Performance and Feeling Well

Endurance athletes push their bodies to the edge daily, even hourly. Those who train for a big event, like a marathon or an Iron Man race, will log nearly as many hours in training each week as some people work in a week. They know what it means to be so dedicated that the day begins well before the sun comes up. Many of these athletes are out of the house and running, riding a bike, swimming, or weight lifting several hours before the rest of us get out of bed.

 

Then they go to work like everyone else, unless they are lucky enough to be a professional athlete and get paid to do their training. Some endurance athletes who are not professional paid athletes will also squeeze in a short bike ride on their lunch break. Some athletes have an evening workout routine that is also part of their day. Typically, they are in bed early and they sacrifice going out with friends and their social life isn’t exactly overflowing. On the other hand, some athletes work very hard but they enjoy it and it is more of a hobby to them.

 

In other words, these men and women understand all about sacrifice and dedication. They are careful what they put in their bodies too. All that work would go down the drain if they weren’t taking care of the engine that keeps them moving. Athletes on strict workout and nutrition regimen know exactly how many calories that are consuming and even keep track of macronutrients to ensure they get enough protein to build muscle, and carbs and fats for energy.

 

When it comes to medications and pain relievers, and they know a lot about pain, these athletes are just as careful. A surprising amount of endurance athletes are vegetarians because it maintains their health well without raising cholesterol levels or adding additional fat to the diet. In other words, they tend to live very balanced lives with organic foods when possible and without chemicals in their bodies.

 

Athletes who compete professionally or semi-professionally may also be subjected to drug tests, so they are always concerned with the things that go into their bodies. Yet, they can feel the stress of all those workouts and stress related injuries. Running can take a toll on the feet, ankles, and the knees.

 

Weightlifting is meant to cause muscle tears to the tiny fibers of the muscle tissue. When the body repairs itself, it builds the tissue back, better and stronger. This is how muscles grow. The process can be painful, but too much work can also cause injury. Sprained muscles, tears and torn ligaments can cause serious injury and pain. In fact, severe tears can require surgery to repair. Athletes want to avoid these types of injury at all cost. CBD can help them relax and still be aware of the messages their body is sending them. Knowing when to quit and heal is essential.

 

For the day to day body hurts that are a normal part of working out, the endurance athlete may find themselves seeking some relief to be able to keep training at their current level. Many endurance athletes are discovering CBD products. Using CBD oil makes sense to athletes. For one thing, it isn’t something that is going to trigger a positive on a drug test. The other reasons all boil down to the fact that CBD oil is legal, safe, and natural. Using CBD for pain is as natural of an alternative as you can possibly get.

 

Also, as established already, endurance athletes are used to controlling every aspect of their lives. They’ve got meal plans, training plans, calendars and books with records of their training sessions and events coming up. They like to control things. CBD gives them the opportunity to control what is going in them and the quantity.

 

When it comes to how to use CBD oil, there really is no wrong or right, just what works best for you. There is no doctor telling you how much to use or even how often to use it. Athletes can start with a small dose and add to that as they see necessary. This gives them total control over their recovery process and keeps them in tune with their body. Endurance athletes are very in tune with their bodies and don’t want to ever be numb completely to pain.

 

They understand that pain is the body communicating an issue. They just want to take the edge off that pain, so they can continue to perform and reduce their schedule when they need to. CBD can allow them to continue training even if they must take things a little slower as they heal. Using a pain pill or narcotic for pain would dull the pain to the point that they would risk losing that connection with their body. This is extremely dangerous for them. Dulling pain too much for an athlete can cause them to injure themselves far worse. That could lead to career-ending issues and simply not worth the risk to them.

 

Training Under the Influence

When athletes use CBD for stress, whether due to nerves before an event or due to chaos and stress of their training schedules which are so strict, they can relax more, and this enhances performance. When heart rate is reduced, for example, the athlete can endure prolonged exposure to the task at hand, be it running or swimming. Reduced heartrate and breathing rate are both big benefits to endurance.

 

Relaxing is also important to being able to sleep and being well rested is essential for training. Regardless of eating well and keeping to training schedules, if the body isn’t being adequately rested, it will stop responding to training and begin to become worn-out.

 

CBD also is known to be a natural mood enhancer, and this will help maintain a healthy outlook when it comes to training. Endurance athletes have some of the most rigid training schedules of any other performance athletes. It is easy to get depressed and moody when you are living in such a pre-planned routine. CBD for athletes is a great way to keep the mood good which keeps the motivation high. Keeping yourself motivated is the biggest challenge to training. It takes a lot of fortitude to convince yourself to get out of bed at 4am for a workout before work.

 

 

CBD uses include topical application to sore muscles. There are creams made with CBD oil that can penetrate muscles and joints to help relieve soreness directly to the afflicted area. Oral drops or gel capsules of CBD oil are available to take as a supplement. These typically take fifteen minutes to two hours to work. Drops under the tongue will begin working within fifteen minutes. Oral doses taken with food will take the longest to begin working in your system. Taking your oral CBD oil on an empty stomach will have it working between twenty minutes and half an hour.

 

CBD oil that is inhaled, through vaping, begins working in the body most quickly. This is a specially designed oil distributed exclusively for vaping and you’ll need a vaping pen if this is how you choose to use CBD oil. If you are in pain, this is the quickest way to feel relief. There are many arguments over the vaping of oil into the lungs and most athletes choose not to go that route.

 

There are many choices when it comes to how to use CBD oil, but the benefits are fantastic regardless of the way you choose. Nutritionally, CBD oil is a wonderful supplement. For athletes who are attempting to stay in excellent condition, CBD oil for athletes is a perfect potion. CBD contains omega oils. CBD oil taken post-workout has many additional benefits, such as reducing soreness,

 

CBD has been shown to reduce cortisol levels which helps athletes work harder during practice sessions and workouts. Cortisol levels that are reduced also can help the average person lose that middle belly fat that they’ve been hanging onto with few results. CBD can help you lose it.

 

Cortisol also has an impact on blood sugar and stress levels. By reducing these things, endurance and performance are naturally enhanced. This is also highly beneficial for those who already know they have issues with blood sugar. Taken as nothing more than a supplement, CBD may have positive benefits for those who have issues with maintaining blood sugar levels. This is not a cure for diabetes, but it may have use as an aid in keeping sugar levels manageable.

It should also be noted that CBD oil used to be on the list of drugs that could not be taken by The World Anti-Doping Agency. That ban was lifted in 2017, due to more research and education about the use of CBD oil for athletes. Athletes will suffer no consequences for using CBD before or after events. CBD will not cause a positive drug test result for athletes or for anyone else who should happen to use CBD for the amazing health benefits.

Using it as a recovery treatment, just like the protein recovery drinks, to aid in the recovery of muscles after a hard workout, has been shown to have real benefits. Yoga studios are opening all around the United States that have vaping during the class to encourage relaxation and focus. The uses of CBD are nearly endless, and the list continues to grow as more and more people experiment with it in their personal routines. Some athletes like using CBD prior to workouts and others prefer it as a recovery aid. The choice is up to you and the results that you see.

 

CBD Over Medicine

One big plus of using CBD oil for athletes is that there is no doctor visit or prescription required. Anyone can purchase CBD oil from shops or even online. There are hundreds of websites dedicated to CBD products. All you must do is look, learn about the types of products and make your choices.

 

CBD oil is not addictive in any way. You may get used to how good you feel, but it certainly isn’t an addictive drug that cause withdrawals. You can take it as needed or on a regular basis every day. Those who suffer from anxiety attacks, for example, can take CBD when an attack is coming on. Within fifteen minutes (orally) they will be feeling better. People with anxiety or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or more likely to vape their oil for faster absorption and relief.

 

You don’t need insurance or a pharmacy to get CBD oil. In fact, it is relatively affordable for even the lowest budget. It can replace much more costly prescribed medications, especially for those who have no insurance. It stands to reason that some people may get relief from CBD oil when they cannot afford more addictive medications that have to be prescribed.

 

Because of the broad spectrum of uses, CBD oil for stress, anxiety, migraines, stomach upset, ADHD, and more, CBD can replace a multitude of medications in that bathroom medicine cabinet. You also don’t have to worry if the kids get into it. It can’t harm them. You can’t overdose. You won’t ever be addicted to it. You don’t need permission to have it or take it. No one has to prescribe it. You just take it and decide if it works for you. You may need to play with the dose and the milligrams of your dose, but that is all left up to you because it isn’t harmful to you in any way. Take what you need, it’s that simple.

 

Not Just for Athletes

CBD oil isn’t just for athletes. CBD is for everybody. Your body, the human body, is built with receptors called cannabinoid receptors that are made to use cannabinoids for your body. The hemp plant, which is where CBD comes from, has been around for at least ten thousand years. That’s just what we know for certain. It could have been around for as long as mankind has walked the earth, perhaps even longer?

 

The fact that you have receptors in your body specifically to absorb the CBD is a clear sign that it is here and meant for us to use. CBD seems to have similar effects on humans as serotonin does. Serotonin also has receptors, but serotonin is made within the body. Cannabinoids come from outside the body.  The work in similar fashion in the body and every human on earth could benefit from using CBD oil for one reason or another.

 

Even if you are just hoping to stabilize your mood, CBD might be your answer. We live stressful lives and CBD has been proven to help relieve that stress. It works, and it is legal. There’s no reason why anyone should suffer through any sort of pain or discomfort when CBD oil can help you with that discomfort.

 

A short list of things that CBD oil is currently used for by people all around the world:

• Migraines
• ADHD/ADD
• Stress
• Curbing hunger
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
• Nausea
• Cramps associated with PMS
• Anxiety
• Sleep aid

 

More uses are being discovered daily and more research is being conducted as you read this. Some say that CBD uses haven’t fully been unlocked yet and others claim that hemp is the plant that could save the planet. These may be big claims, but all the evidence discovered so far seem to indicate that this is possible. Hemp, which is the plant that CBD is derived from, is a renewable resource that can be used for making clothing textiles, thread, paper and much more. 

 

The buds of the hemp plant are what many know as marijuana but the strains for CBD use and textile use come from industrial use hemp, which is far different than the varieties that are grown for marijuana. Marijuana is now legal in many states, for medicinal purposes. Some states also allow for personal, recreational use marijuana. The industry for both types of hemp plants is growing exponentially.

 

The CBD explosion has resulted in products flooding the market and variations of them that were never though of before. For example, flavored oils for oral use are now available. CBD oil with other supplements added in liquid form are available so that you can take your vitamins and CBD oil all in one dose. For those who are wanted a perfect supplement, things like this are coming along that make it closer to perfect every day.

 

Even if you have some sort of chronic issue that wasn’t listed, consider using CBD oil to see if it won’t help you. You have a lot to potentially gain and nothing at all to lose, except perhaps pain or discomfort. Just because no one has used CBD for whatever issue you want to use it for, doesn’t mean that it won’t work wonders. It’s fine to experiment because the product is natural. You’ll have the benefits of calm and soothing effects, if nothing else.

 

Sources:

• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4604171/
• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3079847/
• https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/cannabidiol-cbd-what-we-know-and-what-we-dont-2018082414476