For fitness fanatics, supplements are part of daily life. Whether they enjoy protein shakes, wheat grass smoothies, energy bars, or something else, it gives them the extra boost they need to reach their personal goals. However, cannabis is now the latest trend. More people are consuming pot before a workout than ever before, from professional athletes to bodybuilders and everyone between.
It appears that most people are now high at gym. Surveys suggest that weed is now a firm favorite for exercise junkies across the United States, possibly even the world. Known as “cannathletes,” even professional sportspeople are insisting that marijuana is improving their training experience. Dr. Peter Grinspoon, a physician at Massachusetts General Hospital, confirms the reality of this trend.
He says, “It is a weird phenomenon, but it is an increasingly common phenomenon. The fact that a lot of people are saying it helps them cannot be ignored.” While most Americans associate pot with being lazy and ravenously hungry, people react differently to different marijuana strains. Sativas, in particular, promise energy and mental focus, which are crucial for anybody needing a successful workout session.
Additionally, the analgesic properties of cannabis can significantly alleviate the burn fitness junkies feel during a hectic workout, as well as afterward. This allows them to push themselves further than ever before. Naturally, this is all anecdotal storytelling, but with literally thousands of such claims, even the scientific community is starting to take them seriously.
Marijuana and Its Effects on Exercise
Although there is very little science in this exact field, what there is appears to support the anecdotal evidence. Pot is now so popular among sportspeople that gyms are even offering cannabis workouts. You can find pot yoga classes in almost all legal states now. California hosts the 420 games each year, where goofed folk drenched in skunky sweat compete in the various activities.
So what exactly does the science support? How does cannabis help in the fitness world?
Marijuana Boosts Metabolism
Research proves that cannabis speeds up metabolic processes, making it easier to lose weight. It keeps the metabolism at a steady rate, which guarantees a calorie-burning session. In fact, it even burns fat when you are not working out. Some strains trick the brain into thinking you are starving. Called the “munchies,” it helps bodybuilders, in particular, eat their six meals a day and bulk up effectively.
Men’s Journal published the results of an interesting study. It concluded, “The compounds THCV and cannabidiol found in marijuana may help raise metabolism, speed fat loss, and lower cholesterol.” The U.S. National Library of Medicine published a Canadian study more recently. It found cannabis users with significantly lower Body Mass Index scores, or BMIs, as well as lower levels of insulin.
These findings suggest that weed users process sugars at better rates than those who do not partake in it. They also carry notably less fat. It is also unlikely for them to develop adult-onset, or Type 2, diabetes, a recognized cause of obesity. In plain speak, this means that Sativa strains especially can help you lose weight, while Indica strains can make you hungry enough to load up on carbohydrates.
Marijuana Heightens Stamina and Reduces Anxiety
Pot is motivating enough to get even the laziest of us out of bed. It can energize you before a training session, ensuring you make it there on even the most taxing of days. It increases awareness, makes the stresses of gym irrelevant, and boosts alertness, while removing all care of how others perform or look at the same time. There is none of the anxiety caused by comparing yourself to others.
Additionally, pot can focus the mind. Ultimately, this improves stamina. Keith Humphreys, a professor at Stanford Medical School, explains this well, “We have cannabinoid receptors throughout our brains, and when THC hits those receptors, it triggers a system that reduces anxiety. That you would feel more aggressive is a natural reaction to the drug.”
Cannabis also stimulates the production of dopamine, that famous “feel good” chemical. It regulates activity in the brain and, as recent laboratory tests on subjects given high doses of pot for several weeks show, it does not hamper motivation or lower productivity. The U.S. National Library of Medicine claims the opposite to be true: Pot sharpens focus, puts one “in the zone,” achieving higher levels of stamina.
Marijuana Improves Muscle Recovery
Medical cannabis is popular among cancer patients for a reason. According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine, it is a potent painkiller with the ability to relieve even the worst muscular pain. Fitness gurus insist they can do more when “high” and they can do it without pain. Injuries hurt less and muscle burn becomes insignificant. It also helps recovery of damaged and sore muscles.
Doctors typically prescribe some of the most addictive, nastiest drugs for sports-related injuries, including opiates, analgesics, muscle relaxants, and non-steroidal anti-inflammatories, or NSAIDs. Side effects can be lethal, certainly dangerous. Many scientific studies already prove weed a much safer, potentially even more effective alternative to such prescription drugs.
Furthermore, weed reduces the sore muscles associated with lactic acid buildup, and notably too. Fitness lovers are less stiff after a hard workout. Rather than wasting days recovering from stiff and sore muscles, they are puffing a joint and hitting the gym again, jumping right back into their training routines without any side effects or discomfort.
Marijuana Strengthens Performance
Clifford Drusinsky, a gym owner in Colorado who encourages cannabis use in his regular training sessions, said in an interview with Men’s Journal that, “Marijuana relaxes me and allows me to go into a controlled, meditational place. When I get high, I train smarter and focus on form.” Since pot has a distorting effect on perception, including pain perception, it promises a much higher pain threshold.
This is very beneficial in high contact sports, such as wrestling, rugby, lacrosse and football. Without feelings of pain, players are able to stay in the game and even perform better. One anonymous runner stated, “If I do not smoke before a run, I am constantly thinking about the miles and how much further I have to go, rather than just enjoying the experience.” She covers more miles without realizing it on pot.
The U.S. National Institutes of Health is currently conducting several studies to establish the effects of cannabis on athletic performance. Although results are not in just yet, findings do suggest that athletes perform better for much, much longer. More and more, fitness lovers are consuming marijuana to narrow their mental focus and help them improve. If we are logical about it, it surely must help.
Final Thoughts
Many studies indicate that weed can induce the same euphoric feelings that exercise typically does, as it activates the exact same pathways that a good workout can. The endocannabinoid system is responsible for relieving pain, easing stress, managing appetite, improving mood, and even changing memory and perception, and science shows cannabis effectively regulating the endocannabinoid system.
Consuming marijuana, in whichever form you prefer, can give you much more energy to expend on exercise, since it increases heart rate and even blood pressure. Even better, it does this for several hours. It is unsurprisingly that more sportspeople around the world are relying on pot to help them improve, ditching even their other beloved supplements for this medically miraculous plant.
Author Bio
John Levy is a writer for Pot Valet, a leader in online marijuana delivery in California. He spends a great deal of time researching the benefits of marijuana and sharing it with the world at large, while advocating for its legalization at every opportunity.