As a former professional athlete, now in my late 40s, my competitive mentality is still alive and part of my fitness routine. And what I have found as I have gotten older is the importance of recovery and how crucial it is to avoid injuries and ensure maximum performance. And that is why I use CBD as part of my fitness regime. My decision to incorporate CBD is not just based on my personal belief, but it has now been studied with over 11,000 articles published in medical and scientific journals.

I have broken down seven reasons why I have been using CBD to improve my athletic performance and will be discussing three in this article and the next four in the follow up article.

1.CBD Reduces Stress

What is stress? The Oxford Dictionary defines stress as “a state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or demanding circumstances.” And there is plenty of stress in your ability to perform. That is because athletic activities themselves are a form of stress — one that needs to be overcome and adapted to just like anything else.

As an athlete, you have probably already experienced this battle. The best training plan balances work and rest, carefully balancing your nervous system on the fine line between freshness and overtraining.

Consistent daily supplementation with 10-20 milligrams might allow you to break through previous stress-induced limitations…pushing yourself to new limits in the process.

2. CBD is an Adaptogen

First, what is an adaptogen? These are a select group of herbs that support the body’s natural ability to deal with stress. They have a unique ability to adapt their function according to the specific needs of the body. These may be physical, chemical, or biological needs, and that’s exactly what CBD does.

By activating our endocannabinoid system (ECS), a signaling network of internal cannabis-like substances, CBD helps promote balance. With ECS activation comes the type of health and vitality where homeostasis can be maintained.

For athletes, CBD helps them better adapt to their training. What happens to you following a hard workout: your body temperature and cortisol levels rise; muscle proteins break down and stored sugar in the form of glycogen gets depleted. Sensing this stress, the body begins to produce greater amounts of endocannabinoids  to deal with the recovery process.

3. CBD and your Central Nervous System

The central nervous system (CNS) is comprised of the brain and spinal cord, and it controls inner communication and perception by sending signals within its nerves and neurons. Sports that involve resistance like weightlifting are especially taxing to the CNS. When you push your body, your CNS has an excitatory input which begins to reduce the effectiveness of muscle contraction and strength.

With CNS burnout you will feel slower and lift less at the same rate of exertion. If the recovery process is ignored, your muscles will become unresponsive to normal neurological firing, and you are not reaping the full benefits of all your hard work.

CBD helps by synchronizing neural signaling and helping to balance the pre- and post-synaptic neurotransmitter and help nerves retain their myelin sheaths.  It is the endocannabinoid system (ECS) that directly promotes neuronal health and has been shown to strengthen and vitalize the ECS.

Taken pre-workout, might CBD protect against overtaxing the CNS? While that is not proven yet, many strength & power athletes have credited CBD with helping them avoid the ‘shakiness’ that sometimes comes with max-effort lifts.

In my next article I will be discussing how CBD helps with sleep, promotes muscle relaxation, reduces anxiety, and reduces inflammation.

Health is within you!

Dr. Rob Pomahac was named “Top Chiropractor” by Los Angeles Magazine in 2018. A Canadian native and ex-professional hockey player and bodybuilder, he specializes in spine pathology and ligament instability, Dr. Rob is certified in Chiropractic BioPhysics and is an Associate Member of the American Academy of Regenerative Medicine. He earned his Doctor of Chiropractic from Southern California University of Health Sciences and holds a Masters in Science, Specializing in Kinesiology, from Canada’s University of Waterloo. For more information on Dr. Rob visit DrRobPomahac.com