The Sportive Stoner Lifestyle 101
- 1. Is it possible to be a stoner and sportive at the same time?
- 2. Knowing when is the perfect moment to smoke
- 3. Consuming the right strains before and after training
- 3. a. The importance of strain types, terpenes and cannabinoids
- 4. Must-haves for post-workout smoking
- 5. In conclusion
Sometimes in this life, it's hard to escape the stereotypes, if you like rock music then you must be a punk, enjoy reading a good book and someone might come and call you a nerd, that's just the way some people's minds work.
Stereotyping when it comes to the world of cannabis culture isn't an exception either. We see it everywhere, in TV series and movies, stoners are often displayed as hippie-looking, with long hair, Jamaican Rastafari clothing, and looking dumb and slow as hell.
But the main stereotype stoners usually are thrown into is the one of being thought of as lazy. When people hear you smoke weed, automatically they consider you're a lazy person, but to our luck, that is more often than not, a big misjudgment.
In fact, you can actually be a sportive person and be a regular marijuana user as well. Let's go through the sportive stoner lifestyle 101.
1. Is It Possible To Be A Stoner And Sportive At The Same Time?
The short answer is yes, yes indeed. Well, to start with, of course, there will always exist a big group of people who enjoy investing themselves in an intense sports session, such as running, yoga, biking, or anything else, and who smoke weed in big amounts as well. There are uncountable famous athletes who are also open about their regular use of cannabis, which, if this isn't the biggest proof that marijuana and sports sure can be combined then what is.
The Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps and the man who does it all, Arnold Schwarzenegger are only some proof that being a stoner and sportive at the same time is possible.
The main and crucial aspect of combining marijuana and sport resides in knowing when, what and how to smoke along with a physically active lifestyle. For example, smoking a joint right before a workout wouldn't be precisely ideal for your training, unless you're indulging some CBD-rich strains.
2. Knowing When Is The Perfect Moment To Smoke
We already know that smoking a big joint or hitting your bong before kicking off that workout sesh isn't the best of them options, so how can you combine sports and cannabis then?
Let's walk through an imaginary case. One normal day, you chuck your training outfit on, slip into your sneakers, and head off to a hardcore training sesh, whether it is to the gym, outdoor for an intense run, or anything that makes you sweat and release some endorphins.
Once you're done with pushing yourself to the limit, you've sweated all your demons out and left your body feeling well exhausted, that is the perfect moment to have a smoke. Why? Simply because there is no biggest relaxation than smoking one in this state, right after a physically stressful workout.
Besides, allow us to explain why smoking before you train is definitely not a good idea. To begin with, if your method of consumption is smoking indeed then it's easy to see why you shouldn't smoke by just seeing the word 'smoke' out there.
To be efficient in a workout, you'll want to be able to give your 100%, if not your 200%, that's the spirit. However, it is widely known that smoking counteracts your lungs' capacity, which is extremely essential for a good sports performance since it is the breathing that will support you throughout the whole training session.
No wonder why regular tobacco smokers, for example, have such a hard time breathing when they exercise, their lungs are just not in the best shape to stand up for a hard training.
But what about other methods of consuming cannabis? Would vaporizing, taking edibles, or using cannabis oil be counteractive as well?
On this point, there is one major defining aspect: the type of strain you're consuming. Let's analyze how each strain might influence your sports performance.
3. Consuming The Right Strains Before And After Training
While we suggest you skip consuming weed before a workout, and not only right before the training but along the day before you train as well, this isn't necessarily that strict.
The fact is that you can actually consume some marijuana before training and even benefit from some of cannabis' properties too. For this, we'd recommend keeping in mind a few of the following things:
- Taking into account how much you consume;
- Considering how you'll consume it;
- And consuming the right strains.
When it comes to the amounts you consume, you'll have to take a look at yourself first and try to make out what your tolerance to marijuana is. Are you a newbie in the world of cannabis or are you more of a frequent user? If you're a frequent user, most likely you'll need to indulge some more than a recently joined stoner.
However, since what you should be looking for is something that boosts your sports performance, you wouldn't want to overdo how much weed you intake before a workout.
Microdosing cannabis, for example, which is the process of consuming very small amounts of a substance, is known for improving our focus and promoting an ideal state of mind, a balance between relaxed and steady.
Vaporizing, at the same time, skips many of the negative side effects that smoking comes along with. Nevertheless, the high you'll get from vaporizing is quite strong too, so be careful you don't do it in excess as to end up dismissing your training for the day.
The Importance Of Strain Types, Terpenes And Cannabinoids
Independent of the method of consumption of choice, you should definitely pay special attention to the types of strains you choose for training.
To begin with, definitely aim for Sativa-dominant strains, the ones known for providing euphoric, energizing effects, which is perhaps precisely what you need to boost your sports performance.
Indicas, on the other hand, are great for the post-workout joint. Want to relax your mind and body and get rid of all the stress and anxiety? Then Indica's will have you in a zen state of mind after you've trained hard.
Another big influential aspect to keep in mind about the effects you want to get from your training cannabis sesh is the cannabinoids and terpenes composition of your flowers.
Ideally, CBD dominant strains are the perfect match for cannabis and sports. CBD is known for reducing anxiety, relieving pain, as well as promoting faster recovery rates, which makes it ideal for a post-smoke too.
Besides, this cannabinoid isn't psychoactive, therefore, you'll still be in shape and energized for some sweating. You could indulge in some CBD oil, or apply topicals and transdermals, even more, when you're dealing with a sports injury.
Topicals, for instance, provide a spot-on action, if you have pain in your knee, then it will help relieve it while skipping the psychoactive aspect of weed in the meantime.
Lastly, we strongly suggest you inform yourself on the terpenes compounds of your strains of choice. Terpenes are fragrant oils present in most of the flora's world which are responsible for each plant's scent and flavor.
But not only this, each different type of terpenes also comes along with several properties and benefits. Let's take a look at the most common terpenes and their properties:
| Terpene Name | Properties |
|---|---|
| Myrcene | Sedative; relaxing |
| Pinene | Anti-depressant; anti-inflammatory; anti-microbial |
| Limonene | Anti-anxiety; anti-cancer; digestive |
| Linalool | Anti-anxiety; anti-epileptic; pain reliever; anti-psychotic |
| Caryophyllene | Anti-inflammatory; anti-fungal; anti-bacetrial |
On this aspect, our best recommendation is to dodge one special terpene before a workout: myrcene. This is because myrcene is the terpene known as the sedative terpene, the one commonly linked to the famous 'couch-lock', which, if you aren't familiar with the slang term, refers to feeling so high you can't get up from wherever you sit.
We doubt you'd like to train while feeling couch-locked so avoid plants with myrcene contents in general. How can you identify this terpene?
Ever sensed an earthy, spicy, musky, and slightly fruity-like mango flavor as you smoked cannabis? Most likely, that was a high-on-myrcene strain you were enjoying.
4. Must-Haves For Post-Workout Smoking
So, in order to successfully carry the sportive stoner lifestyle, there are a couple of things to keep in mind. The first one is, always to carry a bottle of water with you, and for two basic reasons.
Number one, we let out a lot of water when we sweat during an intense workout, so it's important to drink so to recover what you've lost. And number two, we tend to dehydrate and experience the famous 'cotton mouth' effect after smoking a joint, which is an extremely dry mouth and thirst.
Important!
Don't forget to drink water before, during and after a workout, independent of if you have or haven't smoked weed, although more essential if you have.
Keep a bottle of water near you and avoid feeling like a turtle in the desert. And secondly, the other aspect to take into account are the munchies and for two reasons.
We suggest you grab a healthy post-workout, recovery snack, firstly because if you have a healthy snack you'll make sure that you continue to make your sesh effective with some extra dieting efforts.
In the second instance, since weed does tend to turn us into starving gorillas after toking, and so do sports, this can be an explosive combination. By being prepared for this, you prevent any possible munchies binge eating that could turn the training unworthy.
5. In Conclusion
Combining cannabis and sports isn't a bad idea at all. It just takes being well informed and doing things correctly, especially in the right order in time.
There is no bigger satisfaction than burning one after a hardcore training session, get ready and roll one before you head to the gym and enjoy your sweat as you think of the after prize.
Don't forget to leave your comments on what are your favorite strains to combine with sports.
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