giving blood

neeb

I mean voluntarily, not by crashing...

I used to give blood years ago but haven't recently due to moving around a lot. Just wondering what effects (if any) I could expect in terms of cycling performance and how long it would last.

FAT_ROB

Depends I guess on your level of fitness.

Im no Dr but i guess that it cant take much more than 12 hrs or so to replace a pint of blood?

Siechotic

The body replaces blood volume or plasma within 24 hours. Red cells need about four to eight weeks for complete replacement.

Give this a read:
http://www.rotarybloodbank.org/faqs/faqsindx.htm

steve_pushbiker

This was discussed quite recently on here. The consensus was that giving blood doesn't affect cycling performance. I don't agree: last time I gave blood, I noticed that (particularly when climbing) I got tired more quickly... could have been psychological, but it took a couple of weeks to feel like I was back on track. This was a bit demotivating, so I've decided to only give blood over the winter.

Siechotic

I got tired more quickly... could have been psychological, but it took a couple of weeks to feel like I was back on track.

As I said in my post, Red blood cells can take anywhere between four to eight weeks for complete replacement. As it's the red blood cells that transport oxygen around your body and you were still in the four to eight week period, the reduced red cells could account for your tiredness.

Alex_Simmons/RST

steve_pushbiker wrote:

This was discussed quite recently on here. The consensus was that giving blood doesn't affect cycling performance. I don't agree: last time I gave blood, I noticed that (particularly when climbing) I got tired more quickly... could have been psychological, but it took a couple of weeks to feel like I was back on track. This was a bit demotivating, so I've decided to only give blood over the winter.

And you'd be right. Who consented to that silly advice?

Of course it affects cycling performance, negatively, and will take many weeks to recover from, especially if hard riding is your thing. If you only ride at low to moderate intensity levels then perhaps you won't notice it as much.

So no wonder you struggled up the hills.

neeb

Hmm, well that poses an interesting moral dilemma. You could argue that if exercising hard is a big part of your life, then it's more of a burden for you to give blood than for someone for whom it isn't. But if there is a shortage of donors and you are fit and healthy, maybe it's a small sacrifice you should be willing to make, especially as you might need lots of blood if you had a serious bike accident. I guess it depends on your level, obviously in the case of a pro it could affect his/her career, while for most of us it would just mean a few weeks of taking it slightly easier.

k1tch

moral isssues aside it's a very bad idea for anyone who races.

as i understand it the most limiting factor in cycling power output is oxygen supply to the muscles. voluntarily reducing your haemoglobin concentration by say 10% is going to reduce oxygen supply and hence power output at any given heart rate by a similar proportion.

neeb

Let's say that you only raced in the summer. Would giving blood at other times of the year mean that you wouldn't get the same benefit from your training, or would it not matter?

andrewgturnbull

Hi there.

That's exactly what I do, I give blood a couple of times over the winter and never in the summer. I still race in the winter, but I don't take it so seriously - cx and running races etc. As mentioned above there is no negative impact beyond a few weeks.

To be honest though I've never noticed a difference. Last time I gave blood I ran a track session 24 hours later and seemed unaffected. Your mileage may vary.

Morally I reckon I'm still ahead of the game as the vast majority never bother at all...

Cheers, Andy

SteveR_100Milers

Given that EPO does exactly the opposite: increases red blood cells then of course your red blood cell (haematocrit) levels are important!

FAT_ROB

All sounds a bit wishy washy to me...

I agree with the moral arguments that if your fit and healthy you should be giving blood and factoring it into your riding/event diary.

Stuff the red blood cell 'conundrum'

Real men know a pint of guiness before you ride supplies all the goodness you need!!! and I should know my blood APV% is tatooed on my arm.

I thank you


FAT-Rob
never knowingly past a pie shop

Swannie

Personally, this has left me wondering:

Despite the fact that you will be performing at a lower level, is the quality of the training better or worse?

I'm erring towards worse, as your body will be working away to produce more RBC's, rather than any other physiological adaptions?

bahzob

Last time this topic came up I said I had not seen any after effects from giving blood in the past and was going to do so again on 18th Feb.

Day after (partly as a result of having the topic recently in mind) I did a level 3 turbo workout averaging 247W (82% of FTP) for 70 minutes with 2% cardiac drift. Felt fine and only stopped because of time constraints. If there were any negative effects of giving blood cant say I noticed any.

However looking at this post and checking background I found this article

http://faculty.deanza.edu/donahuemary/BlooddonationFAQs which seems to support view that will take weeks to recover. (also learned that technical term for giving blood is phlebotomy).

So now regardless of the physiological effects of giving blood I know I will suffer psychological effect, since if you think it may do you harm it probably will. So I will postpone next donation until after do sportives this summer.

DavidBelcher

neeb wrote:

I mean voluntarily, not by crashing...

I used to give blood years ago but haven't recently due to moving around a lot. Just wondering what effects (if any) I could expect in terms of cycling performance and how long it would last.

I donated a few weeks ago and rode a club '10' two days later (and went quicker than the week before!) - no obvious ill-effects, but then I don't compete at a particularly serious level at the mo. If you're doing tough, long-distance sportives or road-racing at Cat 3 or above, in which case the demands on your body are far greater, that's a different kettle of fish.

David