CBD is a vital component of any holistic lifestyle. If you’re looking to improve your wellness and support your fitness, then you can’t overlook the power of CBD. Since the World Anti-Doping Agency removed the ban on CBD, professionals around the world have begun turning to CBD as a support for their workout and wellbeing. CBD helps raise endurance levels while letting you reach the optimal state of metabolism and recovery. Let’s take a closer look at working with CBD. We’ll be showing you exactly how CBD supports muscle gain and lets you push yourself harder with better all-around benefits.
Cortisol – the stress hormone’s effect on muscle performance
Athletes and anyone who hopes to improve their muscle mass and muscle tone need to lower the levels of catabolic hormones as low as possible. This is due to the way that they break down muscle tissue. Cortisol is a catabolic hormone and a secretion of the adrenal gland. At a healthy concentration, cortisol helps our body flush toxins, assisting the liver while also regulating immune function and affecting many inflammatory processes. Too much cortisol indicates high stress. Physical exertions, such as high-intensity exercise and emotional stress, can lift cortisol to dangerous levels if your levels are out of balance. It causes blood pressure imbalances, poor endurance, increased thirst, weaker muscles, and rapidly fluctuating moods. Fortunately, CBD and its interactions with the endocannabinoid system provide a solution.
CBD’s cortisol regulation
CBD disrupts irregular cortisol production, lowering cortisol to a healthy level. The National Institute of Health in collaboration with the US National Library of Medicine confirmed that subjects supplementing with CBD directly experience a drop in cortisol. This direct anti-catabolic effect is what an athlete needs to raise endurance over time while facilitating optimal performance and muscle growth. The endocannabinoid system’s regulatory effect on catabolic hormones is essential. Unregulated cortisol creates a dramatic spike in physical stress while resulting in a string of unwanted side-effects. As the catabolic hormone count rises, so does blood pressure, while over time bone density drops as well.
Regulated catabolic hormones and your body
CBD stimulates and provides an energy-boosting effect. It keeps your cortisol levels at the right concentration for keeping your salt and water in balance, your metabolism regulated, and inflammation under control. Cortisol even impacts your memory. When cortisol is at the right balance, memory improves. Emotional memory performance within the hippocampus, prefrontal cortex and amygdala are at their best. The enhancement grants better short and long term recall without anxiety or confusion. Confusion, irritability and mood swings occur when you’ve got too much cortisol in your blood. Stamina is the next benefit that keen athletes can expect when supplementing with CBD.
Reach runner’s high easier
What many athletes don’t at first realize is that supplementing with CBD not only makes them perform, but it also enhances stamina. CBD directly stimulates the sought-after “runner’s high”. The typical runner’s high typically takes a long workout of a moderate intensity to reach. You need the stamina to be able to get there before you feel the euphoria and benefit from the calming, pain-free sensation. When athletes use CBD, it becomes much quicker to reach this same effect. Recent research proves that the feeling of a runner’s high is nothing more than a rush of anandamide. This is a compound that is under the direct regulation of the endocannabinoid system. Supplementing with CBD from cannabis indica lets you hit a runner’s high in no time without putting unnecessary strain on your body.
The anti-inflammatory effects of CBD
Another profound effect of CBD is the way that it lowers inflammation. We wall want lower inflammation levels to reach higher levels of performance while at the same time boosting muscle recovery. Diabetes research has also discovered a beneficial connection between CBD, cell growth, heart function, and the metabolism of sugar. CBD helps blood sugar reach a balanced point whereby less insulin is present. This translates to less fat stored, which enables your body to reach an anti-catabolic state which effectively builds more muscle.
Professional athletes & CBD
A study analyzing the performance of a high-performing professional athlete discovered a range of benefits to CBD. Cannabis sativa raised heart rate but also the flow rate of expiration. Breathing was better, and both systolic, and diastolic blood pressure were lower. Athletes also have higher pain thresholds, and their sleep time and recovery are better. The study also noted how relaxation and reduced anxiety also indirectly benefits sports performance. Muscle spasms decrease, and all pain is moderated, which is a massive benefit to exercise.
CBD topicals and sports recovery
When one considers the benefits of CBD, it can be used topically as well. Athletes can use CBD infused creams, ointments, and tinctures to provide instant relief from pain and inflammation. Joint pain, swelling, and general inflammation are effectively lowered when applying a CBD topical. It is so effective that just a few days worth of treatment reduces pain to the point where arthritis discomfort is alleviated. It does wonders for your workout recovery, especially when applied in combination with internal treatment with CBD as well.
Pain mitigation and total performance optimization
Cannabidiol is a globally recognized medication for the management and reduction of pain and inflammation. It acts on all types of inflammation and discomfort, including neuropathic pain, which is typically difficult to treat. It is so effective that it serves as a solution for those who usually find it too painful to begin exercising. This means that CBD is useful as both a pre and post-workout supplement. 80% of everyone that has tried cannabis as a supplement to their routine has found that it helped immensely. With no high, CBD is an effective booster for your workout. Combine it with a safe, proven performance supplement like Testosterone-Enanthate, and you’ll have better gains than you ever imagined.