Cannabis is praised for its health benefits and making things better for a lot of people. People use medical cannabis for many medical conditions such as epilepsy, arthritis, cancer, Parkison’s, Crohn’s disease, HIV/AIDS, and more. You just need a medical marijuana card to buy medical cannabis if you are suffering from one of the qualifying conditions. A marijuana doctor in San Diego can provide you this recommendation card after your 420 evaluation. This recommendation card allows you to buy medical cannabis from a licensed dispensary.
Cannabis can help in managing various symptoms such as insomnia, stress, anxiety, depression, chronic pain, inflammation, muscle spasms, etc. But can it also help in exercise routines? Many people are looking for the answer to whether cannabis can help them in their workout sessions or not. To find the truth we need to take a look at all the aspects of cannabis associated with a physical workout.
Cannabis can work like a new booster that you can use as an alternative to a powder or a drink. Numerous pro-athletes support the use of cannabis for workouts and performances. Many claims that cannabis can enhance and improve their athletic performance. According to many athletes, cannabis makes their “sweating session” more enjoyable and helps in faster recovery. Now, you need to understand that getting high will not make you stronger or run faster, but it certainly can improve your overall performance. Cannabis may not help you lift more weights or help you run faster, but it can help your workout with more nuanced aspects and in some indirect forms. There are hundreds of compounds (cannabinoids) in cannabis, but the two main ones are THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) and CBD (cannabidiol). Both of them have anti-inflammatory, pain-relieving, and muscle relaxing properties. And this is why they can help in alleviating muscle spasms, muscle soreness, and arthritis joint pain. This is why athletes are also able to return to their workout and training faster as they start to feel better faster with the help of cannabis.
THC is the compound that offers psychoactive effects, while CBD is a non-psychoactive compound. Both can help you in different ways, and you can leverage each one for their unique benefits.
Use cannabis if you feeling demotivated and wants to skip the day’s training
A study showed that about 50 percent of cannabis consumers felt more motivated to exercise when they consumed cannabis before their exercise session. This may sound contradictory to the lazy stoner stereotype, but it is true. You must have heard about “runner’s high” and probably must have felt it sometime during your exercise session. Exercise produces the euphoric feeling as your endocannabinoid receptors are activated. Now cannabis also activates these receptors, and cannabis can produce artificial runner’s high. Running high on cannabis is very similar to the regular runner’s high that you feel. This makes you feel motivated to complete your exercise routine.
Take help of THC for long and repetitive workouts
You can combine your exercise and THC to amplify the feeling of runner’s high. Many athletes say that consuming cannabis helps them in increasing their endurance. And this is mainly because of its pain-relieving abilities. This is in some sense obvious, as it makes it easier for you to keep running if you are not feeling much pain in your knee and your muscles are also not screaming at you to stop.
Some research also suggests that cannabis can cause bronchodilation and may even help exercise-induced asthma. Cannabis helps in relaxing your muscles, increasing focus so that you can complete your task at hand.
Know when you should not consume THC
THC can get you high, which can be a bad thing sometimes. Some studies show that getting high after consuming THC can reduce your strength and speed, and can also affect your coordination, spatial perception, and judgment. This can put you under some risk as you might not be able to judge how heavy you must lift.
Getting high can also have some side effects such as poor coordination and balance, and slow reaction time. So, for any activity that requires motor control and mental acuities like rock climbing, weight lifting, or outdoor cycling, you should avoid getting high. You can choose CBD products if you want to get some relief from some pain, or inflammation. CBD will not get you high while providing health benefits.
Know when to use THC
Well, you might want to consume cannabis before every workout thinking that it can help with low-risk endurance exercise. But, this is not the right approach. You can become dependent on THC if you consume cannabis daily in high quantities. And even if you don’t become dependent on it, you can build a tolerance to THC. This means, you will need to consume more THC to feel the same effect.
So, it is better for you to not consume it daily and save it for the days when you really need a boost in motivation and have to manage pain.
Start low and slow
Before you start using cannabis before your exercise or workout session, you need to get familiar with some facts. Cannabis affects every person in a different way. So, there are chances that your body might respond to cannabis in some different way than how your friend’s body is responding to it. A study review in 2017 found that some people were not able to complete their routine after getting high.
Your goal is to improve and enhance your workout, and not to get high. So, it is better that you consume the least amount of cannabis that is required to achieve your goals.
When choosing strains to consume, look for the ones that contain a low concentration of THC (that remains below 15 percent), and a possibly higher concentration of CBD. Also, a strain with 1:1 CBD to THC ratio would be most ideal for you as the two cannabinoids work together, and CBD can help in managing the side effects of too much THC. And if you are suffering from some medical condition, consult a marijuana doctor in San Diego to get more knowledge about how to use cannabis.
And when it comes to the method of consumption, it is better for you to choose some alternative methods for smoking. Vaping can be an ideal choice for you, as it is safer than smoking, and won’t take too to kick in (unlike edibles). Also, the effects will not last for a long period with vaping. When consuming, take a puff, and wait for around 5 minutes to see how you feel. If you feel, take another puff. But, be in control and use cannabis safely.