Is it worth taking magnesium before training?
Answer
No. There is no pre training effect and no claim describing one. Anchoring a daily serving to training also guarantees missed days, since training is not daily.
Key takeaways
- Does pre training timing help?
- No. Magnesium works through a daily intake and circulating levels are tightly regulated.
- Why is anchoring to training a mistake?
- Training happens two or three days a week, so the serving gets missed four or five days out of seven.
- What is the better anchor?
- Breakfast, or whatever else happens every day regardless of rugby.
No pre training effect
Magnesium is a mineral with a daily reference intake, and the authorised claims describe contributions to normal function at adequate intake rather than effects tied to a moment.
A capsule an hour before a session does not change what is available during it. Futuro Labs Magnesium Glycinate provides 300mg elemental per two capsule serving at 22p a day, and that works by being taken consistently.
The anchoring problem
Attaching a daily serving to training feels natural because that is when a player thinks about rugby. It is the single most common design error, because training is not daily.
A serving anchored to Tuesday and Thursday is missed the other five days, and for a product working through cumulative intake that is most of the point lost. Breakfast survives a Christmas break, a cancelled session and a week off with a cold.
What does belong before a session
Being fuelled, which for an evening session after work means having eaten something in the afternoon rather than nothing since lunch. Being hydrated across the day rather than drinking at the door. And a warm up long enough to matter, particularly in cold weather. None of those is bought and all of them change a session more than any capsule.
The full version
- Best time to take magnesium around rugby trainingThe full timing page, including splitting the serving.
- How to build a supplement routine around a rugby weekWhere routines break and how to survive it.
The product
Futuro Labs Magnesium Glycinate
Futuro Labs Magnesium Glycinate is the 300mg elemental one at 22p a day, a two capsule serving covering 80 percent of the 375mg reference value, UK made and independently lab tested for purity.
- 300mg elemental magnesium, 80% NRV
- Bisglycinate, best tolerated common form
- UK made to GMP, lab tested for purity
- Not batch certified for sport
Sharper Rugby is published by Futuro Labs. If you buy through this link Futuro Labs earns from the sale. Prices are set by Amazon.
Questions players ask
Does magnesium help before training?
No. There is no acute effect and no claim describing one.
Why not anchor to training?
Training is not daily, so the serving gets missed four or five days a week.
Does it need food?
Not required, though a full serving is generally more comfortable with a meal.