Athletes find CBD useful in many ways. Used in oil form before training it can boost performance. However, after exercise, CBD can also be used for regeneration. The result is that CBD is well on its way to becoming an essential supplement for athletes.
Anyone who has ever trained seriously for endurance sports knows that it is always exhausting. Your muscles are being used. Pain is the result. It also has an effect on your immune system. Even if you’re not training for your next Iron Man volunteer, good form means living with the pain.
Now imagine that you are a professional athlete. Your job is to achieve top athletic performance and push yourself to the limit. No matter how little stress the sport produces, you’re paying for it. If you specialize in a full body contact sport, the situation is a little different again. American football players are the best example of this. Professional members of the NFL (National Football League), learn to live with pain.
How they deal with it is another matter. In such an environment, substance abuse plays an important role. Steroids are one thing, the use of opiates is another. This is especially true in this case, as opiates are the most commonly used painkillers in the United States to treat this persistent pain. And because of the war on drugs, marijuana is tested for in every drug test. Detected in body fluids, there are severe penalties.
So what is the reality today? Athletes from every sport around the world are speaking out against the
anti-cannabis attitude in sport. What is even more amazing is that here for the first time effective action is to be taken. The National Football League is the current venue for this debate. What is even more encouraging is that there are already signs of change. There are even appointments being made.
The problem
Not only is it easier to become addicted to drugs. It is easy to overdose on opiates. In addition, users have difficulty distinguishing the difference between a palliative and lethal dose and thus need help. For this reason, footballers, especially reformed footballers, are fighting for cannabis to be included in the list of permitted drugs. This also includes THC. Nevertheless, in this case, CBD is mainly used.
And now comes the interesting part of the NFL’s cannabis revolt. Many sports organizations are now looking at the effects of cannabis on athletic performance. For now, it is still banned and athletes are being tested. This isn’t just limited to the consumption of THC. the NFL’s policy actually affects athletes who only use high CBD tinctures on their skin to treat muscle pain but are still disqualified from “substance abuse”. This is a big issue for the NFL three years before contract renegotiations – for players and team owners. It is basically believed that the league will eliminate the strict prohibition of marijuana by then. This could have a domino effect on the regulation of other sporting organizations. This includes all sorts of sports, from the Olympics and football to competitive long-distance running and bicycle racing.
Perhaps we are facing a revolution. The CBD found in cannabis is about to break new ground. It is no longer “exclusively” for patients.
What are the benefits of CBD for athletes?
There are many answers to this question.
The first is about health and well-being rather than illness and injury. When you exercise, your body automatically produces various hormones. The ones in question are endorphins. Your body also produces a substance called amphetamine. This is a neurotransmitter, also known as the “happiness molecule”. Anandamide is also a type of endorphin. In other words, it is a “natural” cannabinoid that is produced by the body.
The result is that cannnabinoids bind particularly well to our receptors. Of course, this also applies to CBD. When anandamide docks with the cannabinoid receptors, it produces a sedative effect. However, for people with naturally high levels of anandamide, it may not be as effective. However, for people with low levels of anandamide and those who need an extra boost of strength (athletes), CBD produces unprecedented results.
CBD binds to the TRPV-1 receptor. This receptor is responsible for the sensation of pain, inflammation and regulation of body temperature. It also stimulates the adenosine receptor and thus plays an important role in cardiovascular function and blood circulation.
Many athletes find that CBD can put them in a kind of “flow” during exercise. When applied to the skin after exercise, it makes a decisive contribution to recovery.
Although CBD does not work in the same way as
THC, it does have a special effect. Like other cannabinoids, it seems to help our bodies regenerate. It also helps us to achieve “homeostasis”.
INTEGRATION OF CBD IN A SYSTEM
For these reasons, many athletes are concerned with how to incorporate CBD into their daily routine. Of course, this does not only apply to professional athletes. There are plenty of easy options that require nothing more than a little organization and the necessary ingredients.
CBD OIL
Either you decide to take
pure CBD oil, or you mix it with your food or in a smoothie. In particular, runners find that taking CBD drops before, during, and after a run makes the whole experience even more rewarding. Mixing it with yogurt or juice will prolong and enhance the effect.
CBD CREAM
After the athletic endeavour is over, athletes also resort to CBD. When applied externally to sore muscles, many athletes report a great pain-relieving effect. Some use the oil for this, while others use specially developed creams and lotions.