Exercise is essential to keep the mind, heart, and the rest of the body working optimally. Unfortunately, most people do not get the required amount of physical activity. Stats from 2018 show that only 23% of the US population gets ample exercise.
Experts recommend people to exercise for at least half an hour a day. This can also be low-impact walking. People can also include more physical movement in their day by simple acts such as taking the stairs instead of the elevator.
Now a new study shows that marijuana may be of assistance in working out as many marijuana users take it before or after exercising to improve their performance. This study found that marijuana users get more exercise than the typical person who doesn’t use marijuana.
Previously, marijuana users have been imagined to be people who sit on their couch, lazily, and do not exercise. However, this research goes against the popular belief and sets a different image of people who use marijuana.
What Did This New Study Reveal?
This new research has been published in the Frontiers in Public Health and been conducted by researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder. For the purpose of this study, researchers surveyed 600 adult marijuana users from states where it is legal for use. The survey questioned people about their use of marijuana and their exercise routine. Questions also covered how people felt marijuana use impacted their exercise.
Results showed that 80% of people used marijuana before starting or after ending a workout session. Respondents expressed that marijuana helped motivate them and enjoy exercise more. It was also found that people who used weed with workouts exercised more than those who didn’t. While they exercised for plus 2.5 hours per week, those who didn’t combine marijuana with their exercise plan worked out for less than 2 hours.
However, there is a limitation to this study. People involved in this study were from states where individuals are already more physically active than in other parts of the country. More research is therefore, needed in this area to confirm these results. Another recent research shows that people who use marijuana have a lower body mass index than those who do not. However, looking at the many negative implications that accompany weed use, it is not suggested to use the drug.
Even for better exercise performance, using marijuana for high-intensity workout is not the right option as it causes balance problems as well as elevates heart rate. Moreover, marijuana has psychoactive properties even though some research shows it to be helpful in pain management. Using weed after workout makes some sense comparatively as the drug lowers inflammation as well as helps take pain down.
Key Takeaway
A new research shows that marijuana users exercise more than non-users. Most marijuana users take weed either before or after working out because they believe it motivates them and improves performance and recovery. However, this doesn’t mean weed use is recommended because it comes with several adverse effects on health.