Wintertime may make you want to curl up by the warm fire, but for us, wellness is a year-round passion. Especially during the colder months, post-workout muscles need extra love and support. That’s why a growing number of fitness buffs and athletes are turning to the all-natural plant power of CBD for muscle recovery.
If you’re interested in treating your body right this season, today’s post is for you. Take a deep dive into the reasons why muscles become sore after working out, how cold weather may change your workout routine and some potential CBD benefits that may make all of this more easeful.
CBD for Muscle Recovery: Why Do We Get Sore After a Workout?
No matter what kind of exercise or wellness routine you subscribe to—yoga, cycling, or tennis, to name just a few—you’ve probably noticed that certain muscles can feel strained and achy afterward, especially if it’s been a little while since your last workout.
The reason for this, typically, is something called delayed onset muscle soreness, or DOMs. The good news: DOMs are a completely healthy and normal reaction to exercise. It’s the byproduct of the natural breakdown of muscle fibers as they adapt to a new and stronger configuration.
Unless you’re experiencing severe discomfort—in which case you should take a break from your workout routine until the sensation subsides—exercise and the potential achiness that follows are worth the mild discomfort.
If your muscles are sore, many experts recommend gentle exercise to build your endurance and post-workout stretching to reduce the discomfort of sore muscles. There’s another way to help those achy muscles relax, too: our topical balm or CBD oil, such as the popular Releaf options.
You may have used topical “heat rub” products such as Mentholatum or Bengay, which produce a characteristic sensation of heat or prickliness on the skin. Some fitness experts aren’t so keen on them, arguing that they essentially numb or distract us.
Why Might CBD Work Better for Muscle Relief?
By contrast, CBD interfaces with our bodies on a much deeper level, thanks to a network called the Endocannabinoid System (ECS). While it was only identified in the 1990s, researchers now believe it is one of the body’s principal regulatory systems.
The ECS works with the natural chemicals known as cannabinoids. Some of them, known as endocannabinoids, are produced in the body. Others are found in—you guessed it—either the cannabis plant or its cousin, hemp. You’re already familiar with at least one of them: CBD.
Cannabinoids such as CBD are unusually effective at eliciting effective anti-inflammatory responses because they “speak the same language” as the body’s own chemical signals. Some researchers believe that this is a key to understanding why cannabis helps modulate our bodies’ natural responses to soreness and strain. In fact, it’s the major reason Papa & Barkley exists in the first place: To use the gentle, sustainable power of CBD to make a positive and lasting difference in people’s lives.
CBD Benefits: Adjusting for Colder Temperatures
If you live in a warm climate, you may find that winter doesn’t have much of an impact on your soreness after a workout. But for the rest of us, the cold usually negatively impacts our muscle discomfort. According to some fitness experts, during this time of the year it’s not uncommon to feel extra tightness and soreness around working out.
If that’s the case, we recommend you spend a little extra time warming up before an intense workout, and potentially use a slightly increased CBD dose to access the same soothing, anti-inflammatory benefits that you experience during the warmer months.
Do you have other questions about using CBD for muscle recovery? Just ask! We’re here to help.
