I’ve never done it inside and probably wouldn’t for anything sweet spot and above. Endurance rides with a movie and lots of snacks ( indoors) I’m sure wouldn’t affect RPE too much.
Outside endurance rides with the right vibes, can’t go wrong. If you’re an experienced user, wouldn’t suggest for a newbie.
I have not but I haven’t had good experiences with THC and working out. I’ve lifted and ran while high before, just to see what it was like. The problem for me is that the peak high comes fast and goes quickly, leaving you in a sort of lethargic state (with dry eyes), not exactly pleasant while working out.
I will say when I went on a 5 mile run immediately following THC intake, the first half was really pleasant with my music and the fact I was running at sundown. Just really serene and my HR reflected it. But then halfway through it all changed and my HR jumped and the rest of the run just felt weird. I’m not sure why.
That said, I recently discovered THC gelcaps, which comes in a variety of doses. I haven’t tried this on the trainer but I imagine it would be good because it doesn’t have the problem I just described above. It comes on slow and steady and stays steady for hours on end. ABX extracts if someone wants to look up the brand. Comes in 5mg to 200mg (which would be insane). Supposedly very cleanly made and obviously you don’t have to smoke anything.
Beyond that, I use cannabis as medicine. I have crohn’s disease and it really is nice knowing I have something at home I can turn to if I ever get a flare up (it helps ease the abdominal pain and spurs appetite when I don’t have any). I’ve also tried thc/CBD creams for pain relief. It’s not so different from aspercreme type stuff but I enjoy the smell of the thc/cbd cream more, plus I try to use more natural vs chemical things if at all possible.
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I’ve been meaning to try it for endurance rides but keep forgetting. Closest I’ve come is my trail family smoking me up once. Promptly hiked 12-15 ish miles like there was a buffet waiting for me at the end (there wasn’t).
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I moved your post and the replies under the appropriate THC based one.
We try to keep that separate from the CBD one where you originally posted, since they are different.
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I’ve done a little bit of non-scientific testing of the effects and really don’t see any consistent/direct impact on either RPE or performance. What usually changes is motivation and time perception.
It enhances recovery/endurance rides on the trainer pretty effectively for me. Where a hard workout or outdoor ride is something I looked forward to at the end of the day, the easy rides are hard to motivate for. A little buzz with the right show/movie/album will do the trick for me 90% of the time to clear my mind and enjoy some entertainment while having an easy spin. I’ve done a handful of neighborhood trail rides as well, and there it helps me actually go for an easy spin outside just enjoying the breeze and sun. I did notice that there are fewer power spikes on these rides, where normally I’d just do a few little efforts for tech sections and hills.
It doesn’t fix all the bad days, I’ve definitely gotten on the trainer and felt like the first 15 minutes was an hour, the z2 ride was moderate rather than easy RPE, and nothing was enticing on the TV even after an edible. I usually go for energetic strains, but I know others who are much less motivated to do activity after even small doses and might get this feeling much more often.
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This is such a highly under utilized way to use cannabis, medicinally. A fellow IBD cyclist here - with Ulcerative Colitis. Similarly, THC tincture really helps with discomfort if I’m in a flare up and helps me maintain some semblance of an appetite. It’s honestly a godsend and is FAR better than the opioids my GI will happily prescribe to deal with discomfort.
As far as RPE/using it for workouts, THC causes me to experience time dilation, where everything slows down in a major way. I’ve used it (in small dose) once prior to working out - and found it pretty demotivational, and I could not wait to get OFF the bike. It’s a far better post exercise aid for sleep when I’m doing late night intervals or Zwift racing and have ingested caffeine.
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Definitely, but as others have said I agree that it’s generally demotivational.
At any rate I don’t use cannabis of any kind anymore, it’s long since outlived its usefulness to me and I’ve come around to thinking it does more harm than good for otherwise healthy people.
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Very little is ok, beyond that, I don’t like it. It makes me want to eat everything. Off the bike? I’m all about it in the form of infusions so I’m smoking/vaping very very little.
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I’ve had edibles on the trainer before because I took them to help with sleep, and then realized I was supposed to do like a 60min ride still that day…
Mixed experienced, both were z2 rides. The one time they made RPE worse, and the ride seemed to drag on forever because I was very aware of time passing. The other time it made RPE easier and made the ride go by faster than usual.
On both occasions, HR was higher than normal for a given effort, which is really not surprising given THC can cause both vasodilation, as well as probably decreases cardiac contractility (and therefore your high-end aerobic capabilities).
You always hear those rumors of guys/gals pulling off to the side of the road in ultra cycling events, such as Unbound XL, to partake. I wonder if anyone’s had experience doing this in an event such as this? What benefits are they trying to get? Lower RPE?
They probably do it for the vibes and not really caring about results. At least that’s the only reason I would, I wouldn’t do it for performance but rather for enjoying the scenery and bike ride with new and old friends. I wouldn’t partake if I had performance goals for the event. Mullet protocol
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There probably are people who can get minimal performance benefits or maximize vibes to improve their performance. I could definitely see using it for appetite deep into the race, or if you are trying to get some sleep during an overnight race.
Some people just don’t get the same reactions, while it can be demotivating to most people, I know plenty who get into their flow state and can keep going all day slightly stoned.
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Weed is another sneaky climber trick to try to get the heavy guys to chill untill the first climb.
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That’s why twenty years ago I stopped doing thc!
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We have a long running topic on CBD that you can check out.
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I’m not a regular user, but when I head to the mountains for cycling holidays, I tend to partake of a gummy or two. I’ve found that when I do, my RHR goes up and my HRV goes down. I also tend to get almost zero “deep sleep” (according to Garmin). As soon as I go home (and stop using), things right themselves. This has happened many times over the years and at multiple elevations, so I don’t think it’s necessarily the mountains to blame, although they could be part of it. Does anyone else notice this?
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That seems to be the consensus whenever I hear someone talking about it’s impact on sleep.
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I gave up weed in college and am fine with that. I was dead set against the legalization drive. Now, later in life, I have a group of friends who are ER docs and they have all largely given up on weed after seeing the effects of long term and even short term use, and overuse, of weed and THC compounds. There is a coming reckoning over the use of marijuana and THC, i and many think. It’s NOT safe, and it’s become incredibly psychologically addictive to users. The addiction is either driven by the drugs itself, or the wide spread impression that it’s ‘totally safe’.
Use it at your own risk.
On a related note, some of the local people that touted CBD as being a ‘wonder drug’ for their training and recovery have backed off their claims over the past year. I found that interesting…
That was interesting. Thanks for sharing.
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Not sure about HRV but isn’t increased RHR a normal acute response to a sudden increase in elevation? To maintain the same level of oxygen delivery the body can either make more red blood cells or increase the flowrate and the latter is a much quicker response.