Share
Pin
Tweet
Share

 CBD oil has skyrocketed in popularity over the last few years. CBD oil (made from the chemical compound ‘cannabidiol’ from the cannabis family) is now used by huge amounts of people across the world for a whole range of different conditions, from chronic pain to anxiety to MS. And it’s even thought to help with post-workout recovery. So if you’re an athlete looking for a recovery aid, could this be the answer for you?

In this post, we’ll be looking into whether CBD oil can help with workout recovery, and exactly how it can help.

CBD oil can ease muscle inflammation

CBD oil is thought to help with workout recovery because of its anti-inflammatory properties, which can reduce muscle inflammation and fatigue post-workout.

Regardless of whether you’re doing a quirky aerial yoga class or underwater spin session, it’s all too easy to feel sore and achy the next day after a training session or workout, especially if you’ve really pushed yourself. This painful, stiff feeling is down to microscopic damage done to muscle fibres during your workout — resulting in tiny tears in your muscles, and inflammation.

This is known as DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness), and while it is a sign that your fitness is improving, it can last for up to five days, disrupting your fitness plan.

CBD oil can help with this muscle inflammation and soreness, usually by being rubbed onto the affected areas in the form of a CBD-infused balm or lotion, which allows muscles to heal. CBD oil is even thought to help with joint inflammation — perfect if you’re a runner struggling with joint aches or had a heavy lift day in the gym.

More scientific research on CBD’s effect on muscle inflammation needs to be done, but many athletes have noticed a reduction in their muscle inflammation post-workout, as well as more rapid recovery from DOMs.

Reducing downtime between workouts

As well as easing muscle inflammation, CBD oil is also thought to reduce downtime between workouts — which is great if you’re sticking to a tight training schedule or have an important competition lined up.

That’s because CBD can accelerate recovery by decreasing inflammation and pain. And by reducing any soreness that might prevent you from training, you can get started again.

This wonder chemical is also thought to promote healthy cell homeostasis. For the non-science buffs, that means the stable internal environment in your body — which you need to run as smoothly as possible to be at the top of your game.

So if you want to get your body up and running at full capacity after an intense training session, then CBD could be the answer.

CBD can encourage muscle growth and regeneration

CBD can also speed up your body’s natural recovery time between workouts by encouraging muscle growth and regeneration.

When you do an intense training session, your body naturally produces cortisol — the hormone responsible for stress. As well as causing stress, cortisol can also reduce protein synthesis and inhibit muscle growth, which can hinder your fitness plan.

Luckily, CBD regulates how much cortisol is released by your body (which is why is it used by many people for stress or anxiety-related conditions). By reducing this amount of cortisol, CBD stops your body’s bad post-workout habits, such as inhibiting muscle regeneration (your body repairing itself) and increasing fat storage. Result.

Improving sleep quality and quantity

With any training plan, it’s important to balance working out with rest days — you can’t spend three hours in the gym every day of the week!

Sleep gives your body the chance to repair muscles and refuel energy levels. Having a good amount of high-quality sleep plays a major role in athletic performance — not getting your eight hours of kip can be detrimental when it comes to how your body performs and can impact competition results.

Using CBD products can help to aid sleep and regulate our sleeping patterns (it is often used as a treatment for sleeping disorders such as insomnia). By using CBD, you can give your body the quality sleep that it needs between workouts — which will help you to feel refreshed and energised for your next workout.

As you can see, there are four pretty solid reasons why CBD oil can help with workout recovery. Of course, further research needs to be carried out into all of cannabidiol’s uses — but current scientific studies show that CBD has many different health benefits, with very few (if any) side effects).

Adding CBD into your fitness regime could be the answer to speeding up recovery, easing DOMs and even improving your performance.