap, this is all insane to me. We have always preached the benefits of fitness and nutrition, but as we had a kid and got into our 40s, we started to understand more about how people our age (and all ages) might not have the time or resources to optimize with "normal" routines around fitness and nutrition. What we do at Vivolo we truly believe is the next level of personalized healthcare and we wanted to bring that to the people of Charlestown.
KJWC: As a runner, what specific offerings would be most beneficial to me?
AL: NAD+, B12, and Vitamin D on a regular basis is something I would recommend for anyone, especially a high performer like you or anyone training hard on a regular basis. If you're training hard, your body burns through nutrients fast and pills don't cut it. NAD+ powers cellular energy and recovery, and B12 helps your body regenerate NAD+ while supporting your nervous system and energy production. They work better together. Add Vitamin D for muscle function and immune health, especially up here where most people are deficient. Injections bypass the gut so you actually absorb what you need.
Then, I would target a Perform IV around longer, more intense training sessions/runs. Can be beneficial day before or within 24-48 hours of the session. It floods your system with the hydration, aminos, and nutrients you need to sustain output during intense blocks and recover faster after. Instead of dragging for two days post-session, you're bouncing back and ready to go. Think of it as giving your body the raw materials to keep up with what you're asking it to do.
KJWC: What do you think most runners and athletes in general are missing in their recovery?
AL: Honestly, rest. Too many people see a rest day as missed training, but the data says the opposite. Rest is when your body actually adapts, rebuilds, and gets stronger. Your muscles repair micro-tears, your nervous system resets, hormones like testosterone and growth hormone do their best work, and your joints and connective tissue catch up with the demand you're putting on them. The timeline matters too. Glycogen replenishment takes 24 to 48 hours and full muscle repair can take 48 to 72 hours after hard sessions. If you're back at it before that process is done, you're training on a body that hasn't finished rebuilding. The gains don't happen during the workout. They happen during recovery. Everyone, including me, deals with the day to day mental battle of feeling like they are missing out when taking a rest day, but the data shows it is actually the opposite.
And we are talking true rest days where your heart rate never goes above zone 2, ideally zone 1. So even a 30m job or bike session can ruin the idea of a rest day.
KJWC: I am not just a runner, I also strength train, do CrossFit daily, and turn 40 at the end of the week (ahh!) What other supplements do you recommend for me?
AL: Creatine, protein, and glutathione. Creatine is beneficial way beyond training. Literally everyone should be taking it, at least 10-20mg a day. Protein within 60 minutes of finishing a run/training. That's when muscle protein synthesis is at its highest, meaning your body is actively trying to repair the damage you just did. If you miss that window, you're not getting the full benefit of the work you put in. And glutathione is a master anti-oxidant. I literally take it before bed after drinking as a double dose and feel half as bad hangover wise as when I don't. That should speak to how well it works in cleaning out and detoxing the body of free-radicals.
Then, I can't promote NAD+ enough and the combo of B12 and Vitamin D mentioned above. While I know cost is something we all worry about, the long-term benefit of what this does for us is priceless, and the long-term mental health benefits of being sharper, higher performing, and more present in your current day-to-day also cannot have a price put on it.
KJWC: You are one of the busiest people I know: you own two businesses, you are active, and you’re a dad! What do you personally swear by at Vivolo and what changes have you seen?
AL: I could not function without weekly NAD+ injections. I do 100mg on Thursdays and 50mg on Monday, or sometimes all at once. I also do b12 and D once a week. I also take CJC-1295/Ipamorelin peptide and testosterone therapy.
A lot of what we do ends up being judged qualitatively, like "how do I feel". The problem with that is there are so many factors that go into that beyond the chemistry in our body. Example, you might be dialed in on everything, but you have job and family stress that brings you down. That is why I am a big proponent of real data coming from things like Whoop or Aura ring. Whether the data they give us is "right" or not, the benefit is it gives a baseline to compare against. I am actually putting together the findings of my own study related to taking the peptide and NAD+ and how it relates to my sleep efficiency. As you said, I have little time, am up at 4:30am most days and can't go to bed until 10pm. There are days where I get less than 6 hours of sleep (which is not OK but just where I am in life right now), but my recovery is still in the green and with a sleep efficiency of 95% (I wear a Whoop).
KJWC: Anything else you want to add while we’re here?
AL: I think all of what we do is so grossly underrated and misunderstood by people living day-to-day. For example, people in the Northeast could stand outside naked on a sunny day during the winter for 8 hours and not get 10% of the benefit of sunshine related to Vitamin D. This is because the sun is literally to low from November thru March to have enough effect on the stimulation of Vitamin D production in our body. Seasonal depression is a real, chemical imbalance that can be solved with a simple Vitamin D injection on a weekly basis. Along with this, we as a society are completely off base on our cost-benefit analysis of health and wellness.
People will tell me that getting weekly injections like I laid out above is "too expensive", yet they will spend $60 on Starbucks, $100 in fees from DoorDash/Uber Eats/Grubhub, $100 minimum going out, and who knows how much on clothes and other junk they don't need on a weekly basis. We are talking about things that are proven to improve our quality of life NOW and highly likely to improve it as we age, but we want to spend our money on quick fix dopamine hits that if anything are going to hurt us in the long term.
With the help of Aaron and Vivolo, we created some plans for runners looking to add vitamins and IVs to their training block:
6-Week Runner's Plan
Weeks 1-6: B12 + NAD+ injections weekly
Week 1: Vitamin D injection
Weeks 2-4: Perform IV after longest/hardest session each week
Weeks 3-4: Calm IV mid-week as needed for soreness and sleep
Week 5: Immune Defense IV before taper
Race Day: Perform IV within 24 hours post-race
3-Week Runner's Plan
Weeks 1-3: B12 + NAD+ injections weekly
Week 1: Perform IV after hardest session
Week 2: Calm IV mid-week, Immune Defense IV end of week
Race Day: Perform IV within 24 hours post-race