Back in the 70’s if you smoked marijuana you were thought of as a lost hippie with no direction in life (literally). The plant was recognized as a schedule 1 drug (substances, or chemicals are defined as drugs with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse) and had no recognized medical uses. But the opposite can be said about marijuana today, it has become mainstream with several countries legalizing its usage. An increasing number of athletes are using marijuana as a training and recovery aid after long grueling training sessions and matches.
Anecdotes from athletes and recreational users claim that weed is the best substance to ease anxiety, pain and improve focus during workouts (I’m one of those but more on that later). But others say the opposite, stating that it kills the motivation to train and instead increases the urge to munch on a packet of chips. So, which one is it? Does weed actually improve your performance during exercise or does it do the exact opposite? Let’s first understand what happens to your body after the consumption of marijuana.
The effect on your body after you consume marijuana
Marijuana contains two active compounds, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD). THC is thought to be responsible for the psychoactive effects obtained when consuming the plant (in other words, the ‘high’ sensation) while CBD is responsible for the non-psychoactive effects. To fully understand the effects of these two compounds one must first know about the CB1 receptor.
When you are sober, your CB1 receptor is affected by a neurotransmitter called Anandamide which is responsible for the generation of pleasure, motivation and feeding behavior. Certain activities such as running or watching a motivational video leads to the release of Anandamide which gives off that ‘high’ feeling. THC works similarly to the Anandamide receptor but at a much-elevated level therefor causing you to feel high. However, CBD does not have the same effect but instead has other effects such as lowering anxiety, decreasing inflammation and improving sleep. One study completed in 2011 had a group of people with social anxiety disorder asked to speak in front of an audience. Some were given CBD, the others were given a placebo. Those that were given CBD reported a decrease in their anxiety.
How does it affect your training?
Back in University I would get stoned out of my mind before every training session, I would get into the gym and start starring at everything and everyone like a total weirdo! After about 20 minutes everything would be back to normal and I would have the best sessions one could ever imagine. I often wondered why this was the case, how could I be so slow and confused to being so strong, focused and motivated in such a short space of time? I did my research and found out that high levels of THC in your system leads to a substantial reduction of blood flow to the temporal lobe, an area important for focused tasks, and this reduced blood flow correlates with impaired performance which explains why I felt so slow. BUT when one takes in appropriate amounts of THC, studies have shown that people are able to perform tasks at the same or better efficiency as they would when sober. Which explains why, after 20 minutes, I would be more focused and have a kick-ass workout.
Therefore, an endurance athlete may benefit from the pain-numbing effects of marijuana to get through a tough training session, and a bodybuilder who is using THC in moderated doses may be able to experience a combination of pain-killing, creativity and focus. But including marijuana in high amounts (more then 4 pulls of a joint) into a routine requiring complicated movements such as CrossFit is a death wish.
What about your weight…. does weed make you fat?
If you think weed makes you fat then I’ve got two words for you, Wiz Khalifa! I don’t think there is a person out there who smokes more than him and he is shredded. But in truth, stoners come in all shapes and sizes so it would be difficult to conclude whether weed is responsible for weight gain or not. What I can conclude is this, what you eat when you’re high will certainly affect your weight. When you get the munchies the last thing you want to do is eat a grilled chicken fillet with broccoli especially when we have food apps such as Uber Eats on our phones. The solution to this is to simply meal prep and be cognizant of what you are putting into your body. Having a chicken fillet may not be the best tasting food to have when you’re high but it will certainly have a positive effect on your weight compared to having chicken wings.
Summary
Like any other supplement, tea, herb or pill, it all depends on how you use it. Too much of it and it may be detrimental on your overall performance, too little of it and you may not even feel the effect. Most studies have shown the benefits of marijuana come from CBD and not THC but unfortunately most people get their strain from the street which contains high levels of THC and very little or no levels of CBD.
If you’re one of those then I would not recommend smoking before performing complex tasks such as Olympic lifting or playing a team sport but you probably don’t need to worry too much about taking a pre-lift or pre-run puff if you have normal cortisol levels, experienced and you find your motivation and performance remains intact or improves.
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