Once the World Anti-Doping Agency removed CBD from their banned substance list in 2018, we began to hear more and more about CBD in sports. In fact, this year’s Olympics are the first to allow athletes to legally use CBD, with many other athletes like soccer sta,r Megan Rapinoe, and Superbowl winner, Rob Grownkowski, already publicly endorsing their own use.
So, as professional athletes continue to promote CBD pre or post workout routines, it’s time for us to take a better look at the true effects for health and wellness. That’s why here, we’re exploring the natural plant benefits of CBD and just how the cannabinoid is proving to aid inflammation from working out and physical sports.
How CBD Works for Workout Recovery
Before we get into the details of the exact benefits of CBD and muscle recovery – let’s refresh ourselves, on how CBD actually works. Cannabidioil, or CBD, is a compound that’s extracted from hemp, and interacts with our body’s endocannabinoid system (ECS). Which is a lesser known physiological system, considering it was only discovered once cannabis research increased in the early 1990’s.
Since then, and with studies continuing, we’ve learned more about what the ECS is capable of and responsible for. Altogether, the purpose of the endocannabinoid system is to maintain ‘homeostasis,’ or the overall feeling of feeling well. It does so through a network of neurotransmitters and receptors that relay messages from body system to body system. Ultimately, these messengers are pivotal in regulating a number of everyday body functions, including:
• Metabolism
• Chronic pain
• Inflammation
• Immune system response
• Appetite
• Digestion
• Memory
• Learning
• Motor control
• Sleep
• Cardiovascular system functions
• Stress
• Skin and nerve functions
• Bone growth
• Reproductive system functions
• Liver functions
When consuming CBD, the cannabinoid interacts and influences two of the primary receptors in the ECS. CB1 and CB2. CB1 is primarily responsible for regulating pain perception, motor functions, mood and memory. While CB2 receptors help regulate immune responses to outside pathogens, inflammation, nerves, and in the digestive system. Looking at the fWhen consuming CBD, the cannabinoid interacts and influences two of the primary receptors in the ECS: CB1 and CB2. CB1 is primarily responsible for regulating pain perception, motor functions, mood and memory, while CB2 receptors help regulate immune responses to outside pathogens, inflammation, nerves, and in the digestive system. Looking at the full scope of the intricacies of the ECS and CBD…it’s fairly easy to see just how CBD and muscle recovery go hand in hand.
Benefits of CBD for Workout Recovery
Now that you have a good understanding of the science behind CBD and the ECS – let’s go more in-depth into CBD workout benefits that come from these internal interactions. Here are the most notable CBD benefits for athletes and for those who exercise frequently, plus the research that backs them up:
- Muscle soreness relief – Muscles naturally become sore when exercising or working out, which CBD is shown to help. A recent trial concluded CBD was effective in significantly reducing delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) in a group of study participants. This includes improvements to ‘exercise induced muscle damage.’
- Pain relieving – It’s no surprise that CBD’s anti-inflammatory effects are effective for relieving pain since most common pain relief medications are NSAIDs (Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs). But many studies are also proving that CBD is not just anti-inflammatory but analgesic (pain-relieving) on its own, too. The combination of CBD pain relieving and anti-inflammatory effects is ideal for pre-workout routines and its aid in exercising more comfortably or post-workout routines for minimizing any pain that occurs from the activity.
- Promotes rest & recovery – A key part of optimizing your workout, is ensuring your body gets ample rest and recovery. Another recent study published by Pharmacological Research in 2020 included CBD’s benefits for rest and sleep, in addition to managing pain and inflammation, stating, “CBD can be considered a promising compound in the sport domain to help athletes to manage injury, anxiety, stress or sleep disorders.”
CBD Best Practices for Pre or Post Workouts
Next, you may be asking – what’s the best way to consume CBD pre or post workout to reap the natural plant benefits? Good question, and the answer is simple. Any way you consume CBD, whether orally, sublingually, or topically, can influence your body systems for ultimate relief and recovery. Meaning, CBD can work internally for healing from the inside out, and externally for targeted areas of pain or soreness.
When taking orally, or sublingually, full-spectrum CBD oil for athlete recovery is elite. As a refresher, orally is when you actually swallow the oil or tincture and it’s metabolized by the digestive system. Sublingually, is when you hold the oil or tincture under your tongue, to be absorbed into the bloodstream via the sublingual artery directly. Full-spectrum oils contain CBD, up to .3% THC, other beneficial cannabinoids like CBG, CBN, CBC, and natural plant terpenes. For muscle recovery, terpenes are key since many hemp plant terps, like Caryophyllene and Limonene, are proven to combat inflammation already.
Plus, whole-plant extracts and full-spectrum CBD goods produce what’s known as the ‘entourage effect.’ This is the title that’s used industry wide, to describe the act of cannabinoids and terpenes working synergistically to amplify one another’s effects.
But what’s most popular for relieving specific areas of soreness that comes with working out, or staying physically fit, are CBD topicals, especially those that are infused with common pain-relieving ingredients for warming or cooling effects. SuperPlug’s Phoenix Balm is not only chock-full of 1400 MG of CBD, but also includes eucalyptus, lavender and wintergreen for additional relief. This combination is highly effective for reducing inflammation from working out, and naturally so. By applying CBD recovery creams or balms to the targeted areas of pain and inflammation, the cannabinoid permeates the skin and enters deep into layers of body tissue, ultimately relieving discomfort in the area, and returning levels of inflammation back to normal.
SuperPlug into a CBD Workout Routine
A general majority of the fitness community concerned with optimal health, treat their body like a temple, supplementing nutrition with vital nutrients, organic foods, vitamins, and the utmost of quality in the products they consume. The same goes for the types of CBD you integrate into your workout, health or wellness routines. With so many quick to shelf CBD products on the market today, it’s hard to determine what’s high quality, and what’s not.
With SuperPlug, we do the work for you. Manufacturing our own proprietary blends for ultimate healing and teaming up with only the best of the best, for superior wellness. Like brands who take CBD as seriously as you take your workout or personal health routines. So, enhance your CBD workout benefits with the best CBD pre workout, and post-work out products available on the market today. Browse Superplug’s premium collection of full-spectrum CBD oils, topicals and more, now.