New Study Flexes CBD Hemp’s Exercise Benefits

Recently, respected online fitness resource FitRated conducted its own study of more than 1,000 participants who use cannabis in conjunction with exercise. When it comes to fitness, it turns out, CBD might be just as useful as delta 9 THC, and delta 8 is on exactly the same wavelength.

We’ll summarize the findings of this landmark cannabis study, and along the way, we’ll answer any questions you may have about using cannabis in your relentless quest to stay fit.

Working Out High During COVID-19: Quick Points

• Full study available on Fitrated
• 1,000+ cannabis users participated
• Both CBD and THC users were surveyed
• 40% of users started ingesting more cannabis while working out during the pandemic
• THC users ingested more cannabis while working out than CBD users
• CBD users were most likely to use cannabis after working out
• THC users were most likely to use cannabis before working out
• Both CBD and THC users preferred hybrid strains for workouts
• 25% of those surveyed used pipes, 15% used joints, 15% used bongs, and 15% used vapes
• Cannabis users prefer outdoor workouts like walking and running
• Lifting is 3rd-favorite

Major findings of the cannabis workout study

Let’s explore what the FitRated researchers discovered in more detail:

1. Does mixing workout supplements with cannabis help?

Around 60% of participants said they combined cannabis with their pre-workout supplements. There isn’t any data regarding whether this practice is useful, but it’s certainly common. Using cannabis after working out is just about as common among users as combining cannabis with workout supplements, indicating that the majority of users must consume cannabis both before and after their workouts.

2. Does using cannabis make it harder to work out?

Around 40% of respondents reported that, at last once, cannabis had made them too tired or lethargic to execute a planned workout. Another 40%, though, indicated that using cannabis had never made them miss their specified workout windows.

These data show that, statistically, cannabis neither boosts nor hinders your will or motivation to work out. This point is further made by the fact that 40% of users said they’d used cannabis for workout motivation while another 40% hadn’t even bothered.

3. Does cannabis motivate you to work out?

THC users appear to have more of an issue with workout motivation than CBD users. According to the FitRated study, nearly 50% of THC users indicated that cannabis was the only way to get motivated to work out while the same was true for only 30% of CBD users.

These data underline the fact that THC strongly boosts your brain’s reward circuits, something CBD does not do. If you use THC before working out, your brain will be boosted with dopamine, making it easier to decide to get up and at ‘em.

4. Does cannabis help you break personal workout records?

Cannabis certainly appears to help users get “in the zone” and break through to new plateaus of fitness. Nearly 60% of study participants indicated they had overcome personal workout records after using cannabis with such breakthroughs being significantly more common among THC users.

Cannabis users who prefer THC were more likely to report that their workouts were intense (62.9%) than CBD users (54.9%). CBD users, though, were more likely to embark on longer workouts (48-minute average) than THC users (45-minute average).

To summarize, THC provides a momentary sense of godlike euphoria that can make you capable of great physical feats, but you also get bored and distracted more easily when you’re stoned.

5. Does working out while high burn more calories?

There’s no evidence that working out high directly causes your body to burn more calories. Cannabinoids like THC and CBD do, though, appear to have the capacity to motivate you to work out sooner, harder, and longer. So, indirectly, it’s certainly possible that you’ll burn more calories if you work out after using cannabinoids.

6. Does cannabis help with workout recovery?

Around 60% of participants in the FitRated study had used cannabis for workout recovery at least once. Of these respondents, around 30% of CBD users ingested this cannabinoid post-workout on a regular basis with this number dropping to around 22% for THC users.

The ingestion method chosen seems to have more impact than the cannabinoid used when it comes to recovery. Users reported that tinctures, edibles, and vapes were the most effective for combating post-workout pain while bong, joint, and pipe smokers were more likely to experience pain after working out even with cannabinoids in their systems.

7. Does CBD or THC help better with post-workout pain?

Based on the numbers alone, it would appear that CBD is more effective than THC for post-workout pain. Almost 30% of CBD users included this cannabinoid in their post-workout regimen while considerably fewer reported using THC for recovery on a regular basis.

It would appear that THC might be more useful before and during workouts while CBD could be more useful for recovery. You may also want to choose CBD over THC if a long workout is in the works.

8. Does cannabis make workouts better?

One thing fitness-focused cannabis consumers agree on is that cannabinoids take workouts to the next level. In the FitRated study, one in four participants indicated that there isn’t a single workout cannabis can’t make better, and cannabis users indicate that running, walking, and lifting are the most enjoyable workouts to embark on with cannabinoids in your system.

9. What about delta 8?

FitRated did not include any questions regarding delta 8 THC in its study into cannabis and working out. All the available evidence, though, indicates that delta 8 THC is very similar to delta 9 THC, so the exercise benefits of these two cannabinoids are likely just as similar.

About the study

To get these results, FitRated surveyed 1,004 cannabis users, of whom 45% used both CBD and THC, 29% used solely THC, and 26% used solely CBD. Men were 54% of respondents and 46% were women. As with all self-reported studies, exaggeration, selective memory, and bias could interfere with the fidelity of the data acquired.

Cannabis: Nature’s embodiment enhancer

We all remember the sensation of getting well and truly stoned for the first time. It was a full-body sensation. For many, it feels like coming home.

Cannabis naturally puts you more in tune with your five senses and allows your body to enjoy the true exhilaration of physical performance freed from stress, anxiety, and other “headspace” baggage. Breathe in, breathe out, and let cannabis show your body the way.