Almost everyone ignores the vital role that minerals play in helping you to burn fat and build muscle. Minerals are boring. You won’t ever see six-page magazine advertisements hailing minerals as the latest “breakthrough” supplement. However, a mineral deficiency is one of the hidden triggers that can bring muscle growth and weight loss to a grinding halt - even if you’re eating right and exercising regularly. If you’ve been following the news, you might have read about British tennis star Tim Henman being stopped in his tracks at the Madrid Masters.

Henman’s health problems are due to a basic lack of nutrition - he was diagnosed with a magnesium deficiency. “I’m told the shortage of magnesium could be the reason for the tiredness I have been feeling on court and I won’t be doing any extra physical work for the time being,” Henman said. “I’ve got to take the pills for a month and keep my fingers crossed.” “I’m relieved it’s nothing serious,” he said. “My blood tests showed that I needed to top up my magnesium levels and that’s the reason I wasn’t feeling my best. I feel better after only a couple of days of taking the supplements.”

According to Greg Rusedski, the British No 1 is not the only player who is struggling on the tour.
“Everyone who has taken a blood test on tour and who hasn’t taken any supplements will have a deficiency - it’s as simple as that,” Rusedski said. “The last blood test I’ve had, I’ve had deficiencies because I can’t get enough nutrition. It’s going to happen that one player is going to get ill on the court, that something’s going to happen and you’ve got a serious situation.”

Henman was lucky. As a top player with access to the best medical advice his problem was diagnosed swiftly, but a lower-ranked player slogging around the smaller tournaments would not have the same privileges. Maybe the reason that you’re lacking energy is that you’re not getting enough magnesium? Without a blood test, you’ll never know for sure.

The easy way to avoid a magnesium deficiency is to use a supplement. Solgar sell several high-quality magnesium-only supplements. And the range of Maximuscle Creatine supplements all contain a patented form of magnesium (US Patent # 6,114,379) designed to maximise Creatine uptake and increase strength.

Experts believe that Creatine combined with magnesium is a highly effective way to enhance and extend the effects of Creatine on muscle size and strength. In fact, a new study shows that combining magnesium with Creatine significantly boosts strength after two weeks of supplementation [1].

The Western Washington University study examined various measures of muscle size and strength before and after 2 weeks of Creatine supplementation in 35 subjects. They were divided into three groups:

1. Maltodextrin (Placebo)
2. Magnesium oxide plus Creatine
3. Magnesium-Creatine chelate

Although both groups using Creatine had significant weight-gain and an increase in power over the 2 week period, only the third (magnesium-chelate) group had significant increases in peak torque (a measure of muscular performance). The authors conclude that the increase in torque in the magnesium-Creatine chelate group is linked to the increase in intra-cellular water in those test subjects, which helped to increase muscle size and strength.

The Creatine-magnesium chelate also helps to enhance absorption of Creatine and decrease stomach discomfort. Some initial research shows it is better absorbed and tolerated than traditional Creatine monohydrate. It also mixes well in water.

References
Brilla LR, Giroux MS, Taylor A, Knutzen KM. (2003). Magnesium-Creatine supplementation effects on body water. Metabolism, 52, 1136-1140

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