Is Cannabis A Performance Enhancer?

The media is filled with stories of athletes, amateur and professional alike, achieving new heights while working out with some form of Cannabis.

The new book Josiah Hesse, called “Runner’s High”, vindicated cannabis use for workouts.  Mr. Hesse formally interviewed bodybuilders and high-endurance athletes who regularly get stoned. He found that most said it helped them recover faster, reduce anxiety and sleep better.

This was a shock to Josiah, who didn’t work out at all until he was thirty, when he felt he better get off his ass and get himself in shape. “When I first started running, I couldn’t run a single block,” he said. “It hurt and my lungs burned.”

Then one day he ate an edible just prior to running. What used to be agonizing was now quite fun. “I felt like I weighed 50 pounds,” he said. “Running up a hill became an easy, playful experience. With the right soundtrack it was so much fun. It became the highlight of my day.”

There is no scientific evidence that cannabis is a performance enhancer. Quite the opposite in fact…it has a reputation for decreasing a user’s performance. I think most would agree that it can worsen your reaction time and hinder decision-making abilities. Naturally that can be dangerous in some situations like driving a forklift and or lifting heavy weights, but when used in moderation it can have many benefits.

Dr. Angela Bryan, a professor of psychology and neuroscience at the University of Colorado Boulder enlisted 600 regular cannabis users and studied their behavior in 2019 research study. She assumed that weed use would make people less physically active. She was shocked to find out that over half of the people in the study said that cannabis motivated them to exercise. Over 80 percent of users said that they regularly used it just prior to workouts, while over 70% said that marijuana increased their enjoyment of exercise, and about 80% stating it helped with a faster recovery.

I’ll admit, I’ve tried it. The one downside I found was a little attention deficit where I would space out and stare into the gym’s TV for who knows how long. Personally, I prefer it afterwards to help me chill, especially after leg day.

Bottom line: “Just Do It”…in moderation of course. Be very careful though because using the he wrong cannabis product could be very harmful. Talk to your budtender for the right products to use along with your physical activity, so you can maximize your athletic ability, recover faster and sleep like a baby.