CBD for Athletes and Athletic Recovery
Posted by Ahya Wellness Team on 6th Sep 2022
In training or in the midst of your athletic event, peak muscle performance is crucial for achieving your athletic goals and milestones. Learn how to include premium, full-spectrum CBD performance products into your routine and find the best CBD for peak athletic performance.
CBD for Athletic Recovery
Repetitive, strenuous activity like the kind experienced in training or an athletic event causes exercise-induced muscle damage (EIMD) that impairs muscle function, stimulates inflammation, causes metabolic responses in the body, and creates an important signal for the body to rest: fatigue (Rojas-Valverde D. 2021).
Get a plan for athletic training that promotes peak performance and recovery by adding full-spectrum hemp containing CBD to soothe tired or sore muscles and promote the kind of recovery that leads to peak performance.
CBD and Muscle Inflammation After a Workout
Expect inflammation after vigorous training sessions. Inflammation acts as a signal to the muscles to respond to the activity with repair, regeneration, and adaptation. Easy-to-carry, premium full-spectrum hemp products that contain CBD work to address this inflammation before, during, and after a workout or athletic event.
What is the Best CBD for Athletes?
The best CBD for athletes seeking peak muscle performance is one that is easy to carry and use, immediately bioavailable to target muscle strain and soreness, contains other supportive ingredients to treat inflammation and fatigue, and has a high standard for purity and efficacy.
Athletes and people with a vigorous or regimented exercise routine use Cannabinol (CBD) for a variety of reasons including to enhance recovery (80%), improve sleep (78%), reduce anxiety (32%), and for “other” medical purposes (Sahinovic A, Irwin C, Doohan PT, Kevin RC, Cox AJ, Lau NS, Desbrow B, Johnson NA, Sabag A, Hislop M, Haber PS, McGregor IS, McCartney D. 2022).
CBD benefits for athletes have been studied and the results indicate that the biochemistry of phytocannabinoids, including cannabidiol (CBD), includes properties that boost exercise recovery with anti-inflammatory, brain-protecting, anxiety-reducing, and pain-relieving effects (Rojas-Valverde D. 2021) and contributes to improvements in cardiovascular function.
CBD appears to alter some key physiological and psychological responses to aerobic exercise without impairing performance. (Sahinovic A, et.al 2022). Also, since CBD is non-hallucinogenic, treatment with full-spectrum hemp does not appear to have any negative effect on resting blood pressure or heart rate (Stanley CP, Hind WH, O'Sullivan SE 2013).
What is the Science Behind CBD and Athletic Performance
Scientists are scrambling to keep up with the possibilities for CBD use by athletes. Premium full-spectrum hemp oil is already in common use to enhance athletic performance and aid in athletic recovery. Researchers are testing a range of potential therapeutic applications for CBD and athletics (McCartney D, et al 2020).
Some initial data suggest CBD might influence mitochondrial function and the regulation of body temperature which could have implications for energy metabolism and performance during training and athletic events. (McCartney D, et al 2020). Research findings suggest that CBD has the potential to influence heart health by reducing the cardiovascular response to some types of stress (Stanley CP, et al 2013).
Consistent CBD treatment may increase blood flow to the heart and help reduce blockages to blood flow in the brain. Additional studies in the future could clarify the role of hemp cannabinoids like the widely available cannabinoid, CBD, on heart and brain health during sports and exercise (McCartney D, et al 2020).
The science behind CBD for peak muscle performance and recovery for athletes is a rapidly emerging research field. Examine the sources for this article below and dive into the extensive research around CBD and athletic performance.
Role of CBD in Athletic Performance
A 2021 study on the Potential Role of Cannabidiol on Sports Recovery: A Narrative Review indicates that CBD for muscle soreness and training recovery could be part of a multi-step approach to maximum performance and peak muscle condition.
In addition to the addition of cannabinoids (such as CBD), any plan for athletic performance should also include:
- regular exercise/training
- weight control
- stress management
- addressing competition-related anxiety
- reducing exposure to environmental contaminants and other toxic matter.
This balanced approach to fitness works to create an optimal environment inside the body to increase the function of every regulatory system in the body, including the Endocannabinoid System, or, ECS.
The Endocannabinoid System and the “Runner’s High”
The ECS is made up of endocannabinoids (molecules produced in our bodies), cannabinoid receptors housed in the central nervous system and in other tissues throughout the body, and the enzymes responsible for processing endocannabinoids (Lu HC, Mackie K 2016). Exercise and hemp products containing CBD stimulate the regulatory properties of the ECS.
In a 2016 paper titled An introduction to the endogenous cannabinoid system, Lu and Mackie describe the ECS as a “neuromodulatory system that plays important roles in central nervous system (CNS) development, synaptic plasticity, and the response to endogenous and environmental insults.”
Research with animal models indicates that the increase in endocannabinoids generated during strenuous activity and the resulting interaction with cannabinoid receptors may contribute to euphoric feelings. This “runner’s high”, well known and reported after vigorous exercise, has historically been attributed to exercise-induced endorphins. Research now suggests that the sedating and pain-relieving aspects of this euphoria are produced by endocannabinoids and the ECS (Fuss J, Steinle J, Bindila L, Auer MK, Kirchherr H, Lutz B, Gass P. 2015).
The ECS and Peak Muscle Performance
Phytocannabinoids, including those found in cannabidiol (CBD) performance products, improve the effectiveness of endocannabinoid action on the ECS during rest and recovery after training for peak muscle performance. Use a CBD performance product daily for optimum influence on the Endocannabinoid system as it responds to your body’s needs.
The ECS targets relief to inflamed muscles and other bodily systems in response to pain, inflammation, and homeostasis signals. Research has shown that the ECS provides measurable results in regulating the body’s inflammatory responses, supporting learning, memory, and emotional processing in the brain, beneficial sleep, modulating the body’s temperature control system, influencing pain control, and aiding in immune responses, all critical components of a successful training regime. Stimulating the ECS and supporting your training with CBD wellness products may maximize your efforts at peak athletic performance
CBD as a Solution for Stress That Harms Athletic Performance
Take an intentional approach to support muscles and emotions as you seek peak performance. Add high-quality CBD wellness products to any pre-exercise preparation, keep CBD on hand for mid-exercise strain or exertion relief, and prioritize full-spectrum CBD in post-exercise recuperation and emotional regulation.
Effectively coping with stress, internal or external pressure to achieve results, and managing both short and long-term motivation all factor into athletic performance (Kopp A, Jekauc D 2018). Emotions impact every area of our lives and are not compartmentalized during training. Our emotions inform our perceptions, understanding, nervous system function, motivation, behavior, and how we move, feel, and make decisions (Kopp A, Jekauc D 2018).
The psychological and social components of sports including handling the pressure, interacting with a team, an opponent, or coaches and trainers, combined with the rigors of training also influence performance. These relationships tap into our social skills, stress management techniques, and how we handle our own moods and emotions. Support the social aspects of athletics with a CBD performance product.
Top Athletes Know the Secrets of CBD
Injuries, mistakes in competition or training, disappointments, and outside emotional challenges impact performance. Full-spectrum hemp products containing cannabidiol (CBD) and other cannabinoids can support recovery from pain and inflammation and impact the psychological stress associated with peak athletic performance.
Why Choose Ahya Full-Spectrum (CBD) Products
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