5 Benefits of CBD for Athletic Recovery & Maintaining Your Fitness

Athletes do not have it easy. They need to stick to their fitness regimens by training almost on a daily basis, eating a healthy, nutritious diet, and gettin plenty of high-quality sleep. Therefore, it is only natural that they often look for different ways to aid recovery and boost their athletic performance, with CBD being an increasingly popular solution.

Cannabidiol, or CBD, is a natural compound found in cannabis plants which contains little to no THC and does not cause intoxication or give users the “high” associated with cannabis use.  Research suggests that it can be quite efficient in reducing inflammation, muscle soreness and relieving pain – issues that tend to hold back many athletes. CBD is also useful for stress relief, aiding relaxation, and improving sleep, which are all crucial components of staying fit.

This article goes deeper into the subject of CBD and its benefits for athletic recovery, as well as how it can help athletes improve their performance. Continue reading below for more interesting details. 

CBD Encourages Better Sleep

While exact hours can vary from person to person or largely depend on what they train in particular, it’s still true that many athletes tend to work out later in the day, which can then make it quite difficult to fall asleep at night. Other reasons behind sleep problems in athletes include anxiety connected to upcoming important games or their overall athletic performance. On top of that, high amounts of intensive exercise can prevent the body from resting and recovering due to changes in its temperature or dehydration after workouts.

CBD can help athletes deal with the issues that contribute to lower sleep quality or sleep deprivation, which include pain, anxiety, and inflammation. That’s because it acts on the endocannabinoid system of the body which helps regulate your circadian rhythm – the internal clock that regulates sleep and wakefulness. You might start taking a CBD gummy for sleep and see how it works for you or explore other CBD-infused products such as tinctures, softgels, or sprays.

CBD Can Help You Relax

Stress and anxiety can not only have a highly disrupting effect on your daily life and sleep patterns, but they can also greatly affect your ability to perform as an athlete. These issues can then reduce your motivation or even workout endurance, so it’s important to address them and act as soon as possible. Hence, if you’re living an active lifestyle and have to often deal with stress, pressure, or general anxiety, you may benefit from relaxing and stress-relieving properties of CBD.

The popularity of CBD as a relaxation aid continues to grow with millions of people already using it for its anxiolytic and anti-anxiety properties. For best relaxing results, you can try taking CBD under your tongue in the form of drops, choose CBD edibles, or even try out CBD vapes. All of these methods should allow you to feel more relaxed.

CBD Reduces Inflammation

Many athletes develop inflammation due to injuries resulting from muscle overuse or overtraining. While inflammation is a natural part of the immune system’s response to injury or infection, when it goes on for an extended amount of time, it can lead to huge levels of discomfort or even cause damage to a healthy tissue. 

Because CBD has been shown to have anti-inflammatory properties, it can help reduce the inflammation and the various uncomfortable symptoms that come with it, ranging from severe swelling to intense pain. There are plenty of products containing CBD for athletes that can be applied topically, such as CBD balms, salves, lotions, or roll-ons, but you can also try to bring the inflammation by taking CBD oil drops or softgels. 

CBD Can Be an Anti-Catabolic Agent

Catabolism is the process that occurs when you’re digesting food and your body breaks down molecules in order to obtain energy. Even though it can be an important mechanism for many athletes, it might cause some issues for those who practise sports that focus on muscular growth, such as bodybuilding or weightlifting. Because they need to gain lots of muscle mass and keep their bodies strong, they have to ensure that this process doesn’t go beyond a certain point for them, as uncontrolled catabolism can cause various health issues.

If you want to stay safe and keep your body weight at a desired level, you can try using CBD which, according to the research, can reduce the breakdown of lean muscle tissue. Therefore, taking CBD supplements can help you maintain muscle mass, strengthen your immune system, and reduce the effects of overtraining such as inflammation or difficulty sleeping.

CBD Improves Athletic Performance

While it’s impossible to tell whether CBD could be an ultimate answer to all the questions you have about improving your athletic performance, it’s been shown to have the ability to benefit athletes. For instance, CBD may increase your endurance and strength as well as enhance mental functions such as concentration, focus, and memory.

On its own, CBD alone may not be enough to significantly improve your performance, but it certainly can help you recover from injuries faster and reduce pain, anxiety, or inflammation connected with a strict workout regimen or important events such as games and competitions. Using CBD can be a good way to ensure that you perform at the top of your abilities when the big day arrives.

In Conclusion

Being an athlete is not an easy task that requires plenty of dedication, hard work, and sacrifices. Whether you play football for fun or compete in marathons to win medals, intense exercise can wear down your body, making muscle soreness and injuries seem like an inseparable part of your life. 

Luckily, things don’t have to be this way, as there are plenty of ways to alleviate different conditions you’re dealing with and improve your performance, with CBD being one of the most interesting solutions. 

CBD is versatile and comes in many forms, from topicals, to oil, edibles, or softgels. It can be used to help you relax or fall asleep easier after an intense workout session. CBD can also help reduce inflammation, help you stay on top of your abilities, or work as an anti-catabolic agent if your workouts are focused around bodybuilding and weightlifting.