More and more athletes are turning to marijuana to help them with training. So, what’s it all about?

You don’t have to look very far to see different articles and stories about the many benefits of marijuana. What you may not have read about is how many people believe that marijuana can also help with improving endurance during a workout and post recovery after sporting events. There are many professional athletes that are coming out to openly speak about marijuana use, but there is still a lot that worries about the negative stigma attached to marijuana use.

Now, marijuana and working out aren’t two things which you would normally associate with each other. Now, smoking marijuana and lying on a couch with a great big bag of potato chips, that’s what most people typically associate with smoking some pot, but all that’s starting to change.

As marijuana legalization continues to expand around the world, more and more people are turning to weed to help with health issues. An exciting new area many people, including athletes, are looking at is using marijuana for pre and post workout routines. Medical marijuana is now legal in over thirty states across the US, Canada is completely legal, Mexico, several countries in Africa, and some European countries.

We’re not seeing an entirely new type of marijuana enthusiast, the motivated marijuana enthusiast. Jim McAlpine, the founder of pot-friendly sports event the 420 Games, and cannabis-friendly Power Plant Fitness, is well aware of the new marijuana friendly sports movement. “It’s become a social movement, There are so many of us who are in the closet.” Said Jim in an interview with Men’s Health. “I love to smoke before I ski or mountain bike or go surfing. It puts me in a place of higher focus, the Eye of the Tiger type thing. It’s not for everyone, but for some people who are more athletic and coordinated, it works.”

More and more athletes are turning to marijuana for their post-workout routines as well as during workouts. Some long-distance runners like to use marijuana before endurance runs or even halfway through long distance events.

Ex-NFL offensive lineman Eben Britton has always been very upfront about NFL players using cannabis for pain management. In an interview with Men’s Health magazine, he spoke about how marijuana allows him to push through on tough workouts.

Footballers and runners aren’t the only athletes who are turning to marijuana. One of the most vocal sports about marijuana use is mixed martial arts. Mixed Martial Arts or MMA is a combat sport, and the most publicized MMA sport is the UFC. Recently, after a fight with Conor McGregor, Nate Diaz sat in a post-fight interview vaping on a CBD oil pen while answering questions from reporters. Diaz said to reporters, “It helps with the healing process and inflammation and stuff like that.”

CBD could hold the most potential benefits for athletes as a post-event recovery aid. CBD or cannabidiol is one of the main cannabinoids found in cannabis. Unlike THC, CBD doesn’t have any psychoactive properties and won’t get you high. It seems like Diaz isn’t alone in his enthusiasm for the medicinal benefits of CBD. The World Anti-Doping Agency has recently removed CBD from its list of banned substances for 2018.

Thinking about incorporating marijuana into your workout, but not sure where to start? The first thing that you need to do is ensure that marijuana is legal in your area. The next thing to remember is to take it slowly. There are different strains of marijuana, and each strain will have different effects. No two people are the same and what one person can use may not be suited to another.