So, you’ve just finished a great workout. You’re feeling pumped about getting out of bed, dragging your butt to the gym or onto the bike or hitting the trail, and you’ve let those endorphins do their thing. But instead of feeling totally invincible, you discover in a few hours that you’ve got sore muscles, sometimes in places you didn’t even know you had muscles. That post-workout high just got a little lower.
What you just might need is a little CBD.
A Reminder of What CBD Can Do
We’ve talked about this before, but in case you forgot: CBD, which stands for “cannabidiol,” is one of the cannabinoids found in cannabis plants. Cannabinoids are active compounds in the cannabis plant that interact with our body’s endocannabinoid receptors to produce effects, mimicking the body’s own neurotransmitters.
The endocannabinoid system (ECS) is a complex cell-signaling system that plays a role in regulating a wide range of functions and processes, including sleep, mood, appetite, memory, reproduction and fertility. In addition, CBD is known in particular for its anti-inflammatory properties, which is just what your sore muscles are aching to get their hands on.
If It’s Good for You Before, It’s Probably Good for You After
If you’re already taking CBD at night to help you get sleep better, or to help with anxiety or stress, you’re already employing its properties to help you be better prepared before you work out. If you’re well rested and less stressed out, you’re primed to have a better workout.
Here’s what we know happens to your body after a strenuous or new workout routine. That workout can cause microscopic damage to muscle fibers, which then become inflamed. This triggers the body to respond and repair, causing muscle soreness or stiffness. This is known as delayed onset muscle soreness, or DOMS. DOMS doesn’t care how fit you are or how often you work out. It’s an equal-opportunity pain in the…everything.
Several studies have shown that CBD’s anti-inflammatory properties have been highly effective in reducing inflammation in the body, while also helping improve pain and mobility issues. Muscle aches are reduced, while the rate of recovery is accelerated. What CBD cannot do is help your bruised ego recover from a pounding on the court or watching that younger dude do burpees three times faster than you can. CBD can’t help you there.
How You Take Your Post-Workout CBD Is Up to You
Whether you prefer to rub some oil right on your affected muscles or put a few drops in your post-workout smoothie, throw back a quick Green Tea & Honey or Turmeric Ginger shot, enjoy a refreshing/rehydrating Sparkling Elixir or CBD ice-cold tea, it’s all the same. Just pick the CBD level you like, do your stretches and live to get up tomorrow and kick butt all over again instead of being sidelined by aches and pains.
