Joint. Gym. Repeat. Training with Cannabis
Photo Credit: Thesmokingbud.com
How do you incorporate cannabis into your training? For those interested in learning how to include cannabis into their fitness regimen as part of a balanced, overall health and wellness routine, this is one of the most common questions that gets asked. I’m always happy to share my habits and routines, but it’s nice to get a few different perspectives. Today we’re going to touch base on how I use cannabis as part of my training program, followed up by recent testimonial from retired professional athletes like Bas Rutten, Eben Britton, and Eugene Monroe when they appeared as the sports panel for Green Flower Media’s Cannabis Health Summit this May. Then we’ll end on what this means for you, and the best ways to start incorporating cannabis into your training.
I keep things very simple. I consume high THC Sativa dominate strains of flower, concentrates, or edibles prior to training. If I consume flower or concentrates it will be immediately before training and consists of an entire joint or several bowls. When I use edibles, I prefer 50-100mg THC depending on the day. When I do this, I’m able to stay alert, yet quiet my mind to focus. This really helps me strengthen and develop my mind muscle connection, and keeps me in the zone when training for long periods of time. Post training I like to wind down with a high THC Indica, usually flower, but sometimes concentrates and edibles. I prefer edibles overall, but flower is cheaper. On top of this, throughout the day I take regular doses of Bluebird Botanicals CBD oils, and use topical products like Mary’s Medicinals THC Muscle Freeze and their CBC rub, to help sore muscles and relieve aches.
Bas Rutten on the other hand, a former mixed martial artist, kick boxer, professional wrestler, and UFC Heavyweight Champion doesn’t like to consume THC prior to training. He takes roughly 5-10mg of a CBD tincture in the morning and it helps him to push through his workouts. Then he vapes THC concentrates, or one of his favorite strains like Gorilla Glue, before going to bed at night. Right now you may be noticing a pretty big difference between Bas’s routine and my own.
The difference isn’t just between the two of us. Take for example, two former NFL players, Eben Britton and Eugene Monroe. Eben Britton, who played 6 seasons in the NFL as an offensive lineman with the Jaguars and the Bears, said, “As a pre workout, I’m a huge fan of it”. He, like me, uses THC prior to training to help him get into his flow state, and he also uses a combination of THC and CBD post training “to help quiet the nervous system down after a rigorous workout”. His routine includes a high CBD tincture early in the morning, and he vapes high THC concentrates prior to training. When consuming THC edibles, 50mg gets him in a relaxed state, and 100mg will put him to sleep. Eugene Monroe though, another former NFL player who spent 7 seasons as an offensive tackle for the Jaguars and then the Ravens, prefers to consume high THC indica based concentrates and edibles. In the mornings he will vape about .2g of THC concentrate and then approximately one hour prior to training he will consume 250mg THC in an edible. He says the indica based strains help ease the pain from his injuries and allow him to “get on a bike and ride 60 miles”.
This big differences in all of our training routines is going to highlight the first rule of cannabis and fitness. You have to figure out what works best for you. Every person’s body is different, so no one routine or dosage is going to work for everyone. When starting out with adding cannabis to a fitness routine, adding fitness to your cannabis routine, or both, it’s important to take into consideration your experience/tolerance level, and how different fitness activities, as well as different THC or CBD products and methods of consumption, affect you personally.
If you’re inexperienced, start slow. If you’re new to fitness, start with bodyweight, and work your way up, or start with a walk and progress to a jog. New to cannabis? Start with a little and learn how it affects you. Don’t take more than 5-10mg of an edible if you’re new. To give you some perspective on experience and tolerance, take the examples above. I’m not a professional level athlete, and still, except for Bas, my fitness routine is very similar to both Eben Britton and Eugene Monroe’s. However, both of them are 6’5’’ or taller and weigh around 300 lbs, while I oppositely am walking around at 140lbs and 5’11’’. I may not have their same experience in fitness, but I do have a solid tolerance built up after 15 years of consuming cannabis.
The main point I’m trying make here is the same, you have to figure out what works best for you. Creating a balance between cannabis and fitness is a process of personal trial and error. You really need to hold yourself accountable for paying close attention to your body, and being honest with yourself about how you feel. Keep educating yourself, experiment slowly, and find out what methods of consumption, which cannabinoids, and at what dosage you feel perfect the next time your doing your favorite fitness activity. For me, that’s going on a hike in the mountains on a sunny day, working on my kettlebell technique, or stretching out on my yoga mat.
What are some of your favorite fitness activities and how do you train with cannabis?
