The use of cannabis has evolved from simply being a recreational substance to a medical merchandise. Thanks to the results of some of the latest clinical trials on medical marijuana, we have begun to see cannabis strains that are designed and bred to be low on THC, cannabis’ psychoactive compound. CBD or cannabidiol, on the other hand, is known for its curative properties.
CBD has been known to have been used in treating minor medical concerns like acne breakouts and slight instances of pain and swelling. It has also been used to combat some of the major medical conditions like multiple sclerosis (MS), epilepsy, and cancer.
It’s widely considered as one of the most effective natural painkillers and a practical anti-inflammatory medicine. It’s been one of the most preferred means of pain management by health-conscious individuals, well, because popping pills damages your liver.
This led to the idea that medical marijuana can be used as a performance-enhancing drug, helping you manage pain and improve your workout sessions by allowing you to push yourself harder and achieve better results. A healthier alternative to taking synthetic drug — which levies a heavy toll on your body over time.
But, how effective is medical marijuana and can it really improve your workout routine? Shouldn’t it be bringing you down instead of actually pumping you up? Let’s find out.
Know Your Workout Routine
Knowing your workout routine will help you determine whether or not medical cannabis consumption will help you achieve your workout goals. Generally, the consumption of cannabis — especially in heavy doses — whether recreational of medical reduces one’s ability to react towards certain stimuli, it also affects one’s eye-hand coordination. You have to understand and plan your when you’d be using medical marijuana and pay close attention to your post and pre-workout consumption.
With that said, consuming medical marijuana before a high-performance, high-intensity, high-reaction workout routine might not be the best idea. You may be risking your own safety for temporary pain relief. Medical marijuana is best used after such workout programs where you can take full advantage of its benefits. Medical marijuana is a remarkable muscle relaxant, it’s so effective that it’s even used as treatment by people with Parkinson’s disease to reduce tremors in the event of an attack.
It eases muscular pain effectively and naturally without posing potential health risks that’s why it’s regarded as one of the most ideal means of managing post-workout pain and is used by most high-performing athletes around the world.
On the other end of the spectrum, pre-workout medical marijuana use is best for low-key and low-impact workout regimens like stationary cycling, static exercises, lunges, and minor weight lifting — exercise routines that do not require precise attention. The soothing and calming effects of high-CBD cannabis strains will increase your performance and may help improve your focus.
Overall, knowing what your workout patterns and carefully planning and scheduling medical cannabis use is the key to achieving desired results.
Best Way to Consume Medical Cannabis
Medical marijuana can be used in many ways, there are topicals, sub-lingual cannabis, tinctures, and edibles. All methods work though they take at the very least around 20 to 30 minutes to take effect, and if you’re in need of immediate pain relief sitting for almost half an hour waiting for CBD to take effect isn’t exactly the best way to go.
One of the fastest ways for you to experience the effects of medical marijuana is by inhalation, compared to digestion, inhaling CBD allows your lungs to absorb it and shoot the compounds directly to your bloodstreams giving you relief in as fast as 5 to 10 minutes. Portable Weed Vapes are one of the best tools for medical cannabis inhalation because unlike smoking vaporizers do not produce combustion. Inhaling combusted dried herbs and concentrates can pose some serious lung-related conditions as well as possible irritation to the throat and the lungs.
Vaporizers like the Cloudious Hydrology9 are one of the best portable vaporizers on the market today. You can inhale pure and clean clouds through its unique water filtration system for smooth, moisture-conditioned sessions.
Effects of Medical Marijuana to the Human Body
It’s best to keep in mind that medical marijuana can still affect one’s athletic performance as well as one’s muscle growth.
Casual cannabis use causes partial cognitive impairment which may be explained by a “differential blood flow in the brain” because of the THC compounds. Furthermore, several studies claim that particular doses of THC “may impair muscle building by interrupting the mTOR signaling pathway.” The mTOR pathway serves as a “central regulator of cell metabolism, growth, proliferation, and survival.” This means that because of THC, the proliferation and growth of our muscles may be inhibited making the use of cannabis even counterproductive to those who work hard for their gains.
Medical marijuana, however, uses specially bred strains that have the lowest THC dose to help you focus and experience the subtlest and mildest euphoria while still allowing you to function normally.
Knowing how and when especially what variety of cannabis strain to use on or before your workout will prove to be extremely beneficial to your overall fitness goal.
Planning and Execution
Once you’ve determined your workout objectives, you can start working on planning when and how you should be consuming medical marijuana. It’s best to visit dispensaries as they would have readily available (and friendly) staff members who are always willing to help you find the right strain for your goal.
Here are some of the potential benefits of using medical marijuana to help with your daily workout routines.
· CBD will help you reduce soreness between workout sessions and will help you training at your peak.
· Medical marijuana can help you recover from training and workout injuries.
· Medical marijuana can ease the occasional discomfort from strenuous workout sessions.
Overall, medical marijuana can be extremely advantageous for athletes and gym rats, though it should be used with proper caution. You can’t just pick any weed from your local hookups, medical cannabis consuming athletes are using high-end, specialized varieties of cannabis that are bred to provide them tailor fit results.