Recreational weed smoking is a pretty popular pastime amongst the general population, and that includes plenty of people who like to keep fit and work out; but is it a good idea to exercise and then have a joint? What are the potential issues for the health and well being of those who do this? This article will help you answer the question: does smoking weed after working out affect muscle growth (source: howtostopsmokingpot.org)?
The body and weed
Anyone seriously into exercise cares about building and maintaining both a strong body and high endurance levels, they take care to train properly, to warm up and cool down, not over-do things, and to eat nutritionally rich food which fuels, repairs and strengthens their body. But is it possible that simply smoking weed after a workout counteracts all the benefits gained, especially because it can actually have some kind of a negative effect on muscles?
Marijuana and muscle development
Men need decent levels of testosterone and male growth hormones to properly develop their muscles, especially those in the arms, chest and upper legs. This is the reason why women bodybuilders will never be able to build muscle mass to the same extent as their male competitors.
There’s plenty of evidence around that supports a link between weed and both reduced testosterone and growth hormone levels, although this appears to be a temporary condition which will right itself after a few days off the weed. The exception here being men with a long history of regular marijuana use, who seem to be at high risk of permanently lowering their testosterone levels.
Marijuana always reduces a smoker’s energy levels and attention span, and it seems it will also mess with the chances of developing existing muscle mass.
Marijuana and muscle building
A more worrying connection in terms of muscle strength and weed is that smokers are generally unable to push to reach their genuine limits when training while marijuana is in their system. Smoking a joint after working out may not be as important here, but chances are the effects are not worn off completely when you are back in the gym the next day.
Poor diet and muscle growth
No matter how good your intentions are, or how clean your eating is most of the time, chances are high that a post-workout smoke will turn into a post-smoke feast of unhealthy junk and snack food. As a onetime thing, it may not really make much difference, but every bit of energy used to turn calories into fat rather than muscle is a waste.
The overall verdict
There is plenty of compelling evidence offered by both sides of this debate, and although is impossible to say it’s always a bad idea to smoke weed after working out it does seem like a counteractive thing to do. If you train to get or stay fit then why expose your body to harm? It’s possible that an occasional smoke after a gym session is unlikely to make much difference, but anything more is way too risky. If you are currently smoking weed, there are many ways that you can read online on how to quit cold turkey.