Working out: Does THC or CBD have an effect on our exercise routines?

A new survey on working out during the pandemic reveals that almost half of those surveyed say they incorporate cannabis into their routines.

As gyms closed across the world due to lockdown, it forced people to get creative with their fitness. For some, this meant the creation of home gyms, living room workouts and back garden yoga sessions. Both the home exercise and CBD industry have grown throughout 2020 prompting FitRated to examine if it had any effect on users workouts.

Canadian exercise equipment review site FitRated surveyed the workouts of 1004 respondents of which 417 incorporated cannabis into their workout routines during the pandemic. A further 445 said their cannabis use had not changed with 142 using less during their workouts.

About half of the THC users in the survey attested to consuming before and after their workouts with one third using during. Three-quarters of the CBD users used it for recovery afterwards. The main reason given for using cannabis was to assist with depression and nearly 41 percent consumed to mitigate physical pain.

Pre working out

Interestingly, 39 percent of the respondents mixed their cannabis into a pre-workout supplement or drink while the other 61 percent consumed it separately.

Cannabis users who preferred products with a higher THC level generally felt that it played a helpful role in boosting their performance. Although some said it had the opposite effect as 417 reported it caused them to lose their motivation to keep exercising. Gen Zers, described as those born post-1994, were the most likely to use cannabis to get motivated to exercise.

More than a quarter of the respondents said they smoked the plant but 12 percent preferred edibles. Lesser used options included oils, topicals and tinctures.

The survey found other habits between those who preferred THC instead of CBD. Over one-third of THC users preferred to run during their workouts compared to less than one-quarter of CBD users. The CBD group preferred to focus on weights.