Whether you’re an athlete trying to get back to full form before your next game or event, or simply trying to push yourself to your full potential in the gym, supporting muscle recovery is of the utmost importance.
The faster you fully recover, the sooner you can get back to doing what you love safely and at the highest level. However, muscles don’t always recover as quickly as you’d like them to. In the interim, it can be uncomfortable dealing with soreness every time you move.
There are so many tools and tactics that overpromise and underdeliver, but today, we’re going to put a spotlight on magnesium for muscle recovery. So, is magnesium good for muscle recovery? As a matter of fact, it’s one of the best solutions you have at your fingertips.
There are a few reasons we recommend it - from supporting a healthy inflammatory response to relaxing tense muscles, flushing lactic acid build-up, enhancing protein synthesis, and more.
Not all magnesium is created equal, though. Learn more about the best magnesium for muscle recovery and how to actually use it below. The short answer, though, is that a magnesium bath soak is the #1 approach. Find out why firsthand today!
Overview of Magnesium and Muscle Recovery
Let’s provide a bit of context before we get into the nitty gritty details of our magnesium muscle recovery guide. After all, you might not associate magnesium with muscle recovery, thinking that protein is the nutrient that matters most.
However, it’s among the most crucial minerals for human health in general. Here’s why…
Magnesium’s Countless Roles in the Body
Magnesium influences more than 300 biochemical reactions in the body, including but not limited to:
- Muscle Function: Balances calcium levels to regulate muscle contraction and relaxation.
- Energy Production: Fuels cellular energy (ATP) production to sustain strength and recovery.
- Nervous System Support: Promotes relaxation and reduces stress by calming overactive nerves.
- Bone Health: Works alongside calcium to maintain strong bones and prevent injuries.
- Electrolyte Balance: Keeps hydration levels steady, preventing cramps and fatigue.
Basically, you’re not giving your body the support it needs if you’re deficient in magnesium. Unfortunately, this is the case for so many individuals, and they may not even realize it.
Signs of Magnesium Deficiency
More than 50% of people are deficient in magnesium. Its symptoms are fairly subtle and easily overlooked or attributed to some other factor. Here are some signs you might not be getting ample magnesium:
- Frequent Muscle Cramps or Spasms: An early indicator that your muscles aren’t functioning optimally.
- Prolonged Soreness After Exercise: Recovery takes longer than usual.
- Fatigue and Weakness: Energy levels feel depleted even after rest.
- Mood Disturbances: Irritability, anxiety, or difficulty relaxing may signal a magnesium imbalance.
- Sleep Issues: Trouble falling or staying asleep also hinders recovery.
Do any of these sound familiar? If so, it’s time to rethink your magnesium intake. We’ll show you how later on. First, let’s highlight why muscle recovery matters so much in the first place.
Impact of Delayed Muscle Recovery
Delayed muscle recovery isn’t just frustrating - it can derail your progress and in some cases lead to injury. Even if you aren’t a professional athlete it’s something you need to take seriously.
But it’s worth noting that the muscle soreness and extended weakness you feel after a grueling workout or intense sporting event is actually natural. You’ve caused microtears and lactic acid buildup, and these things take time to repair. The question is how much time.
Ideally, you’d be back to full form within 48-72 hours - depending on the extent of your workout, age, and other lifestyle factors. However, prolonged recovery beyond this timeframe can:
- Limit Performance: Soreness and stiffness make it harder to perform at your best.
- Increase Injury Risk: Overworked, under-recovered muscles are more susceptible to strains and tears.
- Affect Consistency: Skipping workouts due to discomfort disrupts your routine and slows your momentum.
The good news? There are many ways you can support your body’s recovery process naturally. So, is magnesium good for muscle recovery?
Is Magnesium Good for Muscle Recovery?
The short answer is yes, magnesium is excellent for muscle recovery. A better question, is why is magnesium good for muscle recovery? There are a few mechanisms we want to highlight.
Reducing Post-Workout Inflammation
Inflammation isn’t always a bad thing - it’s a natural part of your body’s healing response. It spikes after intense exercise, which is fine. The problem is that it sometimes lingers too long, which, in turn, delays recovery and causes discomfort (along with a sea of other issues).
Magnesium helps manage a healthier inflammatory response by regulating cytokine production, the protein responsible for signaling inflammation.
This helps reduce swelling in damaged tissues, speeding up recovery times and alleviating the discomfort of delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS). Magnesium also helps modulate oxidative stress to prevent extensive cellular damage caused by free radicals.
Muscle Relaxation and Contraction
That soreness you feel after working out, DOMS, is typically the result of muscle tension, improper relaxation, or a combination of the two.
Either way, magnesium can help manage this by maintaining the balance between contraction (calcium-driven) and relaxation in muscle fibers. It binds to muscle receptors to essentially “calm” overactive nerve signals.
This not only eases cramps and spasms but also prevents further strain so the muscles can heal effectively.
Flushing Out Lactic Acid Build-Up
Lactic acid is produced as a byproduct of anaerobic respiration during high-intensity workouts. This is what causes the “burn” you feel in your legs when running, biking, etc.
It’s not just uncomfortable, it can actually limit performance and hinder recovery. You need to get it out of your system ASAP, and magnesium can help here as well.
Magnesium improves circulation and supports the enzymatic reactions that metabolize this waste. This means you can return to peak performance faster.
Aiding Protein Synthesis for Muscle Repair
Protein synthesis is the cornerstone of muscle repair. This is the process of building new muscle fibers to replace those damaged during exercise. But without ample magnesium, this process is delayed and muscles are left vulnerable to stress and injury.
Magnesium activates amino acid chains and helps them integrate into protein structures. It also supports ribosome function - the cellular structures that drive protein synthesis.
Regulating Energy Production During Recovery
It should come as no surprise that muscle recovery is an energy-intensive process within the body, one that relies on ATP for storing and transferring energy in cells.
We mentioned already that magnesium can help activate ATP and provide a steady energy supply to support cellular repair processes, from rebuilding muscle fibers to replenishing glycogen stores.
Which Magnesium is Good for Muscle Recovery? The Best Magnesium for Muscle Recovery
It’s clear that magnesium plays a few essential roles in supporting your body’s natural recovery process, but like we said at the start - choosing the right magnesium is key to unlocking all these benefits.
There’s a lot to consider here, from the type of magnesium to the delivery method. We’ll show you how to harness the power of the best magnesium for muscle recovery below.
Magnesium Chloride
Bioavailability is the name of the game when it comes to which magnesium is good for muscle recovery. This speaks to how easily your body is able to uptake the mineral and put it to use. Magnesium chloride is as good as it gets on this front.
Its superior absorption rate allows it to enter cells quickly, where it can support relaxation, reduce inflammation, and replenish depleted magnesium levels after exercise. While it’s a bit more expensive than other types of magnesium, you get what you pay for.
Magnesium Glycinate
Magnesium glycinate combines magnesium with glycine, an amino acid known for its calming properties. This form is gentle on the stomach, which is noteworthy given all the side effets associated with oral intake.
Glycine also supports muscle repair and recovery by promoting protein synthesis, while magnesium itself aids in reducing muscle tension and cramping. It’s a one-two punch for muscle recovery.
Magnesium Citrate
Those looking for the most affordable magnesium muscle recovery solution will be drawn to magnesium citrate. It’s widely available and still has a decent absorption rate, albeit much lower than magnesium chloride.
It’s especially beneficial for removing lactic acid build-up after intense exercise and calming the soreness that comes with it. Just be advised it’s notorious for having laxative effects.
Truthfully, most oral magnesium has this issue. That’s why we recommend transdermal magnesium instead. Let’s quickly compare transdermal magnesium vs oral below.
Why Transdermal Magnesium is Better Than Oral
Wait, does magnesium soak into skin? It sure does - in fact, this is the best way to get your magnesium intake for the day. This approach bypasses the digestive system so you won’t deal with issues like nausea, diarrhea, or limited absorption due to gastrointestinal conditions.
It also helps you target the muscles that need it most, calming inflamed tissues more directly for faster, localized relief. So, how do you go about using transdermal magnesium supplements? We’ll introduce you to the magnesium soak benefits below.
How to Use Magnesium for Muscle Recovery
There’s a few different ways you can make the most of magnesium for recovery, from topical spays and lotions to dietary adjustments. We typically don’t advise oral magnesium supplements for the reasons above.
All that being said, there is one better way to leverage the magnesium muscle recovery benefits: the muscle bath soak recipe we’ve created for you here at Flewd Stresscare.
Using Magnesium Bath Soaks
Wait, what is a bath soak? These are not to be confused with bath bombs or even epsom salts, as we’ve covered in our comparisons of bath soak vs bath bomb and magnesium soak vs epsom salt.
These dissolve magnesium in warm water along with other beneficial ingredients to provide targeted relief - in this case, for muscle soreness. However, there are many other types of healing bath recipes as well - like an anxiety bath soak or stress relief bath soak.
So, why is magnesium soak good for you? Simple - the warm water opens up your pores so the magnesium and other good stuff can easily make its way into your system, targeting inflammation at the source.
These soaks also relax the nervous system, improve circulation, and help flush out lactic acid. Let’s be honest - hot baths are good for sore muscles in general, but using magnesium takes this up a notch.
You don’t have to use a homemade bath soak for sore muscles without epsom salt, either. The magnesium bath soak recipe we’ve come up with is as good as it gets, with thousands of happy customers and counting.
It blends magnesium chloride for muscle relaxation with vitamins C and D to reduce inflammation and speed repair, and plant-derived omega-3s to release toxins and support recovery.
Meanwhile, the vibrant citrus scent with mandarin and blood orange notes adds a refreshing element to your soak, helping you sink into a complete state of bliss.
Learning how to use bath soak as part of your muscle recovery regimen is easy, too. Use one full bag in a standard bathtub, relax for 15-30 minutes, and feel the soreness melt away.
We use 99% natural ingredients so you don’t need to stress about parabens or other toxic additives or filler inputs. These soaks are biodegradable, cruelty-free, and you don’t even have to rinse off after if you don’t want to!
Join 100,000 satisfied customers who trust our soaks to support their muscle recovery process.
Topical Magnesium Sprays and Lotions
Another option for magnesium muscle recovery is using sprays and lotions. These can be even more targeted than our soaks, allowing you to apply directly to where you feel the most sore.
While they are less immersive than bath soaks, they still work great for quick applications or when a full bath isn’t practical. Just make sure you do your due diligence in choosing a high-quality topical solution.
Frequency and Timing for Soaks, Sprays, and Lotions
Understanding how long to soak in magnesium bath and how often to do it is key to making the most of the best magnesium for muscle recovery. Technically, you can use our soaks every day if you enjoy the experience - but 2-3 times a week is plenty.
Topical sprays and lotions can be used daily, particularly before bed or after workouts. The key is to remain consistent no matter which method you use. Magnesium needs to be constantly available for your body to use it and avoid the consequences of deficiency.
Foods That Contain Magnesium to Naturally Support Recovery
While oral magnesium supplements aren’t great, there are some foods you can make sure to include in your diet to bolster your recovery efforts.
That includes leafy greens (spinach, kale), nuts (almonds, cashews), seeds (pumpkin, chia), and whole grains (quinoa, brown rice) in your diet. Dark chocolate and avocados are also excellent sources.
More Ways to Support the Muscle Recovery Process
We’ve covered just about everything you need to know about the magnesium muscle recovery connection, but we want to share a few other ways you can enhance your body’s recovery process before wrapping things up:
- Other Important Nutrients: Protein aids in muscle repair, while omega-3 fatty acids reduce inflammation. Vitamins like C and D play a role in tissue recovery, and zinc helps with cellular repair and growth. Each is essential for a timely, complete recovery.
- Hydration and Electrolyte Replenishment: Rehydrating after exercise is essential to restore balance and prevent cramping. Drink plenty of water, ideally, infused with potassium, sodium, and calcium.
- Stretching and Mobility Exercises: Dynamic stretches post-exercise improve flexibility, reduce stiffness, and increase blood flow to muscles. Foam rolling can also aid in releasing tension, as can a professional massage.
- Rest and Sleep: Sleep is when your body does most of its recovery work. Get 7-9 hours of quality sleep to optimize muscle repair and energy restoration.
Pair these tips with the best magnesium for muscle recovery and you’ll be well on your way to pushing your body to its full potential, be it in the gym, on the field, or anywhere else for that matter!
Wrapping Up Our Magnesium Muscle Recovery Guide
So, is magnesium good for muscle recovery? The answer should be clear after reading our magnesium muscle recovery guide. It works through a number of mechanisms to speed up and enhance your body’s natural recovery process.
Just remember that the key is using the best magnesium for muscle recovery - a topical magnesium chloride will outperform the alternatives. That’s why our bath soaks are an athlete’s best friend.
Our blog has more resources on stress and muscle soreness, the disadvantages of bath bombs, taking a hot bath for anxiety, using magnesium to help with stress, how much bath soak to use, how does taking a bath relieve stress, and many more.
At this point, though, the only thing left to do is get your hands on the best magnesium bath soak to banish muscle soreness and prolonged recovery. Give your body the support it needs to repair damaged muscles and get back to full form as fast as possible at Flewd Stresscare!
