Runner’s High is Real: Weed & Workouts, Part 1

[00:00:00] Ellen Scanlon: This podcast discusses cannabis and is intended for audiences 21 and over.

[00:00:05] Hilary Achauer: It’s interesting to me to think about how can we just get more people moving in any way. If someone has chronic pain and cannabis can give them relief to maybe even just go for a walk or do some yoga, that’s, that’s incredible because movement is so important, but it’s not something that’s available to everyone.

[00:00:26] Ellen Scanlon: Welcome to How To Do The Pot, a podcast helping you feel confident about cannabis. I’m your host, Ellen Skainman.

[00:00:37] Ellen Scanlon: You just heard from Hilary Ockhauer, a California based journalist. With the Paris Summer Olympics approaching, it feels like a perfect time to focus on exercise, getting out and moving your body, whether it’s for health, well being, or just for fun. Hillary wrote an article in the New York Times that is the inspiration for this new three part series, where we’ll explore the intersection of cannabis and fitness.

[00:01:07] Ellen Scanlon: If you’re asking yourself, Exercise on a podcast about cannabis. Doesn’t weed just make you want to melt into your couch? Stick with me. Hillary’s article titled, can weed improve a workout covered how by fine tuning your dosage, women especially are experiencing lower anxiety, getting help with chronic pain and feeling more joy moving their bodies.

[00:01:37] Ellen Scanlon: Could weed be the new workout buddy? Hillary is an active mom living in San Diego, and she got interested in the subject after seeing a small study out of University of Colorado Boulder that looked at the positive impacts of cannabis on exercise. Yes, UC Boulder studied how cannabis can help rather than hinder a workout.

[00:02:02] Ellen Scanlon: Feels like time to question the old stereotypes about a lazy stoner. Research has shown that cannabis consumers are actually more health conscious and more active than the general population. There are lots of reasons for this, which I’ll get into in the series. And one of the main reasons is that cannabis can help with pain relief.

[00:02:25] Ellen Scanlon: There are a lot of people of all ages suffering from chronic pain. In today’s show, I’ll talk to Hillary about how the people she featured in her article dramatically improved their relationship to exercise by adding weed. She’ll explain why cannabis can be helpful for movement and share what she learned from reading the comments to her New York Times article.

[00:02:50] Ellen Scanlon: In part two of this series, we’ll hear from people across the country who share practical tips and personal stories about how cannabis has positively impacted their workouts, from boosting motivation to providing pain relief. In Part 3, I’ll talk to a physician about the latest research on how cannabis alleviates chronic and acute pain.

[00:03:12] Ellen Scanlon: And a former elite rugby player will offer her views on why athletes are choosing cannabis over opioids for injuries, recovery, and pain relief. Whether you are chasing Olympic dreams or just want to make your daily jog more fun, My goal with this series is to help break down barriers that might be preventing you from exercise.

[00:03:36] Ellen Scanlon: With safe legal access to cannabis in more states, you might be surprised by how weed is inspiring workouts, relieving pain, and boosting people’s mental and physical health. Let’s dive in.

[00:03:57] Ellen Scanlon: Before we get into this week’s episode, I want to talk for a second about how to do the POTS newsletter. The newsletter is a twice a month resource that will help you feel confident about cannabis for health, wellbeing, and for fun. The newsletter is also our direct line to you. You can hit the reply button and let me know what topics or guests you’d like to hear on the show.

[00:04:21] Ellen Scanlon: There are already thousands of subscribers reading and responding, and the more, the merrier. We couldn’t do this without you, so please go to DoThePot. com to sign up. Thank you, and I really appreciate your support for the show.

[00:04:44] Ellen Scanlon: I’m really excited for the Paris Olympics, and can’t wait to watch the American sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson. In 2021, Sha’Carri was banned from the Olympics after testing positive for cannabis in an Olympic trial event. She had learned days earlier from a reporter that her biological mother had passed away.

[00:05:06] Ellen Scanlon: She said that cannabis was helping her cope with the surprising and sad news. The publicity around Sha’Carri’s ban brought the challenges that athletes face into the mainstream conversation. I’ll get into this more later in the series. The happy news is that Sha’Carri made the 2024 U. S. team and will be competing to become the fastest woman in the world.

[00:05:33] Ellen Scanlon: Whatever speed you may run, the Mayo Clinic and many health experts will tell you that health gets better with movement. And movement is not easy for a lot of people. The stats are that 1 in 5 people in this country are in chronic pain. And pain is a huge barrier to physical activity and exercise.

[00:05:58] Ellen Scanlon: Hillary explains more.

[00:06:00] Hilary Achauer: Most Americans don’t meet the minimum CDC requirements for exercise, which is 150 minutes of moderate intense physical activity a week. So that’s like 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week. And then on top of that, 2 days of muscle strengthening activity. So, you know, those are guidelines and so most people don’t meet that and we have to think about why people don’t meet that.

[00:06:20] Hilary Achauer: What are the barriers? I do not agree that it’s a lack of willpower, you know, I mean, obviously there are systemic problems and structural problems like if you’re a single parent, but pain could be one of those barriers. So it’s interesting to me to think about how can we just get more people moving in any way and if this helps, then I think it’s great.

[00:06:38] Hilary Achauer: If someone has chronic pain and cannabis can give them relief to maybe even just go for a walk or do some yoga, that’s, that’s incredible because movement is so important, but it’s not something that’s available to everyone.

[00:06:51] Ellen Scanlon: As Hillary reported the story, she learned that eating disorders and anxiety were barriers to movement as well, especially for women.

[00:07:00] Ellen Scanlon: Cannabis seems to be a helpful tool for managing these issues.

[00:07:04] Hilary Achauer: I realized, after thinking about all the people I talked to, that Most of the women had either a history of eating disorder or some kind of anxiety about their body that prevented them from working out regularly or even working out at all.

[00:07:18] Hilary Achauer: If we think back to the messages women get and negative feelings they might have about their body, that’s going to prevent you from dropping into your body and enjoying movement. One of the stories. that I interviewed was Morgan, who started stoned and toned, which is this online membership gym, essentially, where you can access classes.

[00:07:38] Hilary Achauer: And the instructors start at the beginning, say what they’re smoking. I think they’re usually smoking. And then they start the workout and they take little smoke breaks in between. It was super interesting. The woman, Morgan, who started it said, She had an eating disorder. And for most of her young life, exercise was a punishment.

[00:07:55] Hilary Achauer: It was something that she did to punish herself, you know, or to make herself look a certain way or feel like she can look a certain way. And she hated PE class. She hated moving her body. It caused a lot of anxiety. And it wasn’t until college that she started smoking weed. And she told the story about, she was in college, she was smoking weed on her fire escape, and she had a view of the college’s gym.

[00:08:18] Hilary Achauer: And she, A thought came into her head. She said she hadn’t thought this for years. That said, she thought, I want to work out. And so she went across the gym and clicked into the spin bike and started working out. And she said it felt revolutionary and she didn’t have anxiety about what other people were thinking of her.

[00:08:36] Hilary Achauer: And she just got in the zone and started exercising. So now she. moves four or five times a week, I mean, she has an exercise company. So that really, for her, transformed the way she approaches movement.

[00:08:54] Ellen Scanlon: For most of my twenties, I lived in New York City. And still to this day, one of my favorite things to do is walk around in a city. It’s great exercise and it taps into a quote I love, which says, the eye has to travel. There is so much to see and be inspired by, especially in New York. On my last visit to New York City, I made a special point of walking to Union Square to visit a dispensary called the Travel Agency.

[00:09:24] Ellen Scanlon: It is a woman and BIPOC founded dispensary that believes legal cannabis has the power to repair the damage caused by the war on drugs. There are a lot of illegal dispensaries in New York right now, and the travel agency is one of the few that are legally licensed by the state. As an advocate for safe legal access and for retail stores that help women buying weed feel comfortable, this is very important to me.

[00:09:52] Ellen Scanlon: The travel agency’s dispensaries are really worth checking out. They’re modern and cool, with the largest selection of any legal dispensary in New York City. They have great locations too. The one I visited in Union Square is across the street from the iconic bookstore, The Strand. There is a travel agency on Fifth Avenue near Rockefeller Center, just a few blocks from the MoMA.

[00:10:18] Ellen Scanlon: And their newest location is in downtown Brooklyn by the Barclays Center. Whether you are visiting New York or you live there, the Travel Agency is a must visit destination. To shop at all the Travel Agency dispensaries, all you need is a valid ID that says you’re over 21. I’ll add all the details to the show notes.

[00:10:42] Ellen Scanlon: And if you’re looking to connect with a running group, stop by the Travel Agency’s Brooklyn location to learn more about the Rage and Release running groups that start from there a few times a week. And tell them that How to Do the Pot sent you.

[00:11:02] Ellen Scanlon: In her New York times article, Hillary featured another woman whose confidence really improved when she discovered cannabis through the stoned and toned workouts.

[00:11:13] Hilary Achauer: This woman, Alex, she’s 30 and she lives in Vancouver. She has a history with an eating disorder and she’s been in recovery for 11 years and she used to overexercise.

[00:11:24] Hilary Achauer: And then during COVID, she got a trainer and she found it triggering, but then she. began doing stoned and tone workouts. And she said it was like the first time she felt confident and healthy in her workout routine. And like the other woman said, she used to view exercise as a punishment. She just says she kind of, she feels free and she’s more consistent than she’s ever been with working out.

[00:11:47] Hilary Achauer: I feel a lot of sadness for the messages that women have gotten, even this 30 year olds have gotten and what has led to them being unable to enjoy that feeling of movement. And, you know, I was just left with feeling grateful for her and for any person who’s able to find something that really, cause movement is beautiful.

[00:12:10] Hilary Achauer: And I wish for anyone to be able to, you know, to discover that and to have that be part of their life. So if cannabis helps them, that’s great.

[00:12:18] Ellen Scanlon: Hillary spoke to a man who is able to run 30 miles a week despite having some injuries that have caused him pain.

[00:12:26] Hilary Achauer: Brain always quits before your body does.

[00:12:28] Hilary Achauer: Usually you start to feel the pain and He says he doesn’t experience that when he’s under the influence of cannabis. It’s a very small dose, but that helps him keep going. Another person I interviewed who didn’t want their name used was saying they use cannabis when they were working out, they were less likely to say that’s too hard.

[00:12:46] Hilary Achauer: I can’t do that. It’s just so interesting to me because I love hard workouts, but there may be people who have some kind of barrier. We’re all different. And this person said they have pretty bad asthma as a, as a kid. And so they doubted their athletic ability and maybe this took away some of that. I don’t know, whatever the barrier was, this helped remove it.

[00:13:06] Ellen Scanlon: We’ve all heard of a runner’s high, that blissful feeling you get after a strenuous workout. And it turns out, it’s a real thing. Recent science shows that endorphins, long thought to be the source, are not what is causing the runner’s high feeling. It’s the endocannabinoid system, a system in our bodies that is similar to the nervous system or the cardiovascular system.

[00:13:32] Ellen Scanlon: We all have one, and the role of the endocannabinoid system is to promote homeostasis, or balance, in the body. The runner’s high feeling relies on the release of endocannabinoids, which are chemical substances that are naturally produced by the body. Exercise increases the levels of endocannabinoids in your bloodstream.

[00:13:54] Hilary Achauer: People always talked about like the runner’s high and they were saying you get endorphins from exercising, but that actually has been disproven. And what happens is that your body can produce cannabinoids itself. Well, exercise increases stimulates that. So when you consume weed before exercise for people who don’t exercise enough to stimulate their own cannabinoids, then THC or even CBD can stimulate that.

[00:14:17] Hilary Achauer: So you get this quote unquote runner’s high, but our bodies have it within us. Maybe some people don’t produce those enough on their own. I do definitely feel when I exercise a lot of feelings of wellbeing and really elevates my mood, maybe not everyone. And so maybe they need some help with that.

[00:14:41] Ellen Scanlon: Runner’s high, that balanced, happy, content feeling of wanting to run, or swim, or bike, forever. It’s something I hope everyone has more of. When I learned that the runner’s high is real, that it’s actually my body’s own endocannabinoid system feeling balanced, it made a lot of sense to me. That feeling is basically why I like weed.

[00:15:07] Ellen Scanlon: It’s also why I love Camino, one of my favorite women run edible brands. They create mood enhancing gummies with effects that are tailored to how you want to feel. Camino created freshly squeezed recover gummies with a minor cannabinoid called CBG, which is known for its anti inflammatory and anti anxiety effects.

[00:15:31] Ellen Scanlon: The recovery gummies aren’t just for exercise. Maybe you’re wrapping up a hectic workday, your mind is racing and your body feels tense. However it happens, taking time for recovery is how you give your body what it needs to rest and heal. Camino’s recovery gummies are available in select states. I’m so excited to offer our listeners 20 percent off Camino gummies that ship right to your house.

[00:16:00] Ellen Scanlon: Some people like the recover gummies before exercise and others like them afterwards. I’d love to hear what works best for you. Use promo code DOTHEPOT when you visit shopkivaconfections. com for 20 percent off your order. I’ll add links and all the details to the show notes. Thanks for listening! Thank you for supporting the brands that support our show.

[00:16:29] Ellen Scanlon: You’re not alone if exercise and cannabis seems a little counterintuitive. Hillary bumped up against a fair amount of stigma and misconceptions about weed while she researched the subject.

[00:16:43] Hilary Achauer: The biggest one was the couch lock thing. You know, anytime I talk to anyone in my world that what I was working on.

[00:16:51] Hilary Achauer: My husband was like, make sure you ask everyone about Couch Lock. So I did. And I mean, the thing is the most people I talked to were regular users. And so they kind of were like, this is not a thing. It’s, I mean, they all said it depends on the dosage. So they were using not a lot of it. I think there’s a stigma that you’re going to be lazy and not want to move.

[00:17:11] Hilary Achauer: A lot of times I think people very much equate it to drinking. And so they’re picturing someone. Drinking before working out and those two are equivalent. So maybe that would be a stigma as well. I think people still have a funny reaction to it. There’s a little bit of a giggling or like it’s amusing.

[00:17:29] Hilary Achauer: And when I interviewed people, it was, everyone took it very seriously. They were all using it or in the world or, or doctors who were prescribing it. But outside of interviewing for the article, I, yeah, I got a lot of laughing and jokes and talking about, you’re just going to sit on the couch. And I think that’s a big misconception for, you know, those of us who are not in the industry of like, the dosage matters so much.

[00:17:50] Hilary Achauer: I think a lot of people, yeah, do have a misconception that you’re getting super stoned and then doing these activities.

[00:17:55] Ellen Scanlon: New York based High Richards is the founder of Rage and Release, a health and wellness community that empowers people to overcome adversity with a holistic approach. For many years, Ty has appreciated the benefits of cannabis and exercise, especially for running.

[00:18:13] Ellen Scanlon: He still doesn’t think enough people know about it.

[00:18:16] Thai Richards: I was running cross country and playing basketball and running track. And I was also trying to play a little bit of baseball. Doing all those things all year round, I realized the difference when I did smoke. Immediately, I noticed a difference, like, like, oh man, like I’m not as sore anymore.

[00:18:32] Thai Richards: Or even just like the aspect of relieving yourself of that anxiety, right? Thank you. And when you have a little bit of the right weed before any performance, it kind of enhances it for sure, at least for running. It does. I feel like for running, it’s a little more freedom to it because it’s an individual sport.

[00:18:47] Thai Richards: You don’t have the necessarily thought process of I have to worry about an entire team. So it is a little bit more liberating in a sense where you can just find yourself in your own world and kind of like moving at your own pace. But I did realize that it was a Such a powerful tool as an athlete because it could put me in the right state of mind.

[00:19:04] Thai Richards: It can help me recover properly. It could help me meditate on the right things. So there were all of those positive aspects that I was like, why isn’t anybody talking about this enough?

[00:19:13] Ellen Scanlon: When Ty realized that people he respected in the fitness community were secretly using cannabis, he decided to become more public about it.

[00:19:22] Ellen Scanlon: It hasn’t been easy, but he’s committed to sharing the benefits of cannabis for active people.

[00:19:28] Thai Richards: I was a part of all those different gym openings here in New York, and I was realizing a lot of the master trainers of these gyms and a lot of the head people of these industries, they smoke weed. And I’m like, so you guys are not going to tell anybody that weed is awesome for what you’re doing and it actually helps you with your day to day.

[00:19:46] Thai Richards: You guys are scared of your, your reputation. You guys are scared of being labeled a stoner and all these different things. So I said, I’m going to go for it. I’m going to take the brunt of all the punishment that most people are afraid of. And I’m going to create something knowing that at some point in time, not knowing when, Because I started my business in 2015, I’ve lost so many deals, we’ve taken so many losses due to being affiliated with cannabis.

[00:20:12] Thai Richards: Because people don’t take fitness and cannabis seriously, you know? So, understanding that that needed to be done, I was like, we’re gonna be gung ho about this, and we’re gonna lean into it as much as possible. I’m gonna do it in the most holistic ways possible, and hopefully I can convince some people that it is not what it all seems to be.

[00:20:28] Ellen Scanlon: Being public about cannabis was a question I had for Hillary too. She was surprised to find that reader comments about her cannabis and exercise article were overwhelmingly positive and supportive.

[00:20:41] Hilary Achauer: There is all of a sudden this wave of people coming in saying like, listen, like this is really, yes, I do this.

[00:20:47] Hilary Achauer: And it’s not only young people. I don’t know if I’m sure the readership is older, but certainly the commenters and my experience tend to be older. 60, 70 ish. So there’s a lot of people coming in and saying, yeah, wake up. Like I’ve been doing this for many years and I’m 65, I’m 70 or talking about their experiences.

[00:21:04] Hilary Achauer: So it did surprise me how many positive comments that I got and how many people kind of pushing back on traditional reaction, which was like, Oh, either laughing about it, you know, making jokes about it or saying this is irresponsible.

[00:21:20] Ellen Scanlon: If cannabis can help you move more, that is the goal.

[00:21:27] Hilary Achauer: As much as they should.

[00:21:28] Hilary Achauer: And so I kind of feel like my overarching goal or North Star is what can help people move more. So I’m in favor of whatever does that.

[00:21:39] Ellen Scanlon: Are you curious about how to try cannabis for your next workout? In the next episode in the series, I’ll share stories from people all across the country who’ve made cannabis a key part of their training program.

[00:21:52] Ellen Scanlon: Stay tuned. If you like this episode, please share it with a friend. We love new listeners and are here to help everyone feel confident about cannabis.

[00:22:07] Ellen Scanlon: Thank you for listening to how to do the pot. For lots more information and past episodes, visit do the pot.com. Are you one of the thousands of people who love how to do the POTS newsletter? If you’re not getting it, please sign up@dothepot.com. And if you like how to do the pot, please rate and review us on Apple Podcasts.

[00:22:30] Ellen Scanlon: It really helps people find the show. Thank you to writer Joanna Silver and producers Maddie Fair and Nick Petri. I’m Ellen Scanlon, and stay tuned for more of How to Do the Pot.