I used to think that the only marathon a stoner would ever complete is watching a marathon of That 70’s Show reruns. But to my wonderful surprise it turns out that exercise and marijuana actually go hand in hand together. Now thanks to Power Plant Fitness you can toke and train at the same time.
Marijuana enthusiast
Previous NFL player and cannabis enthusiast, Ricky Williams, along with 420 Games founder, Jim McAlpine, are opening the marijuana friendly gym in San Francisco. The gym is being branded as the “first-ever cannabis gym,” said McAlpine. He goes on to say that the gym will be focused on the athletic side, not the cannabis side.
Allow the members to smoke
The gym will allow the members to smoke joints on a designated patio or eat edibles and use a vaporizer in between workout sets. When new members join the gym they will get a cannabis performance assessment to reveal how marijuana affects their workout routine and what method of using marijuana would be best for them.
Reduce the negative stigmatization of smoking marijuana
The new gym is more than just a new business venture. It’s part of an effort to reduce the negative stigmatization of smoking marijuana. Ricky Williams’ football career was interrupted by suspensions after testing positive for marijuana. Williams said, “I was a really good football player…really good person, my teammates loved me, my coaches loved me, but my career and life were ruined because of a drug test.”
Genuine studies have been done
The idea to toke and workout is not new. Genuine studies have been done to show how the use of cannabis affects your workout. One of these is a study done at the University of our friends down under in Sydney. They proved that exercising after toking can provide you with a stronger buzz and increase the potency of the marijuana. The study involved 15 marijuana smokers to exercise on a stationary bike for 35 minutes. During this time the researchers measured the level of THC in their blood and found that the levels of THC was 15% higher than before the exercise.
Our bodies store THC
It was already known to scientists that our bodies store THC inside our fat cells, but only after this study did researchers find that this storage process can give smokers an extra high boost. This gives new and fun meaning to the term “a runner’s high!” The same study also showed that the extra buzz can last for up to 28 days after smoking a joint. The reason for this is that a tiny amount of THC is released back into a person’s bloodstream as exercise burns fat. You can imagine how much i liked this bit of science based evidence. Think about it, a buzz, -as they call it- which lasts for almost a month!
Athletes focus
Working out high has helped many athletes focus on targeted muscle groups. Cannabis helps them stay focused and on track as they move in between sets of different exercises. Many long distance runners also like using vaporizers or edibles when doing marathons or training. It helps make the long distance less tedious and keeps them in a rhythmic zone to set a good pace. How fantastic is that, eh? So there’s another term which gets an amazing do-over, because from now on you know what someone means when he is ‘in the zone!’
Baked yoga
Marijuana also does wonders for those that practice yoga. Some practitioners of “baked yoga” claim that they can do more because they ‘process’ the tensions and sensations differently. They also report that it helps integrate the body, mind, and spirit into the exercise. They become more focused and can stretch longer and better.
Cannabis lovers
Perhaps you recall a previous post where I wrote about a study which showed that pot smokers weighed less than the general population. Cannabis lovers have a 16% higher level of fasting insulin and 17% lower insulin resistance levels in their bodies than non marijuana smokers. Since most of us hit the gym to lose a couple of pounds then simply lighting up a joint will already move you closer to your goal. The cannabinoids found in cannabis will aid your body in handling the insulin properly for better metabolic functioning.
Our beloved marijuana
Robin Williams once joked that the only way marijuana is a performance-enhancing drug is if there’s a big f* Hershey bar at the end of the run. Although his joke is funny, science shows us -you gotta love it- that our beloved marijuana will do more for your run rather than just serve as an incentive. It can bring much needed focus and mindfulness to your workout routine. For me it’s clear, marijuana certainly has a place in exercise and athletics.
We can back it up
So Let’s be honest here, it actually always had a place already, but now…We can back it up!
Enjoy ‘The Zone’
