If you find yourself asking “how does CBD help fitness?” you’ll be happy to know that CBD and fitness go hand in hand much more seamlessly than you might think. After all, CBD is excellent for recovery, and recovery is an integral part of anyone’s exercise regimen — no exceptions.
That said, there are three main categories that I’ve found helped me personally when it comes to using CBD as part of my own fitness journey: sleep, recovery, and balance. In truth, all of these things work together symbiotically (the more balanced you are, the better you sleep, the more you sleep, the better you recover, the better you recover, the more balanced you are, and so on and so forth) — kind of like The Circle of Life from the Lion King. Less Elton John, more hemp.
Ahead are the ways CBD has had a positive impact on my wellbeing in a way that has directly promoted my fitness AND my mental health. Check it out.
CBD FOR BALANCE
Feeling physically, mentally, and emotionally balanced are the foundation — the bedrock — upon which the rest of the pieces of this puzzle lay. When your ducks are in a row and the scales are evened out, the other pieces fall into place seamlessly.
Think about it: when you reduce stress and feel more emotionally and mentally balanced, you sleep better. When you sleep better, you have more energy to work out and make better food choices. When you work out and make good food choices, you don’t have as much stress (typically) and you feel better and you sleep better. Remember what I said? It’s the ciiiiircle of liiiiife!
I’ll scale back on the Disney I promise. OK so how does CBD contribute to balance? It all comes down to the ECS: endocannabinoid system (click here if you want to read more about that in depth). The ECS balances many other systems of the body, and can help manage hormones, mood levels, the nervous system, inflammation, digestion, and more. This is how CBD seems to have so many applications, from anxiety reduction to pain relief. It’s because CBD helps to keep your endocannabinoid system healthy and regulated, which thereby keeps the rest of these systems in check.
So how does this tie into fitness? How does CBD improve your fitness routine through balance? Taking an ingested CBD capsule or sublingual tincture has helped to balance my body’s systems, resulting in more energy, less inflammation, less pain, and a better mood. Many of us have felt that sluggishness and icky energy that makes going to the gym feel like the LAST thing on earth we want to do, but with a more balanced body (and balanced ECS), it’s just the opposite. I feel supercharged and thrilled by the idea of scheduling a Pilates class or going for a beachside run.
Once you’re on a roll, health wise, it has somewhat of a snowball effect. You feel good, and you feel healthy, so you want to keep doing healthy things that make you feel good. CBD has played such a large role in helping me stay on track fitness-wise thanks to this balancing effect.
CBD FOR SLEEP
Sleep also plays such a pivotal, foundational role in this little “optimal health” recipe. Sleep is paramount for fitness success. After all, better sleep means better recovery. If you’ve had a particularly insane leg day or did two SoulCycle classes or went for several extra miles on Sunday Runday, you know how sore your body can get. Sleep helps you recover from that extra beating your body has taken
And of course, CBD helps to promote more restful, restorative sleep. So a little CBD before bed can kick your body into superhealing mode, fixing up your tissues and resetting your systems so you get the recharge you need to keep kicking ass.
What’s more, is that when you have more restful sleep, you have better energy for more workouts. You’ve likely experienced — like many of us — the feeling of dread when the 5:30am alarm goes off and you’ve only drifted off just a few precious hours earlier. I myself have been (on several occasions) so tired I feel nauseous. By using CBD to get better and more consistent sleep, I’m less likely to sleep through my 6am Spin class. Yet another way that CBD improves my fitness routine.
CBD FOR FITNESS RECOVERY
We touched on this with balance and sleep, but CBD has been instrumental in recovery for me — and so many other athletes and fitness fanatics alike. It’s why major fitness boutiques, gyms, and pharmacies now carry topical CBD products.
Strained a muscle while lifting heavy? CBD cream. Some tendon pain from overexertion? How about an overnight CBD balm. Sore all over because your trainer had no mercy? CBD tincture. This post-workout recovery treatment can help alleviate the pain that might otherwise sideline you for several days. Quicker recovery, less pain, and a speedier return to your routine all keep you on your A-game, thanks to hemp-derived natural medicine.
Additionally, those things we were talking about earlier about reducing stress and inflammation? Those also contribute to better, faster recovery. When your body is less stressed, you’re less inflamed. When you’re less inflamed, you’re not only going to recover more quickly, but you’re less injury prone as well — that’s a huge deal.
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These three things are just the tip of the iceberg, but have been transformative when it comes to my personal fitness regimen. In all its forms, CBD can improve your fitness routine and take your health and wellness to the next level, in big and small ways, throughout many systems in your body and areas of your life. Don’t forget your mental fitness too!