Blood Doping for Boosting Exercise Performance

As with any athletic event focusing on the extremes of human exercise performance, the Winter Olympics have allowed the ugly head of cheating in sport to rise again. Recently, police raided the Austrian ski team's residences in Torino on suspicion of blood doping to improve athletic performance. What is blood doping anyway and how does it improve athletic performance? This article provides some basic information on blood doping, explains the mechanisms for its ability to greatly improve exercise performance and provides pros and cons for it's use.

Doping in sports

Sports Fitness

Although the word hints at a relationship, doping actually has nothing to do with "dope" (the street word for marijuana). If this were the case, it may be that snowboarders would be under investigation instead of skiers!

Doping for exercise performance improvement refers specifically to "blood doping" - a means of cheating by artificially boosting red blood cell counts.

The doping procedure works like this:

A doctor draws up to 4 units (about 4 pints) of blood from the athlete's body - essentially making him/her anemic (low blood cell count)

The withdrawn blood is then centrifuged (spun very quickly) to separate the red blood cells (RBCs) from the other main component of blood - plasma.

The athlete's RBCs are "stored" under refrigerated conditions (the shelf life of RBCs is about 40 days)

The anemic condition stimulates the athlete's body to increase production and release of a hormone called EPO (erythropoietin)

EPO stimulates the replenishing of the "lost" RBCs

The athlete is given about 4 weeks to fully replenish their RBC count to pre-drawing levels

The athlete's stored RBCs are then re-infused into the athlete's body, boosting the RBC level higher

Why do athletes participate in blood doping and what is the logic behind it?

Quite simply - blood doping can quite significantly improve performance in long duration, endurance-type exercise such as cross-country skiing, skating and running.

The logic for its use it to boost the oxygen carrying capacity of the blood above normal levels providing more oxygen to the working muscles - allowing for a greater power output and a decreased susceptibility to fatigue.

RBCs contain a protein called hemoglobin - the primary "transporter" of oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body including the working muscles. So if you boost the number of RBCs you also boost the amount of "available" hemoglobin to bind and deliver oxygen.

The pros to blood doping use:

It is highly effective and is estimated to improve endurance exercise performance at the elite level by about 4%

It boosts VO2 max (maximal oxygen uptake) and reduces lactate buildup

The ergogenic (exercise performance boosting) effect with blood doping is immediate, making it ideal for a pre-main event performance - making pre-event detection more difficult

It may be easier to regulate hematocrit (percent composition RBCs of total blood volume) - a tightly regulated ceiling is placed on this value and is used for detection of both blood doping (and EPO use)

It probably decreases the perception of effort during exercise allowing for improved performance

The cons to blood doping use:

The blood doping process is quite laborious and quite severely decreases the training capacity of the athlete in the first few weeks after blood donation as the athlete is essentially anemic and cannot exercise as hard.

1. Health risks

With the increase in hematocrit the heart needs to work much harder to pump the higher viscosity blood - increasing the risk of overload damage to the heart such as myocardial infarct (heart attack)

There is an increased risk of developing life-threatening blood clots (stroke, heart attack, lung clot)

Blood doping involves transfusion using needles and sometimes donor blood, so there is a greater risk of infections such as hepatitis A and B and even AIDS

Since the athlete's RBCs are externally stored, there is a greater risk to the athlete if this has been done incorrectly (e.g. storage at the incorrect temperature, tampering, confusion/mislabeling)

2. Status risks

Detection of the use of blood doping may defile the athlete's reputation

Detection may result in him or her being banned from competition, as sport regulating agencies such as the IOC and several cycling governing bodies strictly forbid it.

Actually, blood doping in sports has become less popular recently due to the increased availability of recombinant erythropoietin (rEPO) which as explained in an article on this website produces exactly the same effect as blood doping but is easier, less riskier and more effective (boosts endurance performance by about 6%).

In conclusion, this article has shown that although blood doping and rEPO may quite significantly boost endurance exercise performance, it carries with it risks to the athlete's health and status. It is unfortunate, but with increases in modern technology and molecular biology, it is likely that even these forms of "cheating" will someday be replaced with safer and less detectable methods.

Blood Doping for Boosting Exercise Performance

The Benefits of a Sports Massage

Sports massage is a specialized type of massage therapy used before, during and after athletic events. The purpose of this type of massage is to help the athletes prepare their body for the event and to help it heal faster afterwards. All athletes extol the benefits of a sport massage and this is why many of the major competitive teams have their own therapist on the payroll. Some of the benefits include:

* Enhance performance

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* Reduce muscle fatigue during the event

* Relieve pain and swelling afterwards

* Promote flexibility of the muscles

* Prevent injuries

The needs of all athletes are not the same, which is why many different techniques are used in a sports massage. Generally, the therapists use a combination of Swedish massage and Shiatsu. This is because each sport puts different demands on the athletes' bodies and need to be treated individually. In addition to helping the athletes feel better, the massage also helps to regulate the blood pressure and increase the circulation of blood to the lymph nodes. Since different athletes use different muscles when they compete, they also need to have different treatments for these muscle groups.

Many people think that a sports massage takes place only after an event. However, since athletes work out on a daily basis, they need massages to help the body recuperate from the work out. Just before an event, an athlete may have a massage to loosen the muscles better than stretching would do. This also helps to prepare the muscles for the rigorous work ahead.

The Benefits of a Sports Massage

How Does Stress Affect Sports

Stress can be good or bad for a person engaged in a sporting event. Good stress can improve a performance whereas bad stress can cause them to, in sporting parlance, not be at the races. This article will examine these two types of stress, what causes them, how they affect sports and how they can be combated.

Sport is a fairly general term for a range of activities that require varying mental and physical skills. For example, archery and ice hockey have many skills in common but probably more skills that are disparate. Physical exertion may be more intense in ice hockey than archery but mental pressure and judgement would be more in archery.

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The body's response to stress is to change the bio-chemistry in the blood. The hormones adrenaline and cortisol are pushed into the bloodstream which passes through the body. This gives the body an energy boost. The muscles will become tighter and prepared for some exertion. The senses will become more attuned; pupils will dilate to allow more light to enter the eye and thus improve eyesight. This response is known as the 'fight or flight' response. It is triggered when the person, through their nervous system, senses a stressful event about to occur. In this way the body can overcompensate for a stressful event by putting too much adrenaline into the blood stream or not enough.

There seems to be two ways to affect this response. The first is the actual event that is causing the stress. The second is the perceived amount of stress that the person places on the stressful event. They are, obviously, closely related.

In the first instance stress could be caused if the person is new to the sport and does not have the skills or knowledge of the sport. They will feel overwhelmed and worried about things like the rules of the game, what position they should be in, what are their responsibilities or how to do a particular activity. On a physical level, they may not have developed the physique to do certain activities.

In this instance it is important not to take the sport too seriously. If the sport is a form of relaxation or stress relief then this should be clarified each time anything becomes overwhelming. Remember that it is supposed to be fun. Remember, also, that making mistakes is a part of learning. You can only improve by making these mistakes and you will be better for them.

The second way to influence the body's response to a stressful event is more to do with people that are experienced in the particular sport. In this case, we are talking about fine-tuning a performance. It is often said in professional sport that the difference between two competitors is not their fitness or skills but their mental preparation because the physical skills are virtually identical.

This is true. Many top sportspeople use mind techniques and sports psychologists to give them an edge. Simply put, the mind techniques are a way of putting the right amount of stress on a particular event, in the mind of the sportsperson, so that he or she peaks at the right time.

For example, a stirring speech by the coach can have two results. It could inspire the person to a great performance or it could put too much pressure on the person and limit the performance. This is a highly personal issue for people. Knowing how to mentally agitate the stress responses in the body to peak at the right time is a rare skill or talent. Generally, it comes through knowing the person involved.

Music is also used to 'calm nerves'. In this, we mean mediate the stress response in the body. The relaxing music can help the person forget about the stressful event. On the other hand, high energy or dance music is often used to motivate and get the 'blood flowing'. The music is often personal and different music can elicit different responses in people.

Stress is crucial to obtain a peak performance in any sports. Attaining the perfect level of stress for the individual at the right time is often harder than attaining the peak physical condition. From a stress management perspective, knowledge of the persons stress levels and how to alter these levels is the only way improve the individuals performance.

How Does Stress Affect Sports

Exercise and Kids: The Difference amid Training Children and Adults!

The greatest mistake a person can make when exercising with children is to treat them like little adults. Children are growing and developing rapidly. This means that certain physiological issues must be considered when they are exercising.

Bone Injuries That Affect Growth

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When most parents think of children and weight training their first concern is the possibility of it affecting their growth. Contrary to popular belief, weight training will actually improve the bone and muscular systems. It is when children have a lack of qualified supervision that accidents occur. Actually, growth problems are extremely rare when children are given well-designed programs with qualified supervision. In fact, growth problems occur more frequently in dynamic sports such as Tennis, Swimming, and Baseball, than they do in weight training.

Another misconception about growth related injuries is that it will happen without you noticing it. It is actually quite painful because you are actually cracking the top of the bone. It will cease the growth in that bone only so if you get this injury in your upper left thigh (femur), only your left femur will stop growing. Your right femur will continue to grow.

Kids Have Higher Heart Rates and Lower Blood Pressure

A child has a smaller heart and less blood volume than an adult so the child's heart compensates by beating more often (per minute). A child's blood pressure is also less than an adult because this is directly proportional to body size. It reaches adult levels in their late teens.

Children Don't Perform Well Without Oxygen!

Children have a limited ability to perform anaerobic activities due to the limited production of the enzymes required for provide energy in the absence of oxygen.

Keep Kids Cool In The Heat

A child's sweat glands are not yet fully developed so they are less effective at cooling down through evaporation then adults. Make sure they drink lots of water and always exercise in light, cotton clothing.

Copyright 2005 Raymond Kelly

Exercise and Kids: The Difference amid Training Children and Adults!

Used Exercise Equipment - Bowflex Home Gym

If you are in the market for used exercise equipment, Bowflex Home Gym is typically one of the best buys that you will find. When you are in the market for used exercise equipment Bowflex Home Gym is usually much more affordable than when you buy it new. Even if the equipment has been used quite a bit you will find that it is probably in excellent condition. Bowflex Home Gym's are made really well so they will stand the test of time through several owners a good deal of the time.

When you shop or used exercise equipment Bowflex Home Gym you will find that there are several different models to choose from. Some of the more common models that you will see are the Bowflex Ultimate, Bowflex Ultimate 2, Bowflex Extreme, Bowflex Extreme 2, and the Bowflex Blaze. These are simply different models that were released at different times. For the most part the technology is the same, though if you can choose one of the newer models you will find that it comes with more of the accessories and it is much easier to use. Also, most of the newer machines do not require you to change anything out, you can simply move from weight to weight without adjusting, which is really nice.

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One of the best places to find used exercise equipment, Bowflex Home Gym models is in used sports stores. There are several chains across the country that offers a wide variety of sports and fitness supplies and equipment. Many of these stores carry the Bowflex Home Gym models because they know they will sell. You can often find them for less than half of their original price, which means you can get a 00 machine for just 0 and sometimes less! This is a great deal, because as was mentioned before Bowflex machines typically stand up well over time. The most difficult part of the transaction may be getting the equipment home, but if you or a friend have a pickup truck or SUV with plenty of cargo room you generally won't find it difficult.

If you cannot seem to find used exercise equipment Bowflex Home Gym in your local area you may want to look online. You might be surprised to find how many people sell their used goods, including exercise equipment, on the Internet. If you can find a really good deal and you are also able to see pictures of the product all you need to do is check on the shipping charges. As you might imagine, the Bowflex Home Gym equipment is relatively heavy and can cost a lot to ship. If you opt to buy used exercise equipment online then you should bee sure that you aren't being charged too much to have it shipped to your home. Make sure you are still saving money when all is said and done, and also be sure that the package is insured just incase it is damaged during shipping.

The Bowflex Home Gym is definitely one of the best used exercise equipment deals you will find on the market. You may find a lot of infomercial type equipment that is being sold used, but when you come upon a Bowflex you will find that it is in stellar condition and really worth its resale price and then some. If you have quite a few used sports equipment providers in your area you may want to check with all of them for the best deal, though most of the time you can bet it is a good deal.

You may also want to check newspaper classifieds for used exercise equipment Bowflex Home Gym advertisements. Many people do not want to transport the equipment to the used stores so they advertise it for sale. Much of the time the owner is simply looking to get the equipment out of their garage or basement and will let you have it for a really good price. Of course, you should ask to see and even try out the machine before you buy, just to be sure that the equipment is still in good working order. If it is, then take your new yet used exercise equipment home and get in shape, the Bowflex can work wonders!

Used Exercise Equipment - Bowflex Home Gym