It’s that time of year again when the gyms are full and you can’t get a bike at spin class. If you’re wondering if CBD can help your new year fitness regime too, Impact Sports, a new UK-based CBD brand, has launched its range just in time to answer your question.
Following a year of collaboration between cannabis biotech company CiiTECH and international rugby stars James Haskell and Ben Franks, the new range provides gym-goers with CBD hemp oils and balms that are focused on fitness and recovery.
“We wanted to create a unique brand that people can feel comfortable turning to for fitness advice and CBD supplements,” said founder of CiiTECH Clifton Flack. “Building on the CiiTECH passion for cannabinoid research, together with our partners James and Ben, we intend to commit valuable resources from our company into exploring the potential role of CBD in sports and fitness.”
As well as being at the top of professional rugby for the past 15 years, James Haskell – who has just swapped rugby for MMA – and All Blacks legend Ben Franks have been using CiiTECH-powered CBD for a number of years to support their athletic lifestyles. They wanted to share their findings with fans and fellow teammates and help to break down barriers and misinformation about CBD.
With the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) removing CBD from its prohibited list in 2018, meaning it is no longer prohibited for use by athletes, the timing couldn’t be better to launch their own range of CBD supplements that anyone can use to support and maintain their own fitness.
“It was so important for me to find a company like CiiTECH that I can trust for my own personal use of CBD products,” said James Haskell. “Through the relationship I built with Clifton Flack and CiiTECH, I found a need to develop a CBD brand that other sports enthusiasts like myself can trust.”
Ben Franks added: “The popularity of CBD oil is growing month to month. When I first started taking it, it was a bit of a taboo supplement. Fast forward two years and more people are taking it, the more educated they get. In sport, you are always looking for those 1%ers in performance.”
Time to impact
To educate others, they’ve created Impact. The range includes two strengths of CBD hemp oil – a 400mg oil containing 4% cannabinoid content and a stronger 1600mg oil containing 16% cannabinoid content. There are also two balm sticks that can be applied directly to sore muscle and joint areas: the Power Balm contains 590mg CBD oil and a second balm stick has added arnica. All four products use powerful cannabinoids and terpenes. Flack added that they’re geared more towards quicker recovery times and direct application to muscle and joint areas due to their inclusionary phytochemical hemp content.
He’s not alone in recognising CBD’s benefits on recovery and pain relief either.
Jenya Di Pierro, naturopath, herbalist and founder of London’s Cloud Twelve wellness centre, added a CBD oil massage to its menu in October 2019. Not only does it help reduce inflammation and speed up the heeling process, it also allows therapists to work muscles on a deeper level. For Jenya though, it’s important to remember that while CBD has excellent health-boosting properties, it’s not a panacea for everything.
She added: “In general terms, if people are suffering from inflammation or pain post injury, CBD can definitely help speed up the recovery, alleviate some of the symptoms and improve productivity. However, without sufficient sleep, balanced diet, mindfulness practices and a regular exercise regime, the results can be short-lived. Additionally, as Hippocrates rightly said – ‘all disease begins in the gut’ – and to achieve vibrant health and best productivity levels, the focus should always be on the optimal digestive function and healthy microbiome. This can be done with the help of other herbs and supplements, such as gut-healing formulations (slippery elm, liquorice and marshmallow root), anti-microbials (wormwood, barberry root) and probiotics.”
