Faster Recovery & Reduced Pain: CBD Is The Secret To Better Health & Fitness

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, it’s hard not to have come across CBD – the biggest trend in the health and wellness world and the latest to take Hong Kong by storm. From supporting stress relief to helping people cope with anxiety, alleviate pain and even improve chronic illnesses such as insomnia, the benefits of CBD are myriad. But what about its impact on sports recovery and performance, and general health and fitness? We sat down with David Tanner, who owns CBD Hong Kong, to help take you through how CBD can support muscle recovery, improve joint discomfort, lower inflammation, get you better sleep and more, and why it might just be the secret weapon you need to optimise your health, and your fitness routine. 

From professionals to fitness hobbyists, CBD is a key recovery tool

It’s safe to say that health and well-being are top of mind as we continue to live amidst the coronavirus pandemic, and many of us are taking to exercise – whether it be going on frequent walks, hitting the gym, trying out pilates or even trail running – as a core part of our renewed priority to keep in shape. But as we all know, fitness isn’t just about how much we sweat or the number of hours we put in. It’s important to make sure that we are truly optimising the way we move, recover and perform. 

I really wanted to bring a CBD brand into Hong Kong that could be the best on offer.

David Tanner, Founder CBD Hong Kong

That’s where CBD comes in. While long hailed as the perfect wellness tool to incorporate into our busy lives, whether it be boosting concentration for students to enabling us to relax and wind-down from a stressful day, CBD, which is importantly non-psychoactive unlike the THC compound, is also a powerful instrument when it comes to ensuring we can recuperate from an intense workout and even improve our performance over time. 

Even professional athletes have taken to CBD, with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) ruling earlier this year to approve CBD use by athletes in professional sports, who are incorporating it into their regimen for its beneficial pharmacological effects.

The research is clear: CBD helps with muscle recovery and anti-inflammation

Published in peer-reviewed journal Antioxidants last year, one study found that despite having no psychotropic effects, CBD can stimulate endo-cannabinoid system, which helps maintain our body’s natural physical and chemical balance, a state known as homeostasis, and could help our muscles recover thanks to its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.

“In addition, preclinical and clinical studies have contributed to our understanding of the therapeutic potential of CBD for many diseases, including diseases associated with oxidative stress,” wrote the researchers.

A more recent review published this year in Sports Medicine, which analysed preclinical and clinical CBD trials further supports this, finding that CBD could result in positive physiological, biochemical, and psychological effects. Crucially, the paper concluded that CBD could help reduce inflammatory pain associated with tissue damage and neuropathic pain caused by nerve damage or irritation, which can often happen after rigorous or intensive exercise, particularly long-distance workouts like running. 

And combined with the multitude of other advantages that CBD brings, from lowering stress levels to improving our quality of sleep, which can boost our emotional and mental well-being on top of our physical condition, it’s no surprise that many fitness and health fanatics have already taken to adding CBD into their toolkit. 

Hong Kong fitness community leader working with leading global brand cbdMD

That’s why Hong Kong resident David Tanner, armed with over a decade of experience in the fitness and health industry and founder of The Women’s Five, an organiser of sporting events in the city that raises money for charity, decided to start new online platform CBD Hong Kong. 

“I really wanted to bring a brand into Hong Kong that could be the best on offer,” Tanner told Green Queen. “We currently have the largest range of products and also the largest range of strengths – from 300mg to 7500mg for oils, and we also stock gummies and award-winning topicals which are great for athletes.” 

The brand Tanner is talking about is cbdMD, the leading brand from the U.S. known to sponsor high-profile athletes including professional golfer and two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson and MMA fighter Gaston “The Dreamkiller” Bolanos. cbdMD’s range is made using a proprietary process that ensures high-quality, broad spectrum CBD products that have absolutely no THC. 

The 3000mg Tincture is amazing. I usually struggle to sleep and relax at night but the cbdMD 3000 helped my muscle tension let go and drift into sleep effortlessly.

Ea Holm, Certified Rolfer & Massage Therapist

What real athletes have to say about CBD

Some of Hong Kong’s top sporting enthusiasts, health professionals and athletes have already taken to adopting cbdMD’s range of products, including powerlifter Alan Patrick who swears by CBD topical creams. 

“I tried the 300mg Recover Cream last night,” Patrick said. “I had some pain in my elbow and felt a lot better within the hour.” 

Ultra-runner and Hong Kong Strava-famous Aigul Safiullina (also a Green Queen Media team member), who recently completed a 70km ultra-race in Lantau, agrees: “The CBD Freeze 750mg cream saved me during my race as I was experiencing some stiffness on my shins and my knees,” she explained. “The immediate cooling effect worked as a quick fix and helped to keep running. I continued using it during my recovery days and could feel the gradual relief until the pain was gone completely.” 

Licensed massage therapist and certified rolfer Ea Holm, on the other hand, is a huge fan of tinctures from the brand. “The 3000mg Tincture is amazing. I usually struggle to sleep and relax at night but the cbdMD 3000 helped my muscle tension let go and drift into sleep effortlessly. The flavour is also pleasant. I’d highly recommend it.”

All images courtesy of CBD Hong Kong / cbdMD.

This is a Green Queen partner post.