Advertisement People who smoke weed before hitting the gym exercise longer, study says Share Shares Copy Link Copy

People who smoke weed are more likely to work out than watch cartoons all day, according to a study published in Frontiers in Public Health. In fact, more than 50 percent of cannabis users said weed motivated them to exercise.Data was compiled through online surveys from approximately 600 people living in states where cannabis is legal. About 80 percent of respondents copped to using the drug before or after hitting the gym, while 67 percent admitted to using weed both pre and post workout. People who got high within hours of exercising logged 43 more minutes of activity each week, compared to participants who didn't time workouts around drug use. The reason? People credited cannabis with making exercise more enjoyable and improving recovery. "There is evidence to suggest that certain cannabinoids dampen pain perception, and we also know that the receptors cannabis binds to in the brain are very similar to the receptors that are activated naturally during the runners high," study co-author Arielle Gillman, a former Ph.D. student at the University of Colorado at Boulder, said in a statement. Some fitness buffs believe marijuana even helps them stay focused at the gym. “I found it helped with my motivation on days when I didn’t want to go (work out). When lifting, it helps me focus on slowing down on my reps, focus on form and really engage my muscles. (And) cannabis makes running more tolerable — like a runner’s high, but you start with it,” Canadian resident Daniel Winer told MarketWatch. This isn't the only study breaking stoner stereotypes. Last month, research showed that people who smoke weed are less likely to be overweight compared to those who don't, according to a paper published in the International Journal of Epidemiology.But that's not to say that you need to toke up to get the most of your workout. There's still not enough research indicating that smoking weed is safe.