It’s hard to beat the feeling of endorphins kicking in mid-workout. But those endorphins are usually followed by feelings of extreme soreness and fatigued muscles. Below we will outline how CBD can help in making the recovery process easier for you and those sore muscles!

Where Do Sore Muscles Come From?

To best understand the ways CBD can aid in the process of muscle recovery after tough workouts and activities, it helps to know how sore muscles come to be. To put it simply, each time a specific muscle is exercised it’s exposed to stress, which creates microscopic damage to the muscle’s fiber.  We promise it sounds worse than it is!  This microscopic muscle damage is actually a good thing, because your immune system will kick in to repair and rebuild any damage caused during exercise, ultimately helping to build an even stronger muscle.

As muscles are consistently worked out, or stressed, the repetition of the damage creates a consistent rebuilding, and results in bigger and stronger muscles, able to adapt to the demands on your body. Muscles that are continuously pushed during an exercise are sent into a process known as hypertrophy, which is the process of muscle building.

Muscle Recovery Explained

A feeling of extreme fatigue post-workout is completely normal and usually the sign of a good workout.  This tiredness comes because during a workout, you are burning through your body’s energy stores, putting the body through a complex hormonal change, and losing any stored fluid.  After your workout, your body then has work on repairing the microscopic damage left behind. Enter the process of muscle recovery!  

There are a number of steps in the muscle recovery process that all have to work harmoniously to re-balance your system and give you some relief for those sore and probably stiff muscles. An important step in the muscle recovery process not to be overlooked is getting adequate rest and sleep. The reason this is so crucial is that our body uses sleep time to work on repairing muscle damage, restoring hormonal balance, and builds new energy stores back up to be utilized once you wake up.   Maintaining proper hydration and nutrition post workout is another crucial step in speeding up the muscle recovery processes and ensuring you can jump into your next workout without delay.

See below for some additional suggestions to work into your muscle recovery routine:

●        Self-Massage: Tools intended for administering a “self-massage”, like foam rollers, can help to add extra relief from soreness and have been shown to reduce muscle fatigue time.

●        Stretching: Combining dynamic and static stretching will promote the best outcome in striving to relieve muscle soreness and will also help to improve overall flexibility.

●        Heat, Ice, and Compression: Using each of these three things during your recovery can help to decrease pain caused by muscle soreness and injury.

Using CBD For Muscle Recovery

Before developing your understanding of how CBD can aid muscle recovery, it’s best to first develop your understanding of what CBD is. There has been a recent surge in CBD’s popularity, mostly because of its healing properties and proposed health benefits. One of the many active compounds found in the cannabis plant, CBD (cannabidiol) is different from its better known relative THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) because it does not cause any psychoactive responses or “high” in the body. Once it enters into the body, CBD interacts with our Endocannabinoid System and signals to a number of different receptors, causing it to be directed to areas of the body in need of the plants’ healing properties.  

Research has shown that the Endocannabinoid System helps to regulate different systems of the body that can affect inflammation, pain, sleep, mood, appetite, metabolism, and more.

How to Use CBD

Contrary to your initial thoughts, implementing CBD into a daily routine is actually very simple. The options in the market for CBD products are seemingly endless and you can usually find a CBD replacement for the products you already use on a daily basis.  

1. CBD Capsules or Oils: Like we noted previously, sleep is one of the best ways to help muscles recover.  However, many people struggle to fall asleep and get adequate rest, but turning to CBD edibles, capsules or oil for example, can help individuals get better rest.  CBD edibles are a fan favorite because of how discreet they can be, the ease in taking them on-the-go, and the consistent dosage they provide with each use. In addition, these days you can easily find quality cbd edibles wholesale online and save yourself some money. The product’s directions will outline what the recommended dosage is, and you can always start with less and increase your dosage up to what is recommended to find what suits your needs. There is still more research needed around CBD in general, but there have been studies showing that consumption of CBD prior to going to sleep helped with anxiety, decreased joint pain, and promoted REM cycles allowing those using it to get a more restful sleep.

    

2. CBD Topicals: Topicals are often commended for how simple they are to use. There seems to be CBD topical for any need you may have, but when specifically looking at muscle recovery, CBD muscle salves have shown to be especially helpful. In looking for the best salve, a product with high-quality ingredients, hemp-derived CBD, an easy to spread base, and products containing menthol are all important factors.  When it comes to using CBD topicals, it’s as easy as spreading the product generously onto the area needing relief.  Because their use is as easy as applying the product where it’s needed, a lot of CBD users prefer topical products. They can also be used without fear of over-consuming the product or adverse effects, giving the user even more peace of mind. 

Incorporating CBD into Your Routine

CBD products have quickly flooded the market as their popularity has spiked.  It’s as if the options are endless when it comes to brands to choose from and product options.  Because of this, we strongly recommend doing some research around any CBD product you are considering.  This will help ensure that the products you select are not only good for you, but will help rather than hurt in the muscle recovery process and do what you need them to!   

As you research potential options, make sure to look for brands that have Certificates of Analysis’ (COAs) and lab reports easily accessible and available. These will help ensure that you are purchasing only high-quality CBD products and also help to verify the claims on their packages.  

When you have gotten to the point of selecting a brand that you feel confident in, working CBD into your routine can be done by simply ditching and switching!  Change out normal products you already use in your wellness routine for a CBD-containing version of that same product.  It’s as easy as that! 

You will be glad you’ve made the switch to a product that has even more health and wellness benefits!  

When doing your research, check out A88CBD™ for high-quality, hemp-derived CBD topical and edible products.