Did you know that 1 in 7 Americans uses CBD oil?
CBD is the talk of the town when it comes to broad-spectrum symptom relief, and it’s only growing. In fact, the cannabis industry is only predicted to explode in the coming years.
One connection is slowly being unraveled and researched: the hemp CBD benefits for athletes. Some athletes hesitate when they think about adding a cannabis supplement to their routine. After all, many athletes have been banned from competition after testing positive for THC so why take the risk?
However, CBD is not illegal and therefore not tested for. In addition, its wide array of performance-enhancing benefits make it essential for every serious competitor.
To learn more about the benefits of CBD for athletes and why you should add it to your routine, read on!
The Endocannabinoid System
Before getting into the nitty-gritty of how CBD can boost your performance on the pitch or the track, it’s worth understanding the endocannabinoid system (ECS). The ECS is a complex network of your body’s cannabinoid receptors and the hormones, enzymes, and neurotransmitters they produce. Essentially, it’s just a name for the way cannabis affects your central nervous system.
Your central nervous system uses hormones and neurotransmitters to control your sleep cycle, appetite, pain and inflammation, body temperature, fear, and immune response. Essentially, they manage your whole body and the sensations it registers.
If your enzymes and neurotransmitters are out of whack, you’ll find yourself anxious, unable to sleep, fatigued, depressed, or in constant pain. CBD modulates your cannabinoid receptors and helps them regulate the cocktail of enzymes in your body. So, if you’re experiencing fear due to a lack or overabundance of a specific neurotransmitter, CBD uses the ECS to bring your nervous system back into function.
Pain and Inflammation
One of the main reasons athletes take CBD is due to the CBD oil benefits for pain.
Whether you’re a competitive athlete or a weekend warrior, you probably have a few aches and pains. It’s important to remember that, despite all its benefits, exercise is a form of stress. It’s hard on your body! That’s why it’s so important to include rest days into your routine.
But, if you’re an athlete with a strict program, you might not have the luxury of taking a rest day every time something hurts. Then you’d be resting more than you’re working! CBD oil can help make your body a well-oiled machine again.
CBD binds to your brain’s pain and inflammation receptors and can help mitigate these effects on your body. In addition, this extract can help prevent overuse injuries, sprains, strains, and muscle tears.
In addition, after long stretches of training, you probably have some level of chronic inflammation. This can lead to neuropathic pain and arthritis down the line. Topical and edible CBD can relieve this inflammation, making it a natural and more effective version of OTC painkillers.
Pre-Workout Boost
CBD has great benefits for recovery and post-workout relief. But, it can also give you the pre-workout boost you need to make it through a hard day of training.
CBD has been shown to improve focus and concentration during training. Many athletes who take CBD before working out say they’re more able to “get in the zone” and focus on the present rather than being swept up in the chatter of their minds. This can prove very helpful if you’re trying to focus on your technique or stay present during a long run.
There is also some evidence that CBD can reduce muscle fatigue and soreness if taken before a workout, but it’s not exactly known how this mechanism works.
Pre-Competition Jitters
It’s the week before a competition. Your body is sore from the training you’ve put it through.
You’re nervous. You can’t sleep. You can’t eat.
Sound familiar? CBD can help with all these symptoms by regulating your nervous system.
Your body registers stress and uses this to dial you into a fight or flight response. Your body doesn’t know that you’re just getting ready to run a 10k, it thinks this is life or death! So it will divert energy away from the digestive system and it will pump you with adrenaline making you feel jittery and unable to sleep.
CBD can help regulate these hormone messages. It will help restore your digestive function, your sleep cycle, and your anxiety levels so you can feel better and relax before your big day.
Is CBD Legal?
When you consider all the CBD oil uses and benefits, it’s hard to imagine not giving it a try. It has some serious potential to boost your performance during competition and all the hard training in between. But, many people find themselves wondering about the legality.
Unlike THC, which is a controlled substance, CBD isn’t tested for and is legal in all competitions.
However, CBD production isn’t regulated. As a result, some CBD products are less than pure and include a touch of THC, which puts your drug test results at risk. As a result, it’s essential you get only quality CBD products, such as from this CBD wholesale company.
Experience the Hemp CBD Benefits for Yourself
Now that you understand a bit more about the hemp CBD benefits, you can see it’s essential for practically every athlete on the planet. At the very least, it’s worth a try to see how it works for you. After your first few CBD-boosted training sessions, we’re sure you’ll be a convert.
If you enjoyed learning about the benefits of CBD oil, we have lots of similar content on our blog. Check it out for more!
