We train, we adapt, we test
Once again the easy tempo session we did last week becomes a challenge once more.
Our bodies are constantly changing and we need to ensure the correct amount of ‘strain’ is being applied to ensure we do not detrain. Continue reading New Zones – New Challenges
Saw this amazing film footage of a bike change in the LaVuelta this year and made me think about the CX racers I have watched and the importance in their own sport of a quick bike change.
But do not blink or you will miss it, absolute perfection !
Showed @antmccrossan this bike change after @QuentinJauregui was in the early breakaways @lavuelta, glad to see it’s made a come back after today’s time trial bike changes! 🔥🔥 #LaVuelta20 pic.twitter.com/GGmzpL9oDf
— Hannah Walker (@spannawalker) November 3, 2020
Below is the key extract on the effect it has on performance and some great time lines to considered by coaches and athletes alike..
After a typical blood donation, hemoglobin levels do indeed decrease by an average of seven-percent and remain depressed for at least 14 days after donation, when they have recovered by about half—to a four-percent decrease from pre-donation levels. Hematocrit, or the measure of what percentage of blood volume is made up of red blood cells, also decreases for the first few days after a donation. Hematocrit decreases by five-percent 48 hours after donation but has recovered by two weeks after the donation. This suggests that new cells have been synthesized in that two-week period but that those cells contain less hemoglobin than more mature cells.
Along with the decrease in hemoglobin, an associated decrease in oxygen-carrying capacity and delivery to the tissues is also seen, accounting for a measurable decrease in VO2 max (about seven-percent) in the 24-48 hours after donation. Interestingly, this decrease completely disappears by day three, suggesting that blood volume has re-expanded by that point, and that increases in heart rate may likely compensate for the decreased hemoglobin to restore oxygen delivery to normal.
Along with the decrease in VO2 max, measured maximal exercise capacity as well as time to exhaustion when performing at threshold also decrease by about 10 percent and then recover by one week. Submaximal efforts have never been effectively been studied so no clear conclusions can be made about efforts in that range after blood donation. Continue reading Giving blood- what effect will it have?