“Couple blunts a day keeps the doctor away.” -Jeff Seid Social Media Fitness Icon- IFPP Physique Pro
Cannabis & exercise? It seems totally counterintuitive! Marijuana users are stereotyped as lazy and unproductive. The widely held truth is that Cannabis promotes a healthy lifestyle. Our Obese Society is in desperate need of solutions! Whether Sativa or Indica, dabs or brownies. All Cannabis use creates a physiological edge.
Michael Phelps, Bill Gates and Barack Obama all consumed Cannabis. Heavily. Is cannabis a gateway drug? Maybe the gateway to being president or an Olympic swimmer? Cannabis can be your “gateway” to personal fitness. Olympic swimmers like Michael Phelps know the most important asset is a strong set of lungs. Since most Cannabis users inhale Cannabis, it is important to understand Cannabis effect on the lungs.
Cannabis & Breathing
Patients who overdose on Opiates can stop breathing! No breathings problem when consuming too much Cannabis. The lungs of Cannabis users are notably resilient. Donald Tashkin, the world’s leading pulmonologist has studied the effects of Cannabis on the lungs, for over 30 years.
Tashkin found that Cannabis users had healthier lungs than previously imagined. When a Cannabis user alternates breath holds with long draws, they are performing a pulmonary exercise. In addition, the anti-tumor effects of Cannabis could protect against lung cancer. He found that the heavier the user, the healthier the lungs.
Sport Injuries
Cannabis lends a hand when it comes to painful injuries from competitive sports. Cannabis is a strong anti-inflammatory. Israeli Scientist Raphael Mechoulam believed Cannabis to be 3x as effective as cortisol steroids. Healing is an edge. Cannabis use contributes to healing-pain management before, during and after sports.
Mindset
Cannabis users can be extremely focused and creative. Tunnel vision, tenacity, and fixation. The euphoria from some Cannabis strains is known to be captivating. During periods of “tunnel vision” an athlete using Cannabis may be able to push his/her personal limits.
The world anti-doping agency (WADA) identifies Marijuana and Cannabinoids as “prohibited during competition.” “Based on current human and animal studies as well as on as well as on interviews with athletes and information from the field, cannabis can be performance-enhancing for some athletes and sports disciplines.”
One thing that is universal among athletes is music. Every single professional athlete has a killer playlist! Why? The zone. Mindset is the single most important thing when it comes to physical disciplines. For many Cannabis users, they believe in similar effects to using Cannabis. I have experienced this! CBD and specific strains can make the consumer “lock on” with the tenacity of a pit bull.
Blinders, tunnel vision, obsession. These are mindsets that can be symptoms of Cannabinoid use. Far from the mainstream stereotypes that portray Cannabis consumers as dull, inattentive, or lazy. Growing number of extreme athletes beg to differ.
There are benefits to using Cannabis in fitness. I didn’t personally have a regular fitness schedule until I began consuming Cannabis, regularly and heavily. Cannabis can be very motivating. Research published in Frontiers in Public Health suggests that many Cannabis users believe it increases the enjoyment and motivation to exercise.
Personal Fitness & Cannabis
CDC researchers Katherine M. Flegal Ph.D., and colleagues suggested that the number of US deaths directly linked to obesity is 112,000 per year. That is a lot of preventable deaths!
“People who regularly use cannabis are less likely to be overweight or obese in comparison to those who don’t, according to a paper published in the International Journal of Epidemiology. The study had more than 30,000 volunteers. Everyone packed on a few pounds. Cannabis consumers gained the least amount of weight.”
Cannabis is known to create the “munchies”. The ‘munchies’ is a colloquial way to describe a lower blood sugar and an increase in appetite. Anyone who has experienced this effect knows that the urge to consume food can be quite aggressive. Bodybuilders plateauing their weight gain, swear by Marijuana as a way to stimulate mass-building appetite.
“A 2011 study from the American Journal of Epidemiology, concluded that even though weed consumption increases the need to eat, people using Cannabis are less likely to be obese than people who do not use Cannabis regularly. Other studies indicate that many Cannabis users have trimmer waistlines than non-users. Lower cholesterol. What’s more, these results have proven true regardless of how many people were involved in the study.“
Exercise your options!
With so many Cannabis products in the current market it becomes more important to be selective. Sativa and Sativa-based pens have the tendency to be found energizing. Ask questions. Strains like Green Crack, Super Silver Haze, or Durban Poison can make excellent pre-workout choices. With an ocean of products to choose from, choose carefully!