Whether you are an everyday athlete or a weekend warrior, muscle recovery after a workout is incredibly important. For athletes that want peak performance, they have to make sure that their bodies recover optimally so that they continuously improve. Weekend warriors also have to take their muscle recovery seriously since muscle soreness can keep them out of work on Monday.
CBD can do wonders for muscle recovery when it is a part of your post-workout routine. Let’s talk about how cannabidiol can help you improve your workouts.
Why Does My Body Hurt After a Workout?
When we exercise, we are causing microtears, tiny microscopic tears, in our muscles, which is the cause of the soreness and pain that often accompanies an intense workout. The body reacts to these microtears by breaking down the damaged muscle fibers and repairing the microtears by replicating new ones. This can cause mild to severe muscle soreness and inflammation.
The soreness and pain can take anywhere from a few hours to a few days to develop in your muscles, and you can expect it to take up to five days to resolve itself. It takes so long for your body to become sore after working out because it takes some time for your body’s inflammatory response to build up enough inflammation in the muscle to catch your attention.
Although delayed onset muscle soreness can feel debilitating, it is important to remember that this pain and soreness are all a part of your body improving itself and that after the soreness fades, your muscles will be stronger and have more endurance.
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How Can CBD Help After a Workout?
Cannabidiol, commonly simply called CBD, has been reported to have a wide array of potential benefits that can be extremely beneficial for those that need muscle relief and recovery. Here are some of our favorite reasons to take CBD after a workout.
It Reduces Inflammation
One of the reasons we love taking CBD after a workout is that it reduces inflammation, which is what the pain and soreness from delayed onset muscle soreness are caused by. If we can reduce the inflammation, we can reduce the length of time that we experience muscle pain and soreness or, in some cases, completely eliminate it.
CBD works on the endocannabinoid system by binding to the CB1 and CB2 receptors in the body. When the CBD binds to the CB2 receptors, they trigger a powerful anti-inflammatory response reducing the swelling and pain you experience after a strenuous workout.
Related: How Does CBD Work - Understanding The ECS
It Relaxes the Muscles
Another great post-workout benefit that CBD brings is that it can help promote muscle relaxation. Studies have shown that CBD can slow down neurotransmitter release of neurotransmitters that can cause muscle rigidity. This can reduce any muscle spasms, cramping, and soreness that can occur due to delayed onset muscle soreness.
CBD also helps reduce stress and anxiety, which can significantly contribute to muscle tension. You may not know when you have pent-up stress, but you can feel your body relax as your anxieties melt away with a post-workout dose of CBD.
It Supports Good Quality Sleep
CBD can support good quality sleep, which is crucial for muscle recovery and getting over delayed onset muscle soreness and pain. When we enter REM sleep, the fourth stage of sleep, our bodies release growth hormones that repair the microtears our workouts have caused.
Taking CBD as a sleep aid can help someone fall asleep more quickly and easily, which can be an excellent way to knock out insomnia and help them enter REM sleep earlier and for longer periods.
Related: CBD vs Opioids: Can CBD Help Manage Pain Without Addiction
It Reduces Pain
Taking a CBD dose right after a workout helps you avoid any pain before it starts and helps reduce any lingering acute muscle pains from your exercise routine. The endocannabinoid system is also responsible for how you feel pain. CBD can decrease the intensity of the pain signals going to your brain by inhibiting the production of the neurotransmitter glutamate. High levels of glutamate are associated with higher levels of pain.
Other Ways to Reduce Muscle Soreness and Pain
There are many things you can do to relieve your muscle soreness and pain while taking CBD. After every workout session, you should be taking the time to stretch and cool down properly. Stretching helps reduce muscle soreness, improve flexibility, and prevent injury, so make sure that you are taking the time to stretch before and after a workout.
If you put yourself through a particularly grueling workout, you may benefit from applying some ice to the areas you worked out. Icing your muscles after they have been through some intense activity helps to reduce the inflammation and the pain that comes with delayed onset muscle soreness.
Also, be sure to hydrate with plenty of water. 12-16 oz of filtered water before, during, and after is important. Post workout, give your muscles a boost with a good quality protein shake. You should be getting 1-1.5oz of protein per 2lbs of bodyweight in order to build those muscles you are trying to build.
Do you have some more questions about how CBD can help muscle recovery? Contact us here to ask us and we will be more than happy to answer.
Final Thoughts
CBD is a great addition to your post-workout routine and is easy to keep in your gym bag since it comes in easy-to-travel packages. If you have been suffering from pain and soreness after your workouts, try CBD to get that pep back in your step.
Triple Crown Organics offers excellent daily supplements like CBD Tinctures, CBD Capsules, and hi-performance pain creams for direct placement. Try them now by going to www.TripleCrownOrganics.com.