Cannabis
Athletes testify: Cannabis helps improve performance
Surprisingly, studies suggest that cannabis may actually help with athletic activity, and professional athletes admit that cannabis even helps improve performance.
So should you consume cannabis before or while exercising?
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Cannabis
Tuesday, 07 December 2021, 08:54 Updated: 09:05
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The common opinion among the public is that cannabis use causes laziness.
Typically, cannabis consumers are portrayed in movies and series, for example, as "stalwarts" who spend most of their time idle.
But is this stereotype no longer relevant?
Famous sports enthusiasts and professional athletes have already admitted to using cannabis as a factor that helps them get motivated, and studies suggest that cannabis use may make exercise more effective and enjoyable.
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A study that examined data from 20,745 Americans, from their teens to their thirties, between 1994 and 2018, found that regular cannabis users tend to be more physically active.
Contrary to the prevailing stigma, the study did not find a significant link between cannabis use and reducing or not exercising, and according to the results, cannabis consumers, including the "heavy ones" among them, actually exercised more.
The lead researcher in the study, an expert in health and policy management at the University of Miami Prof. Michael French, said that "according to the surveys we conducted, marijuana users have shown that they are definitely not avoiding exercise."
One can part with the stigma.
Woman doing fitness (Photo: ShutterStock)
Another 2019 study by the University of Colorado's expert in social psychology and neuroscience, Prof. Angela Bryan, surveyed over 600 adult cannabis users living in states where cannabis is legal, found that slightly more than 80 percent of them support cannabis use before, during Or after exercise. The interesting statistic that emerged in the study indicated that those who performed sports activities during or shortly after using cannabis, reported that they spent more time in training, compared to those who used cannabis separately from physical activity.
Professor Brian's study also found that some people who combined cannabis use with exercise did so because cannabis improved their enjoyment of the activity. "Cannabis does not make you faster, stronger or better," Prof Brian explained, "but it can certainly make the activity more enjoyable, and unsurprisingly, people who enjoy exercise may exercise more."
Makes training more enjoyable. A woman rolling a joint (Photo: Giphy)
This very claim is also raised in a new book called "Running High" by journalist Josiah Hesse covering the field of cannabis. After interviewing athletes, researchers and experts, Hess presents in his book a belief that cannabis may indeed make exercise more enjoyable, and thus can help maintain motivation for training. According to him, some of the most successful athletes in the world are people who like to move their bodies often with a little help from THC, the psychoactive substance in the cannabis plant, to enhance the good atmosphere.
"People have a negative image about sports and they see it as a chore," Hess explained to Insider magazine, in an interview on the occasion of the publication of his book. "Cannabis helps sports in that the psychoactive ingredient, THC, is chemically similar to natural compounds the body produces during exercise. Proper use of cannabis may enhance the benefits of training, while relieving side effects such as fatigue or pain, as felt at the end of training."
However, he says, cannabis will not immediately make you an athlete.
"The potential to become an athlete lies in increasing the enjoyment of exercise. The more positive the experience of exercise was, the greater the evidence that the chances of training again are greater."
Remnants of cannabis were found in her body.
Carrie Richardson (Photo: GettyImages, Jonathan Ferrey)
In recent years there has been increasing evidence of athletes using cannabis, whether as part of their life routine, or for use in improving performance.
Ronny O'Sullivan for example, the famous professional English snooker player, claimed that cannabis improved his performance.
Particularly memorable are sports names like the fastest sprinter in the world, the Jamaican Usain Bolt, the decorated American swimmer Michael Phelps, famous NBA players and more, who testified that they consumed cannabis, which did not stop them from becoming the biggest in the world in their field.
Following the expansion of cannabis use among athletes, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) announced in September that in 2022 it would consider removing cannabis from the list of banned substances so that athletes with THC residues in their bodies would not be disqualified from competing in international sports competitions.
The agency's announcement came about two months after the case of 21-year-old American runner Shaky Richardson, who was expelled from the Olympics following a routine examination of her, in which the remains of cannabis were found in her body.
Her dismissal sparked a widespread wave of protests, in which over 400,000 people signed a petition within a few days to allow her to compete, including professional athletes such as football star Patrick Mehomes and former NBA star Dwayne Wade.
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