Does Smoking Weed Affect Muscle Growth?

Yes, it does.

Testosterone is a hormone that is responsible for growth of muscles in men, particularly the upper legs, chest and biceps. The inhibition of testosterone is reported by some of the studies done on the effects of marijuana. In this sense, the answer to the question “Does smoking weed affect muscle growth?” is yes, it does.

However, the marijuana effects are variable and not the same for everyone. Some people might become addicted to it and experience all the reported harmful effects of weed smoking while others might find it a harmless drug that only gives them a pleasurable experience without getting addicted to it.

Despite smoking weed, there is a chance for you to increase your muscle mass by working out regularly. You will have to spend at least half an hour in the gym each day, if you are skinny, to build your muscles quickly. However, it is important that you eat a balanced diet and take proper nighttime sleep of at least 7 hours if you want to grow bigger muscles. Moreover, you will have to cut down on cigarette smoking too as it thins blood and deprive your muscles from the oxygen which is required by them to grow.

It Hampers Overload

Since marijuana possesses the depressant properties of alcohol and it is also a mild hallucinogen, its use hampers your ability to push yourself to the limit when doing exercise and weight lifting. In body building terms, this is known as overload and it is important for bringing about an improvement in your muscle strength and cardiovascular performance. So, while using marijuana, you will be less inclined to overload your body during exercise and thus your muscle strength would not increase to the optimal level.

It Lowers Testosterone

Although the studies are not entirely clear, they do show that long term use of marijuana does lower testosterone levels and thus can lead to lowered muscle mass. So, the answer to the question “does smoking weed hinders muscle growth?” is yes since without the high levels of testosterone in the body, building muscles can become quite difficult. Lack of testosterone also makes you feel tired and limits your exercise regimes further hampering your muscle growth. This is why athletes and bodybuilders want to have high testosterone levels so that they can optimally strengthen their muscles.

It Leads to Poor Nutrition

According to the studies of National Cannabis Prevention and Information Centre of Australia, marijuana high can lead to "the munchies," meaning the consumption of weed enhances your hunger and cravings for fast food items like burgers and candies that are high in calories but low in nutrition. This may hamper your muscle growth as the body converts calories into fats.

It Lowers Growth Hormone

The production of growth hormone is lowered due to marijuana use. The growth hormone works in the same way as testosterone and unless you have high levels of this hormone, you can’t build muscles quickly. Smoking weed is going to lower the levels of growth hormone in your body and will make your body’s recover rate very slow. However, do remember that this dip in growth hormone levels is temporary, diet and training can enhance the levels of your growth hormone while supplements can also aid in increasing this hormone’s profile.

Suppressing the weed cravings in the initial days of the quitting process can be hard if you want to learn how to cease your weed smoking. However, once this first withdrawal phase is done that lasts around a week for most people, the weed cravings will substantially subside until they do not affect you anymore.

• Distract: Distraction is a good ally for you if you want to resist the temptation of smoking weed. You only have to distract yourself for a few minutes to get the cravings off. Doing something active can take your mind off like cooking, doing some chores or going for a walk.

• Delay: Delaying the urge to smoke weed is another method of resisting the weed cravings. If you find the craving to smoke too hard to resist, then delay it at least by at least 30 minutes. Chances are that after that time you will no longer have the urge to smoke.

• De-Stress: Stress is one of the withdrawal symptoms that you experience when trying to resist weed cravings. If you do something relaxing, it can help you in de-stressing yourself; for instance, having a shower is a good way of relieving stress and at the same time is going to distract you and delay your weed cravings, too.

• Don’t Lose Perspective: It is important to remember that while trying to resist the weed cravings, you are going to feel bad. Don’t lose perspective and stay on course as what you are doing is right and stopping weed smoking is not going to kill you.