A joint workout: Can marijuana enhance focus and performance at the gym?

STATEN ISLAND, NY — A recent study at the University of Colorado Boulder found that consuming recreational marijuana before a workout can amp motivation before exercise routines, but falls short of enhancing performance.

The first ever study to examine how commercially available cannabis affects exercise recruited 42 Boulder-area volunteers who already exercise using cannabis.

THE RESEARCH

Participants were asked to pick up either a designated flower strain that contained mostly cannabidiol (CBD) or a Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)-dominant strain from a dispensary. THC and CBD are active ingredients in cannabis, with THC known to be more intoxicating.

Since federal law prohibits the possession or distribution of marijuana on college campuses, participants used it at home before being picked up in a mobile laboratory and brought to the lab.

The test was done twice when participants were sober and when they used cannabis. Participants wore a safety belt while on the treadmill at a moderate pace for 30 minutes while periodically answering questions on how motivated they felt and how much they were enjoying themselves.

MIXING WEED AND WORKOUTS

A survey of the participants found that 0.5% said it increases enjoyment, 69% said it decreases pain, 59.5% said it increases focus, 57.1% said it increases motivation, 45.2% said it makes time go by faster, and 28.6% said it improves performance.

Participants of the research study also reported more intense euphoria, or “runner’s high,” when exercising after using cannabis.

A ”heightened mood” was greater in the CBD group than in the THC group. Participants in the THC group also reported that running felt significantly harder during the cannabis run rather than the sober run, which may be because THC increases heart rate.

In a previous study conducted remotely, runners felt more enjoyment under the influence of cannabis, yet they ran 31 seconds per mile slower.

WHY CANNABIS GIVES RUNNER’S HIGH

For the longest time, natural pain-killing endorphins have been credited with creating a “runner’s high,” but new research debunks these claims. Naturally produced brain chemicals known as endogenous cannabinoids are actually kicking in after an extended period of exercise to produce euphoria and alertness.

By consuming CBD or THC, cannabinoids, which bind to the same receptors as the cannabinoids our brain makes naturally, athletes could potentially tap into that high with a shorter workout or amplify it during a longer session.

Athletes considering using cannabis should be mindful of the side effects, such as dizziness and loss of balance.

Numerous athletes have been prohibited from competing in recent years after testing positive for cannabis.

The NCAA recently recommended that cannabis be removed from the list of banned substances. In December 2022, the NCAA hosted a Cannabis in Collegiate Athletics Summit, where a consensus opinion formed that cannabis is not a performance-enhancing drug and that a harm-reduction approach to cannabis can be implemented at the school level.

SAFE USAGE OF CANNABIS

In March 2021, New York state legalized adult-use cannabis. Adults 21 and older must comply with smoke-free air laws and the specified limit for the possession of cannabis.