You don’t have to be an elite athlete to know the importance of ensuring that your body receives the right nutrition. While eating a healthy diet is one of the best ways of ensuring that your body receives the nutrients it needs, this may not be enough. Not all the nutrients in food are absorbed by the body. In addition to this, many foods today are not as rich in nutrients as they once were. Dietary supplements are a great way to ensure that you get all the nutrients you need.

Magnesium is one of the most important minerals. It is required for many biochemical reactions in the body. This mineral is involved in various metabolic processes. It is important for muscle relaxation and contraction, transportation of nutrients across the cell membrane, hydration as well as facilitating sleep. These are all important factors for ensuring gains when working out. Magnesium should therefore be top on your list of priorities whether you’re an elite athlete or you just enjoy working out for the burn.

Importance of magnesium for fitness

Intense physical activity can leave your muscles feeling overworked and sore. This can affect your performance and results. Magnesium can help to:

• Improve bone strength and health – Magnesium is vital for the increasing bone density by facilitating absorption of calcium. It helps bones heal faster and maintain their strength for longer.
• Regulate muscular contractions – Magnesium assists in the regulation of neuromuscular signals. This helps the muscles contract and relax. Applying magnesium after a workout can help to ease pain and reduce muscle cramps. It is especially beneficial after going hard in a workout.
• Protect the heart from damage during a hard workout – The mineral helps you maintain a regular heartbeat. You will therefore avoid putting undue strain on your heart. Magnesium helps to calm the nervous system and prevent cramps, vomiting, constipation and indigestion resulting from training.
• Get optimum rest – Magnesium is important for calming your brain and therefore promoting sleep. Optimal levels of the mineral will result in efficient sleep. You will wake up feeling energized.

Transdermal magnesium

Before you rush out to purchase supplements in the form of pills or powders, you should consider giving transdermal magnesium a try. This comes in many forms including magnesium body lotion, oil sprays and even magnesium body scrub or magnesium bath flakes for body and foot bath.

Applying magnesium topically is actually the best way to ensure the delivery of the mineral to the muscles and other organs of the body. This is the fastest and most efficient way to ensure magnesium is absorbed in the muscles and in the blood stream.