CBD To Improve Muscle Recovery
The use of cannabis in its various forms to aid in muscle recovery and performance has recently caught the attention of many people in the health and fitness space. It has been used as a natural remedy and beneficial for wellness, but people are now interested in how it might improve athletic performance and recovery.
Cannabis, and CBD in particular, has caught the eye of athletes and those who like to push their bodies and exercise regularly. It is widely known that CBD is an anti-inflammatory and helps the body heal itself to get back to homeostasis. Although we need some inflammation to create the muscular response(s) we want, the goal is to reduce overall inflammation the best we can. CBD can help do that as well as reduce muscle soreness and other aches and pains.
Because of the healing properties of cannabis and CBD, overall recovery in athletes and the average gym goer has been constantly improving. The work to get better at your craft is important, but making sure you recover properly is what can make or break results. When you have a better recovery, you will have a better performance, regardless of sport.
Should I use it before or after I workout?
This is kind of splitting hairs and comes down to preference. Some like it before if they’re a little sore, some do it immediately after, and some do both. It’s all about understanding your body and how it responds to certain recovery modalities. If you’re going to apply it post-workout, it might be wise to wait 20-30 minutes after you finish. That way, you can let the body go through its own natural inflammatory response. Once you’ve calmed back down, then apply.
How will CBD improve my performance?
Performance is heavily based on recovery. For the sake of this article, we’ll refer to everything outside of physical training (nutrition, sleep, stress, pain management, muscle soreness and recovery, etc.) as “recovery.”
Recovery benefits using CBD:
Anabolic effect - CBD has been shown to fight off the catabolic hormones that we have in our bodies, resulting in lean muscle mass being broken down. With CBD, our bodies are in a less catabolic state, and are fueled by more anabolic hormones.
Pain relief - Much research has been done to show how CBD can reduce pain. When there are less aches and pains in the body, athletes can continue their training regimen at the prescribed intensities to ensure they stay on track.
Reduce inflammation - Many issues arise from chronic inflammation. Although we need some inflammation as the body’s natural responses (like working out), we also want to ensure we’re not in that state longer than we need to be. CBD can help control and reduce any unnecessary stress and inflammation.
Improve sleep - Sleep is one of, if not the most important part of anyone’s recovery protocol. CBD can improve sleep quality in even the worst of sleepers. Good sleep is when the body gets its time to rest and recover so it can do the many things you ask of it on a daily basis.
Conclusion
When athletes want to get better at a skill or lift, they need to perform harder, longer, and more efficiently. This helps them have better training sessions, resulting in better performance on game day. If you’re tired, stressed out or extremely sore, then that day’s training session is going to suck. Take care of those things, and watch the gains go up.
CBD helps improve those areas because it can help reduce stress and anxiety, improve aches and pains in muscles and joints, improve sleep quality, and will simply help keep the body in a balanced state so it can function as optimally as possible.
So even if you’re feeling good, do some of your own research on CBD and see if it might be for you.