We all know that cannabis has countless medicinal applications – it can soothe us to sleep, lift our mood when we’re down, and stop seizures in their tracks. But can cannabis also improve athletic performance?
According to Heather and Antonio DeRose of Green House Healthy, it absolutely can.
Green House Healthy is an educational platform focused around plant medicines, personal health and wellness and sustainability. Through hosting events, providing plant medicine integrated fitness and nutrition classes and one-on-one personal training and nutrition coaching, they fulfill their mission to educate for a greener world. They also provide media coverage at some of the world’s largest events and create multi-media content for businesses.
I sat down with these two fitness and cannabis gurus to get a better idea of how recreational exercisers and athletes alike can improve their performance by implementing cannabis into their routines. Here’s what they had to say.
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When and how did your journey with cannabis and exercise begin? What made you choose to start GHH?
Antonio: My journey with cannabis began when I was 12 years old, and I started consuming intentionally alongside exercise around 2014.
Heather: I didn’t start consuming cannabis until I was in college, and I started combining cannabis with exercise in 2014, when I started taking my personal health and wellness more seriously.
We started GHH after working on an outdoor, all organic cannabis farm with 6000 plants in the Colorado mountains. After creating a more personal relationship with the plant and being inspired by the personal stories of healing we heard from so many people, we wanted to do our part to share education and personal testimony.
What makes you passionate about this topic?
Antonio: Cannabis helped me overcome addictions to alcohol, opioids, and other narcotics. It’s also aided me in living a more active and healthy lifestyle.
Heather: I have epilepsy, and I’m just over 3 years seizure free, thanks to cannabis. This gives me a deep passion for showing people all the incredible health benefits cannabis has to offer, for personal wellness, and also for treating serious medical conditions.
Are you plant based? How can a plant based diet help improve exercise performance?
Antonio: I am plant based, and I’ll have been entirely vegan for three years in September of 2020. I find optimizing your nutrition has a significant impact on exercise performance, and by maintaining a plant based diet, people can provide themselves with an abundance of nutrients needed for the body and mind to thrive.
Heather: I am plant based, and I’ll have been entirely vegan for three years this September. I have food intolerances to wheat, eggs, and cow’s milk, so sticking to a plant based diet improves my exercise performance and my overall daily life. I think a lot of people have food intolerances they aren’t aware of, especially for things like dairy. By eliminating those sorts of animal products, you allow your body to work more optimally.
Do you find, whether in your own personal experience or that of your clients, that combining a plant based diet with cannabis has specific benefit for athletic performance? If so, how?
Antonio: Yes, I believe combining a plant based diet with cannabis can have specific benefits for athletic performance in several ways. Exercise by itself stimulates the endocannabinoid system, creating endogenous cannabinoids like anandamide and 2-AG, which occur in our bodies naturally. We can supplement our ECS by consuming exogenous cannabinoids, like CBD and THC, from plants like cannabis. We can also supercharge our other bodily systems, like our respiratory system and cardiovascular system, by providing it with the proper nutrients it needs to thrive. Then, when we incorporate all of these together, we can create a synergistic connection between all the regulatory systems of our body, resulting in optimized performance.
Heather: Yes, I believe in combining cannabis with a plant based diet to optimize athletic performance. You need to feed your body the right fuel in order for it work and repair itself at optimum levels. This means making healthy choices when it comes to what you put in your body, whether it be green tea, cannabis, or other plant medicines. Everything you consume has an impact on your performance and daily living, so be mindful about what you consume and what effects it has on your mind and body.
Many people associate cannabis with the “lazy stoner” archetype. What are your thoughts on this?
Antonio: It simply isn’t true. Cannabis doesn’t make people lazy. Being lazy makes you lazy. I feel like people use it as an excuse, when really laziness can be caused by underlying mental and physical health issues.
Heather: I used to believe this stereotype, which is one reason I didn’t start consuming cannabis until later in my life – but it simply isn’t true. I also used think cannabis was a gateway drug that could make you crazy, but all of that was preconditioned nonsense imposed upon me by a well-executed marketing campaign of negative cannabis propaganda.
What advice would you have for someone who wants to implement cannabis into their exercise routine, but doesn’t know where to start?
Antonio: Contact me directly for a consultation. I’m a NASM Certified Personal Trainer, and Nutrition Coach, and I specialize in how to incorporate cannabis into your training routine, to maximize your health benefits. My number one tip is to start slow. Whether you’re new to cannabis, new to exercise, or new to both, start slow and work your way up.
Heather: Reach out to me on social media, and let’s schedule a consultation. I’m a NASM Certified Personal Trainer and Nutrition Coach, and I love working with clients who are interested in combining cannabis into their fitness routines and nutrition plans. I like to tell people who are just starting out to keep a journal, and experiment with serving sizes and methods of consumption to identify what works best for you.
Are there any specific products or methods of administration that you find work best for fitness?
Antonio: This really depends on the individual. Our bodies are so different, even our ECS, so it makes generalized suggestions very difficult. For example, some people lack the enzyme in the liver that digests THC, so eating it won’t actually create an effect. Experiment with different products, and different methods of consumption, and find what works best for your body.
 Heather: Our bodies are just too different for there to be a one-size-fits-all answer for specific products or methods of administration, which is another reason we offer personalized fitness training and nutrition plans. However, I do recommend you do what feels best for you, and the best way to find out is to keep track with a journal like I mentioned earlier.
What resources, studies, or other unique information on this topic have you found helpful in guiding yourself and your clients?
Antonio: PubMed is one of the best resources for credible cannabis research studies, so start there for the science. Other than that, there aren’t many combined studies or resources on the topics we focus on. This is why we provide one-on-one consultations and coaching, publish cannabis and fitness education on our website, and host our podcast. We will also be releasing our book, Hemp Nutrition 101, later this year.
Heather: PubMed is definitely the best resource for the science behind cannabis and all the different cannabinoids. For people looking specifically for cannabis and fitness, or cannabis and nutrition guidance, reach out to me on social media, and connect with everything Green House Healthy on our website.
How can readers best connect with you online?
Subscribe to our podcast on your favorite podcast platform, sign up for our newsletter on our website, and follow Green House Healthy on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIN, and Pinterest!
Connect with Heather on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIN.
Connect with Antonio on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIN.
Is there anything else you’d like our readers to know?
Antonio: The stigma surrounding cannabis consumption, and even being vegan, can be challenging, but don’t let that hinder you from being who you are and saying what you believe in. Plant based lifestyles, including consuming cannabis, have the ability to positively impact our planet and improve the quality of life for everyone and everything on it.
Heather: Listen to your body. Let it tell you what you like and what you don’t like. Keep a food journal just like the cannabis journal and pay attention to how what you consume affects you. Notice yourself feeling bloated or sort of sick after a meal? Try to narrow down what ingredient may be making you feel that way, and work to eliminate it from your diet. Get a food allergen and intolerance test if you want to be certain. But more than anything, be patient with yourself. I was overwhelmed with thinking about how to change my diet once I discovered my food intolerances, but over time, I learned new recipes and tried new foods. I started consuming more plant based meals, which I noticed made me feel more energetic and clear-headed. I eventually became vegetarian, and then vegan, but it was all a moving process. It took over 6 years to find what works best for me.
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Antonio is the Co-Founder and COO of Green House Healthy, a health and wellness company educating about the benefits of cannabis as part of a healthy and active lifestyle. He is a NASM Certified Personal Trainer, sponsored trail runner, multimedia journalist and international speaker. His company creates healthy experiences by hosting educational and athletic events, instructing cannabis positive fitness and nutrition classes, and providing media and consulting services to other businesses.
As a writer, Antonio began producing a weekly CannaFitness column focused on cannabis and fitness education for OnDenver, in 2016 through 2019. He served as the Managing Editor as well as the Cannabis + Fitness Columnist for Grass Roots America Magazine from December 2018 – March 2020. In addition to regularly being featured as an athlete and entrepreneur in publications like High Times, Green Entrepreneur, and Livekindly, his work has also been published in leading educational resources for medical professionals, like Chiropractic Economics, and EyeWorld Magazine. He travels, with his wife and the CEO of Green House Healthy, Heather, presenting at conferences all over the world in order to continuously share education and awareness about the science and research behind the benefits of cannabis for health and wellness.
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Listed in Green Market Report’s 100 Most Important Women in Weed 2020, Heather is the CEO and Co-Founder of Green House Healthy, a health and wellness company educating about the benefits of cannabis as part of a healthy and active lifestyle. Her company creates healthy experiences by hosting educational and athletic events, instructing cannabis positive fitness and nutrition classes, and providing media and consulting services. She is a NASM Certified Personal Trainer, sponsored trail runner, multimedia journalist, international public speaker and epilepsy warrior. In 2017, she became the first female to complete an entire national tour of the Civilized Games, formerly known as the 420 Games, which is an athletic event series focused on raising awareness about cannabis and its consumers. In 2018 she competed in over 10 races around Colorado, including a Spartan and leading an 8-person 114 mile relay race. In 2019, she conquered a half marathon in Colorado, a 30k and a full marathon in Missouri. She places in many of her races and plans to continue racing to raise awareness for epilepsy, healthy lifestyles and the benefits of cannabis.
As a writer, Heather began producing a cannabis and fitness educational column starting in 2016 through 2019. She has also contributed several articles to Grass Roots America Magazine, including interviews with Tommy Chong, and Montel Williams. In addition to being regularly featured as an athlete and entrepreneur in publications like Green Entrepreneur, High Times and LiveKindly, she also speaks on several podcasts including Green Flower Media and Let’s Be Blunt with Montel Williams. She travels presenting at conferences all over the world in order to continuously share education and awareness about the science and research behind the benefits of cannabis for health and wellness. She has several years of cannabis industry experience, including having worked at a medical dispensary in Colorado and on an all organic outdoor farm with 6,000 plants, from seed to sale. It is her mission to share the many benefits of cannabis for people, animals and the planet!
