T NATION | Like Hell You Could
Maybe the next time I'm given the "I could look like you" line, I'll just print this rant out and staple-gun it to the offender's forehead.
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und für unsere Ausdauersportler noch etwas Wissenschaft
SuppVersity
Study from the University of Cambridge say: It's the oxidative capacity of your muscle that limits your performance, not your heart's + lung's to supply them with oxygen.
In a very interesting trial, Dan Gordon et al. observed that donating blood does not (much to the scientists surprise) change the VO2max plateau. In view of the fact that it did however lead to significant reductions in hemoglobin and erythrocyte count (10% / 12%), this means that AT LEAST IN THE SHORT TERM and in these well trained athletes VO2max is NOT limited by the O2 supply from the blood, but rather by the anaerobic capacity of the "engine", i.e. your muscles.
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For all of you who plan to win the next Tour de France this means that you better start your EPO regimen, now! In the short time it's not going to benefit you. In the long time, however the increased availability of O2 and non-hematological side effects of EPO will... I guess we don't need a study for that, given the number of real world examples we have.
References: Gordon D, Wood M, Porter A, Vetrivel V, Gernigon M, Caddy O, Merzbach V, Keiller D, Baker J, Barnes R. Influence of blood donation on the incidence of plateau at [Formula: see text] (2max.). Eur J Appl Physiol. 2013 Oct 12. [Epub ahead of print]