Magnesium for Exercise Performance

Research suggests that magnesium plays a meaningful role in exercise physiology, particularly through its involvement in energy metabolism, muscle function, and glucose regulation, but evidence for direct performance enhancement in humans remains mixed and context-dependent. Animal studies — including controlled trials in gerbils and rats — consistently show that magnesium supplementation can increase glucose availability, reduce lactate buildup, and extend exercise duration, while human research, drawn from reviews, a meta-analysis of 12 studies, and a 2025 randomized controlled trial, indicates that these benefits appear largely limited to individuals who are actually deficient in magnesium rather than those with adequate levels. Studies indicate that strenuous exercise can modestly increase magnesium losses through sweat and urine, raising the possibility that certain populations — particularly older women, female athletes, and those in weight-restricted sports — may be at greater risk of deficiency and therefore more likely to respond to supplementation, with some human trials showing improvements in muscle strength and functional performance in these groups. Overall, the body of evidence is constrained by wide variation in study designs, inconsistent methods for assessing magnesium status, and underrepresentation of women and older adults, making it difficult to draw firm conclusions about who might benefit and under what circumstances.