How Athletes Benefit from Cannabinoids
Article by Stefan Burns - Updated January 2022. Join the Wild Free Organic email newsletter!
Cannabis and its cannabinoids like cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabidiol (THC) have been used for thousands of years recreationally, medicinally, and spiritually. Cannabinoids exert effects on the endocannabinoid system in the body, which changes conscious experience, enhances the mind-muscle connection, increases heart rate while reducing blood pressure, and downregulates pain receptors. Used responsibly, the combined physiological and psychological effects of cannabis make it an effective plant medicine which can be used for a variety of wellness purposes. For athletes, cannabinoids can be used to heal from injury faster, reduce pain, modulate satiety, and increase athletic performance.
Athletes benefit from CBD and THC in a variety of ways. CBD and THC are anti-inflammatory compounds that activate the endocannabinoid system, a bioelectric pathway which runs parallel with the nervous system throughout the body. Because of this unique pathway cannabinoids deliver anti-inflammatory and pain relieving effects to locations difficult to reach with other herbs or modern drugs. The anti-inflammatory and pain reducing effects of cannabis can be applied locally via creams and oils, or full body effects are possible with the use of tinctures, edibles, or dry vaporization. With the right dosing, combining local and full body application of cannabinoids has powerful therapeutic effects.
Table of Contents:
Use Cannabis to Heal from Injury
The anti-inflammatory and pain reducing effects of cannabis is most useful for athletes when an injury is sustained. Cannabinoids help the body to heal better, and by reducing pain, restorative healing methods like muscle and joint flossing which regrow joint cartilage can be performed with less discomfort. Pain is the body’s way of bringing conscious attention to a problem that needs addressing, and in this manner it is helpful biofeedback as to what the problem is and how to fix it. When a muscle or joint injury is sustained, the fastest way to heal the affected area is to utilize a multi-faceted approach by eating an anti-inflammatory diet, utilizing heat therapy (via a sauna, bath, or heat wrap), and begin mobilizing the effected area slowly and safely. Mobilization is especially important as it increases blood flow to the site of injury, improves proper movement patterns (best done with the help of a professional), and broadens range of motion.
The degree of mobilization possible depends on the level of injury. Only a small amount of mobilization may be possible depending on the severity of the injury, for example just wiggling the toes after rolling an ankle may be all that is safely possible to start. Mobilization of an injured area done just to the edge of pain progressively and consistently will speed up the healing process and strengthen the weakened tissues. Utilizing cannabinoids, athletes can reduce pain signals to more appropriate levels while performing mobilization exercises and stretches, reducing stress and fatigue which increases the rate of healing. For optimal athletic performance, injury is to be avoided at all cost, and if an injury is sustained, then healing the injury as fast and completely as possible in order to get back to training and competition is of the utmost priority. Cannabis use can help prevent injury and if injury does occur, cannabis can speed up the healing process.
Use Cannabis to Increase Athletic Performance
Because of how cannabinoids are transported and used throughout the body, cannabinoids increase the ability to perceive hyper-localized muscular contractions and proper movement patterns. For bodybuilders, being able to feel a muscle is known as the mind-muscle connection, and bodybuilders utilize enhanced muscular sensory awareness to better target certain muscle groups for selective growth to achieve better aesthetic symmetry. For athletes in other sports, the mind-muscle connection can be used to better connect with movement patterns important for that sport. This could be a golf swing or the throw of a ball. Proper mechanics will improve power output while reducing energy usage by increasing movement efficiency. Because cannabis enhances kinesthetic awareness, it can be used to better feel and therefore learn higher quality movement patterns.
Cannabis for many people also improves endurance. Lower blood pressure and a faster heart rate increases time to exhaustion and can allow an athlete to push beyond limits normally encountered. Another reason cannabis can increase endurance is due to its psychoactive properties. Cannabis high in THC changes brainwave patterns to make it easier to enter into a flow state. It is being able to enter into a flow state that separates the best athletes from their peers who may become distracted or anxious in the same situation. Cannabis can help an athlete learn how to enter into a flow state easier and how to maintain it for longer, and with practice this can be done naturally without the use of cannabis.
Use Cannabis to Heal the Digestive System
Due to the stress of training and competition, and the need for ample fuel, it is common for athletes to suffer from gut problems like leaky gut, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and food intolerances. Gut health problems are especially prevalent among weightlifters. Gut inflammation is one of the primary symptoms of a dis-eased gut, and the anti-inflammatory effects of cannabis can be used to ease gut inflammation. The digestive system is a high blood flow group of organs, and when dry-vaporized or consumed via a tincture or an edible, cannabinoids exert some of their anti-inflammatory effects on the digestive system directly before circulating throughout the rest of the body. Oils and creams can also be applied to the skin of the stomach and navel area. Cannabis usage calms an inflamed gut and eases stress on the digestive system, allowing food to digest more regularly and completely. If suffering from gut health problems, combining cannabis and the FoodFast Method is an effective way to heal the gut and begin digesting food better, thereby improving overall wellness and athletic performance.
Cannabis can also be used to modulate appetite. For some athletes, eating more food may aid in building muscle and increasing strength, while for other athletes reducing appetite may help with cutting body fat and leaning out. Many people report an increase in hunger when using cannabis high in THC, though individual effect will vary. For cutting calories, the cannabinoid tetrahydrocannabivarin (THCV) is an effective appetite suppressant, reducing hunger and increasing satiety. THCV is a rare cannabinoid found only in certain strains of cannabis, Durban Poison being the most common high THCV strain, containing up to 1% or more of the unique appetite-suppressing cannabinoid.
In the context of athletic performance where layering on small 1-3% performance increases can make the difference between first and last place, athletes who use cannabis to take more direct control over their gut health and appetite are afforded an extra edge.
Use Cannabis to Rest Better
Equally as important as training is resting. Without adequate rest and recovery, adaptations to the training stimulus will be impaired and more effort will have been expended for less effect than possible. If a training session was too stressful on the body, or an injury occurs, cannabinoids can be used to help the body self-regulate down into a less stressful parasympathetic state. While in a parasympathetic state the body rests and digests, assimilating new nutrients into the connective structures of the body, healing inflamed tissues, and performing cellular autophagy. When in a parasympathetic state long enough, cortisol lowers to healthy baselines which is necessary for proper hormone health and to avoid adrenal fatigue, a problem common to athletes who push themselves to the edge.
High CBD to THC cannabis strains or products promote relaxation and calm the body and mind down. For many people cannabis improves their sleep dramatically, and this is the most important parasympathetic state the body enters into on a daily basis. Improving sleep is the best way to enhance recovery and therefore one of the best ways to improve athletic performance. Tinctures, edibles, and topicals are the best way to use cannabis to enhance rest and recovery.
Note - Peak athletic performance can disrupt hormone health heavily, and any way an athlete can maintain a healthy hormonal system using safe practices is to be encouraged. Cannabis usage can lower testosterone levels if used in excess.
How to Use Cannabis
There are many different ways to use cannabinoids and they all have differences in effect. Oral consumption will be the broadest in effect, have the longest duration, but will take up to an hour to begin feeling relief. When consuming cannabis orally it is very important to dose properly, as too many cannabinoids ingested especially of the THC variety can be very potent in their psychoactive effects. It is best to start with a small dosage (1-5 mg) and if zero to little effect is felt, consume more only after an hour or more has passed. Individual tolerance will determine how many milligrams of CBD and/or THC are required for medicinal effect, so start small until you know your individual limits.
Dry vaporization of cannabis flower provides instant relief and has a moderate body effect, though more condensed in the torso and head as the cannabinoids are absorbed into the bloodstream by the lungs. With dry vaporization the effect is shorter in duration than with oral consumption and therefore more easily dosed. I use and recommend dry vaporizers from Healthy Rips.
Healthy Rips sells many different handheld dry vaporizers which are very efficient in volatilizing cannabinoids, and all of their vaporizers are fairly priced. My personal favorite vaporizer is the Fury Edge. The smaller Fury 2 is also a nice product and more affordable.
Fury Edge features:
2300 mAh Battery, adjustable session timer between 3-7 minutes
Temperature range of 280°- 430°F
Chamber capacity 0.175g to 0.205g
Cannabis lotions and creams are absorbed transdermally and can provide localized relief. it can take up to thirty minutes to begin feeling the effects though the onset is usually rapid. CBD creams are fairly common and inexpensive, and while there are cannabis creams, lotions, and oils that contain THC, they can be hard to dose properly and are expensive. When combining cannabis topicals with other methods of consumption, it is my recommendation to only use CBD topicals in order to avoid dosing too much THC. CBD is the cannabinoid most responsible for pain and inflammation relief, and for this reason CBD topicals can be very helpful for any athlete looking to enhance performance via the reasons listed above.
Note - Smoking of flower is to be avoided as smoke contains many carcinogens and temperatures above combustion destroy cannabinoids. Oral consumption, topical application, and dry vaporization are healthier options for using cannabis and preserve more cannabinoids in the process.
The wellness effects of cannabis are best felt when a small amount of THC is used alongside CBD, and to minimize the psychoactive effects of cannabis and for best therapeutic effect, a ratio of 1:1 to 4:1 is ideal (CBD:THC).
The most powerful way to use cannabis is to combine them all for localized and full body effect. Depending on the dosage the effect can be quite strong so be well prepared with a place you can stretch and rest with no looming responsibilities and use your best judgement. The amounts given are generalized and should be adjusted according to your individual tolerance and body type.
Full Body Cannabis Healing and Pain Relief Protocol:
Ingest a 5mg CBD or 1:1 tincture edible.
Thirty minutes later apply 100% CBD cream to any painful or injured trouble areas as well as on the bottom of the feet and along the spine (areas of high nerve density). Any remainder on the hands rub in.
Thirty minutes after topical application dry vaporize CBD and/or THC flower as much as necessary for medical relief and relaxation. Dry vaporizing 0.1 - 0.2 grams is typically enough when combined with the edible and creams.
Note - This cannabis protocol is made more effective when combined with grounding. Grounding is a method of resetting the charge of your bioelectrical system to that of the Earth, which has healing and anti-inflammatory effects.
Choosing the Right Cannabis
When choosing cannabis flower or a product to use, you must consider the energetics the plant experienced during its growth. Was the cannabis grown indoors or outdoors? With pesticides or without pesticides. Were fertilizers used? Was the plant told it was loved? The life a cannabis plant experienced influences the effect the cannabis will have on your body. This is true with all foods and substances, and for a plant with mild psychedelic properties like cannabis, these considerations are especially important. Cannabis grown biodynamically is the best option, with the second best option being organically grown cannabis. When buying cannabis flower or products confirm that zero pesticides were used as pesticide residue if ingested or vaporized can be dangerous.
Cannabis is an incredible plant medicine which has many wellness uses for regular people and athletes alike. Please use cannabis responsibly and not until brain structure is fully developed (>25 years old). Please consult with a holistic wellness practitioner before using cannabis.
Share your experiences using cannabis for rest, healing, or athletic endeavors in the comments below.
Disclosure: Healthy Rips affiliate links are in this article, from which I receive a commission. The purchase price remains the same if you use the affiliate link, and the commission is used to grow Wild Free Organic. Thanks for your support.