Updated on June 25th, 2022
CBD for workouts is quickly becoming the new fitness trend. Cannabidiol has already become a very popular supplement for various issues.
Many athletes treat pain with CBD before and after their workout as CBD for inflammation has proven to be very effective.
Fitness enthusiasts and bodybuilders are discovering CBD’s all natural support and recovery properties. And you will too, once you discover the lack of disadvantages outlined in this article.
Growing muscle and getting fit are not easy tasks. If you feel your muscles after a workout or the next day, fellow fitness enthusiasts will often tell: “That’s normal. That’s your muscles growing”. Many of us even embrace the feeling of muscle soreness.
“You need enough inflammation to trigger a physiological response that makes your body fitter and stronger and helps it recover after a workout, but not so much inflammation that it slows the body’s natural repair process.” – Dr. Shawn Talbott, PhD
Indeed, when growing muscle you can’t avoid getting some inflammation. But it’s a fine line, a delicate balance between exercising enough to grow muscle and pushing it too hard and risk developing chronic inflammation.
No Pain, No Gain
Physical irritations in sports are normal these days and there are many sports where bruises are as common as working up a sweat. In contact sports like boxing, karate, and mixed martial arts, the participant is punched and kicked on a regular basis, even during workout and training sessions.
But there are other less obvious sports in which you probably cannot avoid bruises, such as soccer, American football, ice hockey, and even skateboarding.
In recent years, scientists discovered that physical exercise weakens the intestines. During exercise your body redistributes the blood in your body, bringing more blood to the strained areas. As a result, the intestines suffer from a lack of blood flow.
Due to this lack of blood flow to the GI tract during exercise, the lining is weakened. This eventually causes leaking, which in turn causes inflammation. A body with a good healthy balance should be able to cope with this in most situations, however, when you introduce gut-damaging NSAIDS, this can become a serious issue.
The reality of anti-inflammatory and pain medication – NSAIDs
Non-steroidal aids (NSAIDs) are the most commonly used ‘big pharma’ meds amongst fitness enthusiasts and athletes. They help the sportsperson cope with bruises and inflammation from overtraining.
However, professional athletes frequently use opioids as well, risking addiction. In the fitness community, people mostly use NSAIDS to reduce the physical discomfort.
Most of us are familiar with the dangers of ‘big pharma’ anti-inflammatory medication, yet we often overlook them. In the fitness and bodybuilding communities, we tend to ignore them completely.
NSAIDs – Risks of repetitive usage
NSAIDs – Risks of repetitive usage- Ulcers and other GI problems
- Liver problems
- Increased heart failure risk
- Kidney problems
- Allergy
The use of NSAIDS can be quite deceptive for many athletes. They mitigate pain very well, and this effect is the only thing we really can notice in the short term.
The long-term effects only become evident when it is already too late. Several studies have shown that NSAIDs can even reduce post-workout recovery.
Will I fail a drug test with CBD usage?
It depends. Some CBD oils contain traces of THC, which can still show up on a drug test. To be 100% sure you pass a drug test, get CBD isolate or broad-spectrum, where THC is deleted.
Former MLB Pitcher changed from ‘big pharma’ to CBD
David Wells, a 21-year baseball veteran, suffered from many sports traumas and was on regular pain and anti-inflammatory medication. He was essentially on the meds for 16 years straight until he discovered CBD three years ago.
“Cannabidiol pretty much changed his life forever”, according to David Katz from THEPOSTGAME, who interviewed Wells.
Cannabidiol and Fitness
Just like David Wells had never heard about CBD until after his professional sports career, you might also wonder what cannabidiol is. That’s normal. People often don’t even know what the difference between hemp and Cannabis is.
Some of CBD’s properties are particularly suited for fitness and other workouts:
- Anti-inflammatory, without compromising the liver and other organs
- Reduces pain sensitivity and mitigates pain without compromising the liver
- Anti-catabolic (prevents muscle-breakdown)
- Regulates and balances blood-sugar levels
- Antidepressant (improves your motivation to workout)
- Improves sleep
- Reduces anxiety
- Boosts energy
- Regulates and balances cortisol levels
Many people use hemp oil for sleep because it is a harmless and healthy way to sleep better and longer.
With fitness and bodybuilding, it improves your motivation to workout, by mitigating any depressive feelings. It boosts your energy so you can go harder during your training sessions.
“You can accomplish so much more during a training session with CBD”, according to fitness professionals.
And while you workout with full energy, it prevents unnecessary muscle breakdown due to the workout stress you put on your body. So, the two main fitness advantages of CBD are:
- Pre-workout boost
- Post-workout recovery
CBD before Workout
Thanks to cannabidiol, you are motivated to work out, and you have lots of energy. You can go in full force to build some muscle.
Some fitness centers serve CBD coffee cups for this purpose. When you overstress your body, blood sugar levels drop. As a result, your body starts breaking down muscle tissue.
This is the unwanted workout side effect that every fitness or bodybuilding person wants to avoid.
CBD regulates and balances blood sugar levels in a natural way. It prevents muscle tissue from breaking down during a workout. GGG has pain creams, sprays, and patches to help you with this, but is Green Garden Gold trustworthy?
Pre-workout advantages of CBD
- Improves workout motivation
- Builds muscle
- Helps with weight loss due to improved fat burning and less fat storage
- Boosts energy and prevents inflammation
CBD and Athletic Recovery
Cannabidiol reduces pain and inflammation when you have pushed yourself to the limit during your training. This helps speed up your recovery.
After working out heavily, often people feel tired and drained of all energy. Not anymore, as CBD balances out your energy level.
As a natural relaxant, cannabidiol provides you with body relaxation and improves your sleep.
Both of these effects are quite welcome as they make it easier for your body to build muscle and also improve your physical condition. Check out our Miraflora balm reviews, on one of the best CBD Recovery Balms out there.
Post workout advantages of CBD
Post workout advantages of CBD- Relieves pain
- Relieves inflammation
- Stimulates appetite to help your body recover from the workout
- Balances energy
- Creates body relaxation
- Improves sleep paving, the way for muscle building
By now you are probably wondering how CBD makes you feel. You can read more about it in our article.
The best method to take CBD for fitness
Most sporters that take CBD for workouts use CBD oil and put the drops under their tongue (sublingual). However, soft-gel capsules or pills are becoming increasingly popular. With softgels, you feel the CBD effects later because it needs to go through the longer route of your GI tract.
When you buy THC pills or CBD pills for pain, a big advantage is you don’t notice the distinct hemp taste. Some people do not like this taste, but most people don’t really mind. Another way is to take a CBD gummy bear before exercising, and you’re good to go.
In 2017 the World Anti Doping Agency lifted the ban on CBD.
Vaping is another option, which gives you the most instant effect. However, it doesn’t last very long, and the absorption rate is not all that great.
But why not drink a bottle of nano CBD water? You’re drinking water anyway after training, and beverages like hemp energy drinks are becoming the next big hit.
CBD Dosage for Workouts
The general maintenance dosage, that works for most people is 25 mg per day. This is just enough for healthy people to maintain a healthy balance. However, when you are working out heavily it will probably not be enough.
To make sure your muscles do not break down during active training and to naturally recover quicker from a workout, you need to take at least 100mg per day.
People from fitness communities that have started using cannabidiol told us they take a 50 mg dosage twice a day, in the morning and in the evening.
This helps you with recovering from the previous workout session and it also boosts your motivation and energy for the next one. But what is the best CBD for energy?
We wrote this article based on facts and scientific medical studies. Here you can find carefully selected documents and studies used as references for this article.
Scientific Research Studies on Fitness
Fitness and Workout
- 2016 – Forbes.com – These Athletes Add Cannabis To Their Workout Regimen
- 2017 – Washington Post – Wada removes CBD from the 2018 prohibited substances list
- 2018 – World Anti-Doping Agency – 2018 Prohibited List
Excercise induced weakening of the intestines
- 2011 – Dutch study established a relationship between exercise and gut cell trauma
- 2016 – Changes in Intestinal Permeability in Symptomatic and Asymptomatic
Runners
NSAIDS Reduce Post-workout Recovery
- 2006 – Ibuprofen use, does not reduce muscle soreness but increases endotoxemia and inflammation during ultramarathon competition
- 2017 – NSAID administrations hinders regeneration and compromises muscle strength
Inflammation
- 2006 – A non-cannabinoid receptor mechanism by which CBD can decrease inflammation
- 2006 – Clinical trial with 58 arthritis patients
- 2007 – CBD exercises potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects
- 2010 – Cannabidiol causes a self-defense system against inflammation
- 2012 – Cannabinoids suppress inflammatory and neuropathic pain
Pain
- 2007 – CBD effectively mitigates chronic inflammatory and neuropathic pain in rats
- 2012 – Cannabidiol suppresses inflammatory pain
Depression and Sleep
Sources
Sources:
https://www.fda.gov/newsevents/publichealthfocus/ucm484109.htm
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3629815/
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/179211.php
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3158445/
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/01/050111123706.htm
https://health.usnews.com/wellness/fitness/articles/2018-05-11/can-cbd-products-improve-your-fitness-results
https://www.booksforbetterliving.com/cbd-oil-workouts-benefits/Best CBD for Workouts
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