Mike Mahler, Kettlebell Guru, on Magnesium

Video Interview of Mike Mahler

Mike Mahler discusses magnesium’s benefits to athletic performance, hormone levels, DHEA, and weight training. Magnesium is essential for performance and recovery time, explains Mike, as well as hormone optimization, insulin sensitivity, stress management, and overall health.

(See transcript below.)

Video Transcript

Mike Mahler is a strength trainer and health journalist, and certified Russian kettlebell instructor. Mike does workshops on kettlebell strength training, fitness and hormone optimization worldwide, and has written over 100 articles for publications such as Muscle & Fitness, Men’s Fitness, Ironman Magazine, Planet Muscle, Hardcore Muscle Magazine and Testosterone Magazine.

Mike Mahler:

Magnesium is one of those key minerals for athletes. We sweat a lot. We work out a lot. We’re under a lot of stress, and magnesium becomes very depleted.

I read a lot of research on how a lot of NFL players were magnesium and zinc depleted, and how that really affected their testosterone levels and their workout recovery, and even their moods. So that got me very interested in magnesium.

DHEA, “Testosterone’s Big Brother”

DHEA is a hormone, and it’s very important for stress management. It’s basically testosterone’s big brother.

What happens is when testosterone is low, often DHEA is low as well from the stress – from the stress hormone called cortisol. When DHEA is optimal it kind of serves as a backup reserve for testosterone.

So if a man has low testosterone levels – which is vital for health and vitality, and a healthy sex drive, and just feeling good –  if DHEA is low, there is no backup reserve.

And when the testosterone goes down and DHEA is low from all the stress, then you’re really putting yourself into what is called an andropause state where you’re aging at a very accelerated rate.

Ancient Minerals Magnesium for Improved DHEA Levels

Ancient Minerals Magnesium Oil has definitely benefited my health.

The first thing is, again, it helps optimize the DHEA levels, which is critical for stress and even for life span. Studies show that people who have the highest DHEA levels actually live longer. So it’s not something that we just want to overlook.

And anything that we can do to optimize our own production rather than taking an exogenous source is always going to be the way to go.

So it’s something that everybody can take – men and women – without any side effects.

Workout Recovery Time and Magnesium

But also, I found that my workout recovery was a lot better. I’m not as sore after a hard training, and my sleep is a lot better.

And sleep of course, is critical for growth hormone production and just overall health.

It’s definitely had a positive benefit for me in terms health and vitality.

And many of my clients have noticed the same thing. The first thing that they notice is that they sleep better. That usually happens within the first week.

And the second thing that they notice is that they’re not as sore. You can even apply it to certain areas to get that isolated effect.

So if someone has a really sore back, they can apply the magnesium oil directly to that area, and that can help with the soreness and inflammation and that kind of thing as well.

Magnesium Oil and Insulin Sensitivity

I also think that magnesium oil works very well to optimize insulin sensitivity. The better our insulin works, the less likely we are to become diabetic or pre-diabetic, and also the more likely we are to lose fat more effectively and build muscle.

You want to have insulin very sensitive where we only have to produce a little bit to get all the nutrients into our liver, and our muscles and cells.

Mike Mahler on Hormone Optimization

Hormone optimization is a big interest of mine. It’s something that I help a lot of my clients with. Anything that helps optimize DHEA, and pregnenolone, and insulin, and serotonin are all things that magnesium oil really helps with.

But I think also having optimal levels of magnesium helps with heart health, cardiovascular health, bone health… the lists just go on and on and on.

So magnesium is something that everybody should be taking whether they are an athlete or not, and athletes even more so.

I think magnesium oil in general is a great product. And what I really love about Ancient Minerals Magnesium Oil is that it’s the best quality one that you can find on the marketplace. And it gives you the most magnesium per dose.

So you don’t have to rub on a lot to get it into your system.

It’s high quality, very efficient, and it’s just something that everyone can benefit from. But in particular, athletes are always under a lot of stress with hard training, with competitions coming up.

Mike’s Take: Magnesium Oil for Stress Management and Overall Health

Everyone is under a lot of stress these days with the economy, the job market, and so forth, and anytime we’re in a stressed state, we’re depleting our DHEA, and we’re depleting our magnesium.

So we need to restore. And magnesium oil is the most effective and efficient way to get the magnesium that we need for all the other benefits that come from it.