Anyone else feel like essential oils have become the new green smoothie? They’re taking over the world and for a good reason! I’m not a pill taker. I like finding natural solutions (hence all my talk of turmeric!). Essential oils for athletes are a way to avoid pain pills that might dull our training, while solving common issues.
Wayyyyy back in 2007 stumbled across lemongrass oil when I was having severe calf cramps.
A massage therapist introduced me to lemongrass and it became an absolute lifesaver! I was having charlie horses every single night for months prior to that, which was horribly debilitating.
Oddly, though I found a lot of benefit from it, I didn’t really think about other essential oils for runners.
Silly, silly girl. Let me help you take advantage of this great trend.
What is an Essential Oil?
Before diving in let’s understand what we are actually talking about here!
Essential Oils are plant medicines and oils are 50 to 70 TIMES stronger than the herb form.
Huh?! One drop of Peppermint Essential Oil is equivalent to 28 cups of peppermint tea!
As with any supplement it’s important to look for quality!
How do you use essential oils?
- Put 10 drops in hot water or a diffuser and inhale
- Put 5-10 drops in a bath
- Put 5-10 drops on a hot water soaked clothe and wrap injured area
- Dilute and massage sore muscles
- DO NOT ingest {applies to most}
- DO NOT apply directly to skin without diluting
Confession — I pretty much always apply a couple drops directly to my skin without diluting. I’ve never had any issues with it and that eliminates excuses for me.
5 Essential Oils for Athletic Performance
Are you looking for essential oils for athlete’s foot? Essential oils to improve lung function? Essential oils for muscle building? Let’s talk about what essential oils are good for athletes!
Of course we could find a benefit on most of the labels, but these are the tops one’s for those of us starting out or looking for specific gains.
#1 Peppermint Oil for Athletes
Did you know that Amby Burfoot has long sucked on peppermints as his on the run fuel?? Turns out he knew something about this long before oils came on the scene.
- Relieve indigestion, gas, or nausea (yeah, I’m talking to you, nervous racer!)
- Relieve a headache
- Increase mental alertness and concentration
- Smell of peppermint has been shown to reduce perceived effort and thus is an essential oil for stamina
- Relieve aches and pains such as those brought on by arthritis and carpal tunnel, or…RUNNING!
By far the biggest benefit found for athletes is that taking as little as .05mL of Peppermint EO in 500mL of water can improve exercise performance and respiratory function, according to a study in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition.
All right, so peppermint is our go to for improving lung function. This doesn’t mean that’s all you can do! You should also learn some better breathing techniques, practice yogic breathe and even using swimming to expand lung function.
#2 Lavender Oil for Recovery
What’s the biggest issue many runners have?? REST DAY!
In general, we love our sport and we tend to be go, go, go. But without learning how to lower our total stress levels, we’re maxing our bodies out all the time which inhibits recovery after long runs and in between hard workouts.
- Wonderful stress relieving and relaxation properties are helpful for pre-race night sleep
- Aids in soothing cuts/bruises, as well as speeding up recovery and healing time
- One of the holy trinity of oils that allergy sufferers swear by for relief without a pill
#3 Lemon Essential Oil for Athlete’s Foot
While many of my RD friends have recently debunked the idea of lemon water detoxing you, I think they all still agree it can be refreshing and has some benefits. It’s just not gonna make you lean and mean from a glass each morning.
- Shown to have anti-depressant effects, great for rest days when you miss the runner’s high
- Essential oil cure for athlete’s foot
- Stimulate the immune system (important since training wears you down)
- Can help with nausea (again great for those race nerves)
I talk a lot about taking oregano oil pills when I feel the first inklings of any illness coming on and it almost always heads it off.
But adding some lemon drops to hot water is another soothing and fabulous way to give my body just a little bit more love.
#4 Eucalyptus Essential Oil for Asthma
Not only does the scent of Eucalyptus Essential Oil transport you to a spa, it also promotes health, well-being, purification, and healing.
- Inhaling it can support healthy respiratory function
- A few drops on the chest can help with asthma attacks
- In a spray bottle can help with cooling the body {hello summer training!}
- Wake up the body after traveling for destination races
- Reduces inflammation in strained and fatigued muscles
Whoop a second oil that can help to boost lung function! Maybe I’m more excited about this living at altitude than other runners. But could be a great trick for those running with asthma!
#5 Lemongrass Essential Oil for Sore Muscles
As noted at the beginning, this was the first oil that I became familiar with. Now any time I find my muscles feeling overworked (hello building miles on those long runs), I put on a few drops and can feel my muscles immediately start to release tension.
- Relaxing muscles, relieving headaches, period cramps
- Easing stomachaches
- Potential joint pain relief
- Natural antiseptic for cuts
- Go crazy and make your own natural deodorant with it (just don’t run next to me on a treadmill)
Take that epsom salt bath to the next level after your run by adding a couple drops of lemongrass oil!!
Where to Buy Quality Essential Oils?
In order to buy Young Living oils, you need a rep. There are TONS of amazing people, I have a link here for my friend, a personal trainer, certified yogi, and legit awesome human Samara who uses them religiously for every area of life and helped me better understand them!
I’m putting that link in here because I know some of you are ready to bounce of to Amazon…I did that and guess what it was a HUGE waste of money.
I never got any benefit from those oils which are low quality and low potency.
Notes: These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA and these products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
Essential oils for exercises aren’t a new thing, we’re just coming at them in a new way. People have long known that the scent of citrus is energizing or that peppermint is helpful for the stomach. Now we’re also realizing that essential oils for athlete’s foot are extremely effective, along with a ton of other things.
This isn’t to say you should skip the Doctor when something is wrong. But why not play a little more with natural options to help you run better!
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I’ve never really understood much about essential oils and this has given me a very clear perspective and what is effective for what. Sometimes everyone is talking about the benefits of all these natural this or that and you may seem to flow with the conenversation but you really don’t get the root of it all. This wasextremely useful, thank you.
Essential oils are awesome! I always have a bottle of my own concoction made from peppermint and eucalyptus oil at a ready. They’re incredible for recovering from sore muscles after heavy training!
Awesome article as alwaysI am glad to gain this remarkable information from you.
I love the breakdown of how each one helps. I haven’t really used essential oils before, but I might have to try them out as a part of my recovery plan during half marathon training!
https://runningmybestlife.com/half-marathon-training-diaries-week-4/
To start, I do think essential oils can be beneficial. But I have tried essential oils in the past and they all give me a huge rash (they were high quality non-Amazon oils :) . I even tried a drop of peppermint in hot tea which resulted in a rash on the inside of my mouth. I’m allergic to a lot of medication (oddly I have no food allergies) so I know I am extra sensitive compared to most people. But I would caution anyone to start out slowly or you could be miserable with a giant itchy rash for two weeks!