Effects of kratom in sport and fitness

The following article discusses the impact kratom and its possible kratom health benefits in demanding sport disciplines and in fitness.

NOTICE: The following article describes an experience of various athletes who used kratom in small doses and its effects in strength and endurance sport disciplines and in no way encourages the reader to use it. Kratom, which we sell on the FAJN.eu eshop, is intended for collecting purposes only. Kratom in the Czech Republic is not approved as a nutritional supplement or as a food. Please use the information provided here only for study purposes. The author accepts no liability for any damage caused by its use.

I. WHAT IS KRATOM?

Kratom is a species of tall tree growing mainly in Southeast and South Asia. You can find it mainly in Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, but it is also growing in Africa. The Latin name of kratom is Mitragyna speciosa, probably you have already came across this name when searching on the internet. In addition to yellow flowers, Kratom also has large green leaves. The leaves contain a large amount of alkaloids, which, when consumed, have a similar feeling to opium (opioid). However, kratom is not classified as an opioid. The inhabitants where kratom grows chewed its leaves, which in the past mainly helped them to overcome intense physical labour. Nowadays, the leaves are mostly dried and further crushed into a fine dust. However, whole leaves, stems or a liquid extract are also commonly available.

The effects of kratom as described in literature vary from slightly euphoric, through energizing, relaxing to sedative. Naturally, they fully depend on the vein, i.e. the color of its leaves.

Is kratom illegal? No, kratom is legal in the Czech Republic and in many other EU countries.

II. COLORS AND KRATOM STRAINS

There are several types of kratom, they are still the same tree, but the drying process is different. The colors are often written directly in English and can therefore be found as the following: green, red, white, but also yellow or gold. The name of a specific type of kratom consist of the place where it comes from, so you have certainly came across names like Kapuas Hulu, Maeng Da, Sumatra, Bali, etc.

Green kratom is the result of a fast drying inside a room with good ventilation. The process is then completed outdoors in the fresh air. Thanks to a relatively fast process, the leaves retain their green color. Green kratom causes mild euphoria, good mood, communicativeness, the feeling that it is possible to overcome difficulties, but also less pain or numbness.

White kratom is dried inside of a closed room without any light. The leaves lose water and consume their own chlorophyll for their nutrition, which causes them to lose their green color. The spectrum of substances contained in it thus changes, leading to the formation of other derivatives stronger than mitragynin itself. White kratom usually is energizing, encouraging, with the ability to be focused on a difficult task, taking away fatigue.

Red kratom is kept at elevated temperatures in bags with a certain breathability. The process of fermentation and activation of enzymes takes place, which in turn triggers a defense mechanism of the plant and the leaves turn brown as if they were destroyed. Red kratom is very popular, is very relaxing, relieves pain and has the strongest sedative effects. On the contrary, from white, it is very relaxing and can even help someone sleep better.

In our e-shop you will find all the colors of kratom described above, as well as 4 special ones - yellow, gold, brown and crushed leaves. Both are obtained by mixing other kratom veins. Yellow is created by mixing white and red kratom and gold is a mix of all 3 colors. Each farmer has his own method and uses a certain proportion of raw materials.

III. KRATOM DOSAGE

Kratom is not recommended for use by pregnant, breast-feeding women or children. It should never be consumed with alcohol. Kratom increases blood pressure, so it is not good to combine it with caffeine. It is forbidden to drive any means of transport under the influence of any narcotic, to which kratom undoubtedly belongs.

There are many ways to consume kratom. The most common way to consume powdered kratom is when consumed with a liquid. The powder itself is very intrusive, bitter and sticky to everything around it. The literature mentions both cold drink and hot kratom tea. Some people consume it only with plain water, flavored with an effervescent tablet, juice, etc. The amount of liquid depends on the user, some people only drink kratom in the form of capsules. Unfortunately, the literature does not mention much about the effectiveness of various methods.

Dosage depends on several factors - weight, sex, type of kratom, user experience. Something between 1g and 5g can be considered as a normal dose. However, the upper limit can cause nausea, kratom headache next day, malaise. It is important to mention that the rate of its effect does not increase with its quantity and is less noticeable after repeated doses (high kratom tolerance)! One dose of kratom can work for up to an hour and then less noticeably for several other hours. It is therefore not reasonable to repeat the doses often, as it has almost no other effect. Can you OD on kratom? Not likely if the dose is reasonable (<5g).

IV. IS KRATOM a DRUG, what about addiction and kratom withdrawal?

Although kratom is also used to treat alcoholism or opioid addiction, frequent usage can have adverse effects on our physical and psychical wellbeing.While it causes a mild dependency, kratom withdrawal symptoms may occur with long-term usage. When used to a small and reasonable extent (e.g. once a week or several times a month), no addiction should develop. At higher and frequent doses, kratom can cause diarrhea, but also constipation. It is advisable to lead a healthy lifestyle with balanced eating habits and plenty of physical activity. Most of the countries do not classify kratom drug.

V. EFFECTS OF KRATOM IN SPORT

This section discusses the possible effects of kratom in strength and endurance sports. During peak activities, an individual works out with a maximum performance level, at the same time might have a very restrictive and low calorie diet, there may be a lack of necessary substances in the body, both proteins, vitamins and minerals. Not that Kratom could fix this. During these activities, fatigue of various muscle groups and, to a greater extent, joints occurs. An advanced athlete usually has little time to regenerate and their muscles and cartilage therefore suffer and the risk of injury is higher. There is then either joint pain, muscle strain, general exhaustion from training, reluctance to exercise, etc. This, in repeated training, leads to poor movement, involvement of wrong muscles and therefore to other injuries. Any athlete typically has a restrictive diet, strict on calories, little rest and therefore does not have the opportunity to heal naturally and often at least try to suppress pain between workouts. We all probably know what it's like to run a 5 km run the day after a previous run. The whole body is broken and morale is low. Of course, a number of available supplements are common in today's sport, both to "deacidify" the muscles and suppress pain, as well as to support the joint apparatus. However, many of these agents contain unhealthy chemicals and poisons. Today's modern supplements are also quite expensive.

If you find this situation familiar, whether you are a semi-professional athlete, a long-distance runner, a football player or just like to walk in the mountains or ride a bike, you for sure agree that you will try anything to delay injury or fatigue.

There is a large number of products of all kinds on the market and sometimes with very dubious effects. I would now like to briefly describe how kratom can help with sports in the short term. It is a description of possible and short-term effects, in no case does it lead to anything or does not encourage drug addiction.

Due to the analgesic effects in small doses, it was possible to use it repeatedly and successfully in demanding 4-day cross-fit training, when all muscle parts and joints are stressed due to frequent squats and jumps. After the first day of training, there was also a large strain on the muscles, which is limiting for repeated training. One then often involves the others and the wrong parts, so there is an even greater risk of injury. The administration of kratom resulted in the suppression of pain, improved flexibility (the effort was gone) and also greater motivation and greater involvement in the action itself. Before training, a smaller dose of green kratom was given with a common isotonic drink, then during sports activity, red kratom was given, which fortunately did not lead to a decline, but on the contrary to high vigilance and focus. In the following days, it was administered at a similar rate, then the kratom was stopped for a longer period of time.

Another example is from the runners court, where a drink with a white kratom was consumed before a 10 km race. The athlete, in this case a woman, did not use any other pre-workout drink, especially those high on caffeine, where there is a risk that the athlete will feel like hangover. The runner described the performance as very liberating, she was strongly and deeply focused on her goal, she was able to maintain the same pace during the race and regular breathing. Running seemed very stable but slow. To her surprise, she found out she had run her personal record. With these two examples, I'm not trying to say that people who drank kratom suddenly became pro athletes. The effect described here was in fact only temporary, suppressing pain, encouraging and relaxing the mind, which is on the other hand all that is sometimes needed to reach a better performance. Even if you are thinking to experiment with kratom, please do not take this article as a guide. Everyone is unique with its body composition and inner mind. The effects of kratom may vary from individual to individual.     The author of the article is a fitness trainer and a former weightlifter

 ABOUT ESHOP FAJN KRATOM :

Fajn Kratom imports one of the highest quality kratoms in the Czech Republic at great prices. We have been doing this for several years and we have a lot of customers all over the world under different brands. We are not talking about profit, but first and foremost about quality and customer satisfaction. We returned to the Czech market with the Fajn Kratom brand to offer better and cheaper kratom for collectors purposes.