We’re fans of any natural method for our health, and CBD is not different. Like any health supplement, CBD proponents make many claims. Some of them hold up, but some don’t — we’re still in the early stages of learning a lot about CBD. You might’ve seen many CBD related fitness claims and products. But how effective is it to use CBD for your fitness goals?
CBD for Soreness
If you work out with weights, play sports, or do just about any physical activity that is at least moderately hard on your body, you’re going to get sore. Good news — CBD is effective at fighting soreness. This can also help you recover from your workouts faster and rest easier after you’re done. That’s important because the main barrier to getting stronger and fitter is how quickly you recover.
CBD for Recovery
There’s another way CBD probably helps you recover faster, and that’s through decreasing stress hormones. Stress hormones like cortisol are released when you work out. However, this is normal; your body sees stress and reacts to it. It’s all healthy and good as long as the stress hormones subside after your workout is over. If you overtrain, though, your body will react by creating more stress hormones. Sleep quality decreases, recovery times are longer, the stress hormones stay in your body and work against you building muscle. Luckily, CBD seems to lower stress hormones, and that’s excellent news for recovery.
CBD for Performance Anxiety
Do you feel a little more nervous or anxious than normal when you get to the gym? A lot of people do. This can be even more likely if you’re training for a competitive event. Even if you aren’t, some of us are just nervous by nature. Since CBD is well-known for reducing anxiety in general, it can help you in the gym by relaxing you pre-workout.
CBD for Blood Flow
Studies have shown that CBD does decrease resting blood pressure. That’s great news for anyone struggling with this issue, but it’s also good news fitness enthusiasts. CBD is a vasorelaxant; that’s the fancy, scientist way of saying it makes your blood flow better. Since blood flow is key to recovery and functioning of muscles, there’s reason to believe CBD can help you during your actual time in the gym. CBD also seems to help by reducing your body’s tendency for inflammation. Inflammation causes muscle soreness and a whole range of other problems that can keep you out of the gym.
CBD may not be a miracle, and there are still a lot of studies ongoing about the strength of its effects. It seems like CBD has some proven positive effects for anyone who leads an active life and exercises routinely, so that’s a clear OK to splurge on that fancy CBD item.
