CBD and Bodybuilding

The pain and stressors you develop alongside your workout can also make pushing yourself to the limit hard to manage. The addition of CBD to your workout can aid in your workout and boost the speed of your recovery immensely, but how does it do this?

What is CBD?

CBD (Cannabidiol) is the lesser-known relative to THC (tetrahydrocannabinol). CBD oil does not get you high and is currently under research for many multiple applications. It has been used in medicine for millennia, and while much of the current research is still inconclusive about how beneficial CBD is for illnesses from Depression to anxiety.

CBD affects the cannabinoid receptors in the human brain. Two different types of cannabinoids bind to the receptors that bind in the central nervous system. The receptors are CB1 and CB2. The CBD one ingests does not fully bind to these receptors as THC does.

CBD's effect can be found in sleep, anxiety, and muscle recovery before, during, and after a workout. While a lot of the research is inclusive or unavailable, many people can find relief through their use in controlled amounts.

How does it help the body?

There's a lot of information and misinformation on the internet about what CBD can and cannot do. Currently, CBD has been approved by the United States Food and Drug to help treat multiple medical conditions. The individual states allow for some treatments and not others, depending on the state.

The approved conditions for CBD are few. The research is still pending on all of the benefits of CBD, so CBD should be used with caution like any drug. CBD is a nonpsychoactive drug in which many people can derive benefits from depending on their needs. There are a lot of promising therapeutic purposes for CBD that are safe for most people to try.

As CBD enters the mainstream world, more people are turning to it to help them do everything from sleep peacefully to improve their workout. CBD oil and supplements are becoming part of people's everyday workout routine and general health management.

What can it do for bodybuilding?

Bodybuilding is an intense way to hone and tone your body., You can build muscle and stamina through your workouts while improving your overall physical performance. The cost of these workouts comes from fatigued and torn muscles and general strain to reach a goal. CBD can help you improve your workouts in multiple ways.

Muscle Recovery

HIT (High Intensity) workouts are a primary portion of the workout world because of the way they make you feel and what it can do for your body. The problem with HIT workouts is the after-effects for such a workout leave you full of fatigue, pain, and inflammation. Most people use many over the counter medicines to counteract these after-effects.

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAID) drugs can help with the recovery of muscle fatigue and strain, but they can also interfere with training if taken too frequently. Many high-intensity trainers have taken to taking CBD oil to find muscle relief as a safer alternative for these symptoms. CBD oil is an analgesic for many types of pain.

As an analgesic, CBD is safe to use before and after a workout to relieve the soreness that builds up in your muscles. There is also the potential for anti-inflammatory benefits and the suppression of cytokine production, which starts inflammation of the human body during a stressful workout.

CBD blunts the body's release of interleukin 6 (IL-6), which is required for athletes to adapt their muscles for different types of exercises. It also reduces the pain and stress the muscles are put through during each workout. In comparison, NSAIDs suppress the body's effects to feel the pains of your workouts.

Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness

DOMS (Delayed onset muscle soreness) is familiar for anyone who has had a strenuous workout. A little over a day after a workout, pain and soreness radiates from your muscles, and you can feel everything you did to it. The soreness is small-scale damage to the microfibers in your muscles throughout your body.

The muscles adapt as it is exposed to more exercises, and the symptoms are reduced, but that still does not stop the soreness and pain from feeling this pain. A dose of CBD oil or a CBD capsule before or after a workout can mitigate this soreness, including acute muscle soreness. Recovery should start at least 72 hours after a particularly intense workout, and CBD can help you counter the effects of intense exercise.

Sleep better

Sleep is a critical component for any athlete. It helps to heal muscles and prepare you for the next workout. CBD is being introduced as a way to ensure a good night's sleep. As an athlete, you spend a lot of time at the gym.

Late-night training sessions and at-home training can leave you extremely fatigued and unable to sleep. You also spend more time on your workout and not on your recovery. The more performance you push out, the more you need to sleep.

CBD, while untested for a complete sleep benefit, can help you if you have trouble sleeping, and as sleep is ergogenic, you will want to enjoy it before you sleep at night.

Speed Healing

CBD is legal for use in some countries like the United Kingdom for professional athletes. Many use it as a way to speed healing from acute injuries. The healing increases blood flow to the affected areas of the body, and many athletes start dabbing with CBD for a variety of sports injuries.

Stress Reduction & Anxiety

Many athletes and regular people have found that CBD can have beneficial effects on your everyday life. People have used it as a way to blunt the underlying stress and anxiety of life. Many anxiety and stress disorders like PTSD have found relief through using CBD to control uncontrollable thoughts and emotions.

Reducing the effects of anxiety can improve blood flow and circulation for the most intense athlete. Low to moderate doses are recommended for most average people. The newer you are to the CBD, the lower you should start until you know the effects of CBD on your body.

CBD helps to reduce the hormones associated with stress. When your body is under stress, muscle growth and development are hindered, and the levels of cortisol increase. CBD usehelps reduce the cortisol flowing through your bloodstream, which can impact your workouts.

What kinds of CBD are available for athletes?

There are multiple types of CBD available to use for health benefits and workout improvement. While not all work the same, it often requires experimentation with different strains and delivery systems to find the one that works the best for your needs.

CBD Oil

CBD oil is the most popular way of ingesting CBD for athletes. It is easy to add to food or a drink before, during, and after a workout. Called a tincture, the best way to ingest oil is to put it under your tongue and hold it there. It gets absorbed within minutes and is easy to add to protein drinks for your training workouts.

CBD Edibles

CBD edibles are not as fast-acting as CBD oil, but they are a good way to relieve muscle stress after a workout. It takes around 2 hours for the CBD to be completely absorbed through the lining of your stomach and reach your bloodstream. You also probably won't absorb it all, so the release of the CBD into your body will go gradually, making you feel better from a workout in increments.

Vaping or Smoking CBD

Vaping or smoking CBD will introduce CBD very quickly into your bloodstream, but there are many possible things you should consider before smoking CBD. Smoking anything does damage your lungs, which can make workouts more difficult.

There are also problems around the world with vaping cartridges containing harmful chemicals and little to no CBD. You should always buy your products from a reputable seller with an understanding of the products they are selling and knowledge of where they came from.

Other CBD Products

Not all products made of CBD can help you with your workout. There are topical and ointments on the market with no proven benefit for the fatigued human body. They may help you with some muscle soreness and stiffness, but their effects vary, and the dosages need to be higher as they are being absorbed into your skin.

Doctors, Dispensaries, and CBD

CBD is and is not legal across the United States. The Farm Bill of 2018 brought the production of hemp and anything connected with hemp into the public arena legally. A lot of CBD can be made from hemp plants, and if the marijuana plant that also produces CBD contains less than 0.3% THC after abstraction, it is considered almost pure CBD.

If you feel CBD can help you improve your fitness routine, you should speak with your doctor to make sure it is safe for you to ingest. You should also find your local neighborhood dispensary and talk with them about what will boost your overall performance.

Many dispensaries are run by extremely knowledgeable people who can help you find the right strain with the right dosage to work for your workouts. It might take some trial and error, but it is best to try several different things to make sure you have found the right product.

Final Thoughts

A good workout leaves you feeling great and alive. It can also leave you feeling sore and unable to move correctly for days afterward. Anti-inflammatories help, but they do not completely stop the pain or help you manage it effectively when the workouts are the most intense. CBD, when added to your diet, can help you manage your workouts and make you feel better before, during, and after a session.

If you are looking to use CBD for your workouts, you need to try different strains and dosages to see what works best for your workout. Not all types of CBD will work in the way you want and need them to, and the method of delivery needs to be exact as well. A visit to a CBD specialist can help you understand what will work best for your workouts, and you can start training harder than ever with their addition.

CBD has not been approved by the FDA to diagnose, treat or cure any illness. All of the articles on this site are written by 3rd party content providers, expert bloggers or Doctors not directly affiliated with Eden's Herbals. Individuals should learn the risks and side effects prior to taking CBD.Make sure to always check with a medical professional before starting any new CBD treatment or medication.