MARIJUANA: USE IT OR NOT (PART 2)

by Marylin Salgado

This blog is part two of a two-part series on the effects of Marijuana on the mind and body.

On part one of the series, I discussed the effects of Marijuana on the body. Part two will focus more on the effects of exercise, weight gain, and muscle growth.

Marijuana use can affect the way you perform your workouts and how your muscle responds to said workouts. It is essential when working out that you push yourself, not to the point of pain, but to the point where you feel that good burn. That’s when you know you are targeting those key muscles during a workout. Adversely, using Marijuana will cause issues with focus and coordination. The end result are workouts with poor technique and failure to reach strength and maximum capacity.

Men, if you think Marijuana just affects brain and muscle function, then you are sadly mistaken. Using Marijuana reduces Testosterone levels in men and can cause gynecomastia, which is “men boobs.” And I’m not talking about tight pecs, gentleman. I am talking about sagging, fatty boobs. So, think about sagging boobs and no libido. How much do you really want to keep puffing that weed? Just saying, guys.

According to Dr. Youn:

“Although the association between marijuana and gynecomastia hasn’t been conclusively proven, it appears very plausible,” wrote Anthony Youn, MD, a plastic surgeon from the Detroit area, in a column for CNN Health. “For this reason, the majority of plastic surgeons I’ve consulted with routinely inquire with their gynecomastia patients about cannabis use and recommend they stop smoking pot immediately.”

For both men and women, if you think it wise to smoke right after a workout, because you want to chill or relax the soreness, welcome the munchies and kill your workout by adding a whole lot of useless calories to your body filled with sugar and fat. Marijuana will also reduce your reaction time, and this is not good when lifting weights. Think about losing your balance while lifting or squatting; and the injury you might sustain because you are not able to react quickly enough to deflect that unbalanced movement. Some injuries can keep you out of the gym for good. So, my advice is to let the muscles heal on their own. Your body is healthy enough to take care of itself. Warm compresses, a relaxing bath with Epsom salt, a nice muscle rub, and a few resting days are just some of the holistic ways to help heal the body.

So how does Marijuana affect your muscles? Well, it doesn’t affect muscle protein synthesis, which is the process of building muscle mass and essential for muscle recovery after a workout. But that doesn’t mean using Marijuana will not affect the workouts needed to produce your own individual goals on exercise and building muscle mass. So essentially, if you are not able to workout properly, you can’t build the muscle you want. So, what good is protein synthesis if you can’t produce a good workout?

We all have choices. What’s yours?

Sources:

https://www.mdmag.com/medical-news/is-there-a-link-between-low-testosterone-and-chronic-marijuana-useandrwe

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