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Athletes, Health+Wellness
Working Out With Cannabis
What you need to know about working out with cannabis.
Working out with cannabis isn’t want always comes to mind. Cannabis has long been associated with the lazy stoner stereotype. For this reason, when it comes to cannabis and fitness, you may be thinking, “Yeah, fittin’ this whole pizza in my mouth!” But really, this is just a stereotype that has been reinforced on us. It’s easy to see in classic “stoner” characters from TV and movies, like the famous Cheech and Chong.
Just because cannabis consumers have commonly been portrayed as being lazy, does not mean cannabis will lock you into the couch. It turns out, there are a lot of benefits to combining cannabis and fitness. It is much more common than you might realize. In fact, there are several professional athletes who talk about how cannabis helps their performance and recovery. Some athletes also advocate for legalization. Many of these athletes even own and operate cannabis businesses, or invest in the cannabis industry.
Research On Working Out With Cannabis
A study eas conducted in partnership between the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience and the Institute of Cognitive Science at the University of Colorado Boulder. It surveyed 600 adult cannabis consumers across 5 states. It found that a staggering 82% admitted to consuming cannabis within 1 hour before or 4 hours after exercise.
70% reported feeling like cannabis increased enjoyment of exercise.
77% said they felt cannabis improved recovery from exercise.
51% agreed that cannabis increased their motivation to exercise.
Given this anecdotal evidence highly supporting the benefits of cannabis and working out, combined with testimony from professional athletes, it seems clear that you may benefit from adding weed to your workout.
Benefits Of Combining Cannabis and Exercise.
Clearly, cannabis seems to work as a mood elevator. This causes some to feel more motivated to exercise. Many people consume cannabis to have more fun while exercising. This can make exercise easier for those who may not enjoy it, or have a hard time getting started. Relieving pain and reducing inflammation are other reasons people mix exercise with cannabis. Reducing pain levels and overall inflammation can make it easier for you if you’re in too much pain to start a workout. After workouts, cannabis can help reduce pain and inflammation caused by physical activity.
The best part is, you don’t have to be an athlete, or even super into fitness, to gain the health and wellness benefits of mixing cannabis with exercise.
Even consuming a little cannabis before or after going on a nice walk through a park or your neighborhood, or when doing something else physical like gardening or yard work, can help keep you in good health by keeping you active. As with anything new, when it comes to deciding how much to consume before or after, start out slow to understand what your tolerance level is and how combining cannabis with exercise affects you personally.