It turns out cannabis is good for more than just chilling out and getting couch-locked.
Much more, in fact. While some strains of cannabis are indeed relaxing, many others are invigorating! And people are starting to realize en masse that cannabis can be used to amplify their workout routines. Here’s how.
- Why We Take Cannabis
- Why We Workout
- What is Runner’s High?
- Does Cannabis Could Runner’s High?
- How to Add Cannabis to Your Workout Routine
- Cannabis’s Research-Backed Benefits
- Cannabis and fat-burning
- …and inflammation
- …and pain
- …and mobility
- …and appetite regulation
Why We Take Cannabis
You probably already knew this, but we’ll say it anyway: cannabis has known psychotropic effects. It gently uplifts one’s mood, alters their sense of time, and brightens their vision. Though cannabis is often categorized as being either recreational or medicinal, we think it’s probably both — with a nice dose of spiritual thrown in.
Some might view using cannabis for its mental impact as a form of escapism. But we, along with countless others, view responsible cannabis use very differently. If anything cannabis allows one a way to enjoy the smaller moments in life, to dive deep into what’s going on around them and be fully present in the moment.
Why We Workout
Contrast the above with the reasons many of us humans enjoy working out. Much like the act of using cannabis, the act of exercising provides a type of transcendence that many come to crave. Exercise allows one to break out of their comfort zone, push past their limits, and listen to their body. In an age of near-constant technological stimulation, the repetitive rhythm of endurance exercise is a real throwback.
If you think about it, cannabis and exercise have a lot in common. While the two activities couldn’t look much different, they often bring users into similar states. With cannabis, this phenomenon is made possible because its phytocannabinoids create temporary changes in the brain.
And exercise? Well, it actually produces cannabinoid-mediated changes in the brain, too…
What is Runner’s High?
“For me, it’s a spiritual happening,” Coloradoan ultramarathon runner Avery Collins told The Guardian. “Everything is perfect, everything is pure bliss.”
You might think Avery is talking about cannabis here — but no. He’s actually talking about the euphoric effects of intense exercise. More specifically, those who exercise for long enough, intensely enough, are often rewarded by something called runner’s high.
And runner’s high, as it turns out, is caused when a larger-than-normal amount of endocannabinoids rushes into the brain.
It was once thought runner’s high was caused by endorphins, which are basically the body’s internal version of opioids. But newer science has shown that opioids are too large to pass through the blood-brain-barrier. Runner’s high is really produced when the body and mind work together to produce their own version of cannabis. It’s almost like our bodies want us to workout!
Does Cannabis Cause Runner’s High?
Technically, no, cannabis doesn’t cause runner’s high. Endocannabinoids like anandamide, the so-called “bliss molecule,” do.
But here’s the thing: cannabis may slow the breakdown of these delicate endocannabinoids just enough to amplify their natural processes. Cannabis’s CBD component, for example, has been shown to inhibit an enzyme called FAAH, thus allowing anandamide to stick around and impart its blissful effects for longer.
Routinely taking a CBD or CBD+THC oil may allow your body to ‘access’ the biochemical environment needed for runner’s high more easily. If your body actually does have an innate drive to work out and stay fit…cannabinoids may allow you to stay more sensitive to it.
This is all theoretical, but the real-world experiences of countless athletes seem to agree.
How to Add Cannabis to Your Workout Routine
So, if cannabis causes a high because it delivers phytocannabinoids to the brain…and if exercise causes a high because it delivers endocannabinoids to the brain…might there be a good way to combine the two?
Many athletes think so. Cannabis products that are Sativa-heavy or rich in CBD actually make a great pre-workout. And products that lean towards the Indica/THC side of things can be the perfect way to relax post-workout. Apparently former Mr. Olympia Arnold Schwarzenegger agrees.
There are science-backed benefits, too; cannabinoids have been shown to reduce stress hormones like cortisol, potentially allowing for faster athletic recovery. But that’s far from the only benefit. Let’s look at a few more.
Cannabis’s Research-Backed Benefits
The cannabis-causes-couchlock stereotype we mentioned at the start of this article isn’t the only one that needs to be dispelled. Cannabis is also frequently associated with a form of unrestrained snacking we affectionately know as the munchies. The only thing is…the idea that cannabis causes weight gain is not research-backed.
What studies have actually indicated is practically the opposite. Cannabis use has been correlated with lower waist sizes, even though cannabis smokers did consume slightly more calories. This metabolic wizardry is likely explained by cannabis’s insulin-sensitizing effects. In other words: cannabis may help people use the calories they do eat more effectively. A major way it does this is by promoting fat burning.
Cannabis for fat-burning
Indeed, some studies have found that cannabinoids promote fat metabolism by ‘activating’ certain types of fat cells. In addition to possibly helping you stay warmer in the winter, this type of effect could have your body burning more fat for fuel. “Stimulation of CB2 [receptors…] should facilitate the anti-obesity effects,” another study commented. Guess what stimulates CB2? CBD!
Cannabis and inflammation
Cannabis may also help all you athletes out there reduce inflammation. It does this by helping the body ‘see’ where inflammatory processes are helpful — and where they’re not. Less chronic inflammation means less pain, lower risk of injury, and more mobility. Some athletes have found the effects so powerful that they’ve gotten off NSAIDs and opioids. We can’t promise cannabis will do that for you…but there’s only one way to find out.
Cannabis and appetite regulation
Here’s another cool thing about being an athlete: you get to eat more. In fact, many athletes experience worse performance if they don’t eat more. But within the high-cortisol, high-adrenaline environment that marks the end of a tough workout…it can be hard to want to refuel.
But this is yet another situation where the helpfulness of cannabis comes in. Research shows that cannabis may help regulate specialized hunger hormones like leptin and ghrelin, in turn helping regulate energy homeostasis. If you’re an athlete who wants to make sure you’re fueling properly, cannabis could be the perfect safeguard.