The Impact of Marijuana on the Fitness Lifestyle

Before you begin reading, you should know that we wanted to write an article for you to understand marijuana and the impacts of the plant on those who are working hard to be fit .

This article is meant to tell both sides of the story to help you decide if marijuana is something you should consider to supplement while you’re training.

Using marijuana is common in the United States and Canada , but there is little known about how the plant and a fitness-focused lifestyle co-exist with each other.

Currently, 23 states and Washington, DC have legalized medical marijuana, and it seems to be the hot topic for many popular athletes who have supplemented their diet with marijuana to aid in their training. Since the cannabis legalization, many delivery services have been popping up in DC.

This isn’t surprising, weed has been used in history as an anti-inflammatory, anti-nausea, and even as an antibiotic ( see below for 23 common medical uses of marijuana ). The use of marijuana has been associated with many things like increased appetite, a high-calorie diet, and decreased blood pressure…but,

What are the real effects of marijuana on the health and fitness lifestyle?

[tweet_box float="left" width="40%" design="box_10"]"When you smoke the herb, it reveals you to yourself." - Bob Marley[/tweet_box]We’re going to take a closer look at exactly what marijuana does to the body so you can decide if using the plant is right for you.

Any time you’re going to the gym, you want to make sure that you are clear and level-headed. Marijuana can affect your ability to lift heavy objects and sometimes make you light-headed, so you probably shouldn’t plan on smoking a joint before you head to the gym. In fact, if you’re going to be using marijuana and you want to keep a healthy lifestyle, you really shouldn’t be smoking it at all. When you burn marijuana, like by smoking a joint or a pipe, the smoke you inhale has some nasty stuff that you don’t want inside of you.

Alternatively, vaping is an option for people who are health-conscious as a vaporizer heats whatever form of marijuana you choose (concentrate or loose leaves) , allowing you to inhale vapor instead of dangerous smoke. There are other cannabis delivery methods, like edibles, but you’ve got to be careful with those as many edibles are high in calories, which is either good or bad depending on your personal fitness goals.

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23 Health Benefits of Marijuana

For more detail on each of these benefits and the scientific studies backing the claims, check out the original post on Business Insider  as well Dr. Sanjay Gupta's documentary series first aired on CNN earlier in 2015.

1. Can be used to treat glaucoma


2. Help reverse the cancer-causing effects of tobacco and improve lung health


3. Assist with controlling epileptic seizures .


4. Used to treat severe seizure disorders


5. Cannabidiol can stop some cancers from spreading


6. Reduce anxiety


7. Slows Alzheimer's Disease


8. Pain reduction for those suffering from MS ( Multiple sclerosis )


9. Treat certain types of muscle spasms


10. Hepatitis C reduction of side effects


11. Inflammatory bowel disease treatment


12. Helps with arthritis


13. Metabolism helper


14. Improves symptoms of Lupus


15. Spurs creativity


16. Help with Crohn's Disease


17. Parkinson's Disease treatment and tremor reduction


18. Treatment of Post Traumatic Stress disorder ( PTSD )


19. Protects post-stroke brain


20. Concussion protection for the brain


21. Gets rid of nightmares


22. Reduces pain, nausea from chemo , and improves appetite


23. Help people trying to reduce alcohol intake

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[caption id="attachment_19917" align="alignright" width="281"] The Marijuana Olympics? [Photo Credit: The Weed Blog ][/caption]

Marijuana and it's usage in sport

Many athletes cite that marijuana is excellent to aid in training, but there isn’t any real proof of that besides personal tests. Major players in sports like the NFL, NHL, and more consider marijuana to be illegal and do not advocate the use of marijuana.

There have been rumors that the NFL is going to be lessening their tight grip on the rules surrounding marijuana use in athletes. Based off of a study in the UK that showed that cannabis is no more dangerous than junk food, one article from The Atlantic states, “ Should pro football ban Chicken McNuggets, too? ” ( Hruby, P., 2014 ).

Marijuana and it's effect on nutrition

Let’s take a look at nutrition.

[caption id="attachment_19918" align="alignleft" width="300"] Photo Credit [ SnakeOilCartoon ][/caption]When you smoke weed, it’s very likely that you’re going to get the munchies. In fact, there was a study done that examined the diet of marijuana users and it showed that people who use marijuana regularly consume “more sodium, fewer fruits, and more pork, cheese, and salty snacks” (Smit, E., 2001). But does it have to be that way? This same study also showed that people who used marijuana had a lower BMI than people who didn’t use marijuana, but how?!

When you have the munchies, you have a heightened sense of appetite. This is caused by THC, a cannabinoid that is the psychoactive compound in cannabis. THC affects the brain’s endocannabinoid system, which is the part of your brain is what controls memory, pain, and emotions, and is being studied closely with the use of marijuana.

What does the use of Marijuana mean for people who are fitness minded?

Well, you need to keep healthy options around the house to snack on if you choose to toke up now and then. It’s that easy. But should you be toking up? That all depends on your personal goals.

If you’re fitness journey involves other health conditions and you are recommended to use marijuana by your doctor to help relieve side effects from Lupus, Heart Disease, or Cancer, then it’s probably wise that you take advantage of the plant’s natural healing effects.

[caption id="attachment_19921" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Arnold wasn't just the "Governator" - here's a "green" screen grab from his documentary Pumping Iron [/caption]

Now, if you’re a competitive athlete who is looking to get stronger and is training daily to recover faster and have more energy, you’re probably eating a ton of food. And that’s okay, but it may be hard to keep up with that. You may find that using marijuana helps with keeping up with the amount of food that you have to eat as the plant is known for it’s dramatic effects on appetite. It’s quite incredible how you may not be any bit hungry, but if you went and took a few puffs from a joint you’d be able to eat in about 20 minutes.

Marijuana: Can it help you with maintain weight? Or is it better suited for the "hard gainer"?

The only problem with this is if you’re trying to lose weight. Using marijuana makes you hungry, that’s the bottom line.

It’s not possible to stop what’s going on in your endocannabinoid system and if you’re serious about losing weight you really shouldn’t be using marijuana at the same time. If you do decide to use cannabis while trying to lose weight, there are things that you can do to maintain a healthy weight. When snacking, stick with a small handful of almonds or some chopped veggies…and make sure you don’t give in at the grocery store and buy that giant bag of chips!

https://youtu.be/Jv2GG_csUc8

Just a side note on this, one study has shown that people who use cannabis have a lower obesity rate than non-users. These scientists are going to be working together to have another study to see if a combination of THC and CBD (both cannabinoids) can produce weight loss or be used as therapy for those who suffer from obesity ( Foll, B., 2013 ).

While we are not advocating the use of marijuana , especially in training, the plant has been known to have many positive health benefits, particularly surrounding brain health.

You should think about what your personal fitness goals are and discuss using marijuana with your doctor. Before making a decision you should conduct your own research to help you make a more informed choice when deciding whether to use marijuana as a part of your fitness regimen.

[tweet_box design="box_12"]"Of course I know how to roll a joint" - Martha Stewart[/tweet_box]

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Author Bio:

Florian Schwind is a 21 year old law student from Germany and has set his goal to create a community for the neglected group of the fitness industry: the ectomorphs aka. hardgainers. As he went through the process himself, the last couple of years, finding proper resources about ectomorph (e.g. workout or diet plans), he collected all the information he gathered throughout his journey from 145lb to mere 180lb and put them on a website called ectomorph.tips free of charge. If you consider yourself an ectomorph definitely check out their website and connect with them on instagram , facebook or twitter.

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• Foll, B., Trigo, J., Sharkey, K., & Strat, Y. (2013). Cannabis and 9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) for weight loss? Medical Hypotheses, 564-567. Retrieved August 26, 2015.


• Hruby, P. (2014, September 17). The NFL's Hazy Logic on Marijuana. Retrieved August 23, 2015.


• Moore, A. (2012, October 15). Cannabis 'no worse than eating junk food', says report - BBC News. Retrieved August 23, 2015.


• Smit, E., & Crespo, C. (2001). Dietary intake and nutritional status of US adult marijuana users: Results from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Public Health Nutrition PHN, 781-781. Retrieved August 26, 2015.

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