I lift heavy five days a week and have for eight years. DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) has always been part of the deal — especially after leg day. I tried magnesium glycinate primarily for sleep but was surprised by the recovery benefits.
The context: I sweat a lot during training. I drink 3-4 cups of coffee daily. I eat relatively clean but was probably not hitting the RDA for magnesium through diet alone. Classic depletion profile.
Within the first two weeks of taking 300mg elemental magnesium glycinate daily (split 150mg morning, 150mg evening), I noticed:
The DOMS after heavy squats went from "can barely walk down stairs for 48 hours" to "moderate stiffness for 24 hours." Same training intensity, same volume, same nutrition otherwise. The recovery improvement was noticeable enough that my training partner asked what I had changed.
Cramps during high-rep calf raises — which I had accepted as normal — stopped entirely.
My grip felt less fatigued during deadlift sessions. I am not sure if this is directly magnesium-related or a secondary effect of generally better recovery and sleep, but it is worth noting.
Sleep quality improved substantially. I was already sleeping 7-8 hours, but the quality was poor — I would wake up still tired, needing two cups of coffee to function. Now I wake up feeling recovered. My HRV trends have been steadily increasing, which suggests my parasympathetic nervous system is functioning better.
The combination of better sleep and reduced muscle soreness has allowed me to train more consistently without the accumulated fatigue that used to force me into deload weeks every 4-5 weeks. I now deload every 7-8 weeks, which translates to meaningfully more training volume over time.
For any serious lifter: this is one of the highest-ROI supplements you can take. It is not flashy, it will not give you a pump or a PR, but it quietly improves the foundational recovery processes that make everything else work better.