CBD and Exercise — How To Make CBD Part of Your Workout Routine

“Even when all is known, the care of a man is not yet complete, because eating alone will not keep a man well; he must also take exercise. For food and exercise, while possessing opposite qualities, yet work together to produce health.” - Hippocrates

Acing your daily CBD routine is great and all...but what’s a day without exercise? 

And while CBD does lend itself to amazing health...what’s the point of having such good health if you aren’t going to push yourself a little?

These are rhetorical questions, of course, because CBD and working out can easily be combined. In fact, combining CBD and your workout routine might just provide a match made in heaven! Here’s what you need to know.  

• CBD = lower stress?
• CBD as a preworkout
• CBD for athletic recovery
• CBD & contact sports
• CBD & cycling
• CBD & yoga

CBD = lower stress?

Distill things down to their simplest form, and CBD’s mode of action becomes obvious: the pant compound is outright amazing at reducing stress.

How? By helping your body become better at generating energy — at the molecular level. “The electron transport system makes energy efficiently, but dangerously…[if it’s] overloaded or backed up, it produces an excess of free radicals that require the system to adjust,” Dr. Bob Melamede explains. 

CBD may help by allowing the body to shift to a more reliable metabolic pathway; in simple terms, we call this pathway fat burning. And with a fat-burning metabolism comes increased energy, improved vitality, and lower overall stress. 

Science has also established that CBD may lower the levels of a stress hormone called cortisol, in the process helping you de-stress and sleep better, even after the hardest of workouts. 

CBD as a pre-workout 

Some neurologists go so far as to say that we humans are designed to exercise. Whether that’s an exaggeration or not, it’s hard to say, but we do have reward mechanisms for exercise built into our very neurochemistry…

But maybe you’re not feeling it. Maybe the thought of working out seems like, well, a lot of work! 

If that’s you, consider that CBD might make things easier. Many people who take it report feeling more energized, more hopeful, and lighter on their feet. And who wouldn’t want to get a workout in when feeling like that? Set yourself up for success by taking CBD an hour or two prior to your next big workout — it might just replace the caffeine-laden “pre-workouts” you thought you needed.  

CBD for athletic recovery

CBD can be used after your workouts, too. In addition to the cortisol-quenching benefits mentioned earlier, many people find CBD reduces post-workout muscle soreness and fatigue. 

But perhaps CBD’s real post-workout value lies in its ability to promote better sleep. Sleep is when you recharge your metaphorical batteries; it’s when your body gets all its hormonal levels back up — it’s arguably the most important element of your entire workout routine. 

Clinical studies are just starting to show how much CBD might help improve this crucial activity. One recent study found that just over two-thirds of patients taking CBD improved their sleep scores within a single month. 

CBD & contact sports

Do you box or wrestle? Practice martial arts, jiu-jitsu, or MMA? If so, CBD could quickly become an ally. Its neuroprotective qualities mean more and more UFC fighters are taking the compound before and after matches — almost like a preventative measure. 

And though UFC president Dana White was hesitant about this trend at first, CBD’s newfound legality seems to have helped him come around. “For people who deal with chronic pain, it’s groundbreaking,” White said in June of last year. 

CBD & cyclists

Cyclists, runners, and other endurance athletes are finding CBD a worthy addition to their workout routines, too.  Even Tour De France-level bicycling coach Chris Carmichael has caught on to CBD’s holistic nature. “Taking in cannabinoids could be thought of as supplementing or increasing the activity of your body’s existing system,” he explains to NatuRx. 

“Athletes apply greater stress to their bodies [than the average person], leading to pain and inflammation greater than the ECS can handle. Adding [CBD] may help this overloaded system get neurotransmitters back under control.” 

We told you it all pointed back to stress reduction! 

CBD & Yoga

Combining CBD & yoga may be trendy right now, but the duo actually goes back thousands of years.

Indeed, yogis and yoginis say CBD helps get them one step closer to that enlightened, enlivined sensation so often called living in the now. A 2014 study hints these anecdotes might just be correct, explaining that “stress-reduction techniques such as meditation, yoga, and deep breathing exercises impart mild cannabimimetic effects.”

In other words, both CBD and yoga seem to derive their benefits through a shared pathway, at least in part: the pathway of endocannabinoid stimulation. Though more research on the benefits of this timeless duo would be nice, that shouldn’t stop you from seeing if CBD helps you “live in the now” today.