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Study finds cannabis increases productivity when working out
Research study suggests cannabis use before physical activity could have positive effects. FOX 5 NY's Kendall Green explains
We’re just a week and a half into 2024 and most of us are keeping a tight grip on that New Year’s resolution to get in better shape.
While finding that motivation can be challenging at times, researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder found an unlikely boost to sculpting a better body.
The study suggests cannabis use before physical activity could have some positive effects on your fitness journey.
"Cannabis users exercise more than non-users. They're more likely to meet physical activity recommendations. They're less likely to have type two diabetes, they have lower, uh, body mass index. And so, it actually looks like cannabis and exercise might go together," Angela Bryan, a psychology and neuroscience professor at UC Boulder explained.
Since recreational marijuana is legal in nearly half the states across the country, scientists were curious about how the substance affected people's incentive to exercise.
Researchers had 42 volunteers active with both cardio and cannabis go on 2 30-minute jogs on a treadmill while fielding questions.
The first run was sober while the following run was after consuming marijuana.
A man smokes a marijuana cigarette during 4/20 celebrations in New York. 4/20 is the day where tens of thousands of Americans gather around the country to celebrate a drug that remains illegal in some states of the U.S. (Photo by John Smith/VIEWpress …
They found while cannabis didn't enhance a person's athletic performance, they say nearly 60-percent of participants said it increased their focus and roughly 45-percent said it made their workouts go by faster.
"I wouldn’t go out and recommend pre-workout use of cannabis right now just based on this. Can we do this with maybe more than 40 people and also okay this was running but can we do this with other sports," questioned Maik Wiedenbach.
Wiedenbach is an Olympian personal trainer neither condemning or condoning marijuana ahead of a workout, but he has questions the study didn't quite answer.
"Where can it be replicated? where can we do this for 3 months and see if people still have more motivation. Does the performance eventually catch up, but does it stay below a level so on and so forth right," he continued.
Bryan though is convinced there's some substance to the study.
"People said that it helped them to enjoy their physical activity more. Um, counterintuitively, it helped them feel more motivated to exercise. It decreased pain during exercise," she added.