Hematocrit levels in response to exercise

[Billegitimate]

I'm curious about hematocrit levels. I was watching a Lance Armstrong documentary, and one of the things they were discussing was how they suspected doping because his hematocrit levels increased during portions of the race while they expected them to decrease as a result of the stress on his body.

So, it's the last part that got me curious. Apparently, the doping expert being interviewed said that hematocrit levels tend to drop due the the "intensity" of exercise, so an increase had to be caused by something else. I put intensity in quotes because in my book if you're doing it for hours, it's not that intense. 100m sled sprints are intense. 1 mile sled pushes are taxing and exhausting but not intense. So the bike racing wouldn't fit my definition of intensity, but the question still remains: Would exercising hard enough to really stress the body lower our hematocrit levels that may otherwise be elevated from TRT?

I wonder if hematocrit levels follow a J curve where moderate exercise increases them as an adaptive response, but very hard or long exercise decreased them in a fashion similar to overtraining.

So, anyone doing intense stuff like CrossFit, hard sprint work, hard anaerobic work, etc. who has noticed that their hematocrit levels stay in check when doing that level of exercise but climb otherwise, requiring blood donation or reduction of TRT dose?

 

[3J]

hematocrit levels are higher in those who live in higher elevation... it gives the person the ability to carry more oxygen...


high endurance athletes can have higher hemo levels.. its typical for high endurance athletes to have higher hemo and a very low heart rate.. the body adapts

 

[Alpin]

hematocrit levels are higher in those who live in higher elevation... it gives the person the ability to carry more oxygen...


high endurance athletes can have higher hemo levels.. its typical for high endurance athletes to have higher hemo and a very low heart rate.. the body adapts

Can't you also have high Hemo and a high normal heart rate as well?

 

[3J]

Can't you also have high Hemo and a high normal heart rate as well?

sure.. people on hrt experience it all the time..

 

[3J]

im a high endurance athlete.. years of boxing and jiu jitsu give me a resting heart rate of about mid 40s to 60.. but my hemo was never out of wack until i started trt... so its not that it has to have one for the other..

 

[Mprtz]

There's a phenomenon among long distance runners called "footstrike hemolysis" where damage to red blood cells in the blood vessels in the soles of your feet occurs due to the repeated impact of high mileage training, leading to a lowering of hematocrit.

Regarding TDF stages not being "high intensity", I'm willing to bet that the vast majority of people would have a hard time putting on a burst of speed to equal what the pros put out hour after hour. What they do is a true test of the human body's ability to recover.

 

[Billegitimate]

There's a phenomenon among long distance runners called "footstrike hemolysis" where damage to red blood cells in the blood vessels in the soles of your feet occurs due to the repeated impact of high mileage training, leading to a lowering of hematocrit.

Regarding TDF stages not being "high intensity", I'm willing to bet that the vast majority of people would have a hard time putting on a burst of speed to equal what the pros put out hour after hour. What they do is a true test of the human body's ability to recover.

To be clear, I didn't mean that as disparaging of the athletes. It was more an observation on the experts opinion that the drop was from the intensity. I'd wager the drop, if it exists, occurs from the duration and stress at relatively high intensity. In other words, a 3 hour long sustained effort might lower hematocrit but a higher intensity set of sprints might make no impact.

And I can guarantee you that my 30 second sprint effort on a bike far exceeds Lance Armstrongs sustained output in the TDF. Much like my 400m run pace blows away the run pace of the best marathoner.

 

[halfape211]

hematocrit levels are higher in those who live in higher elevation... it gives the person the ability to carry more oxygen...
high endurance athletes can have higher hemo levels.. its typical for high endurance athletes to have higher hemo and a very low heart rate.. the body adapts

I don't feel I qualify to call myself an 'athlete', as I'm just too old, etc. But I train for Half Marathons and workout regularly. And luckily, my hemo is good despite what some consider a hefty T dose.

Funny thing happened a month ago: I'm laying in hospital bed trying to go to sleep while hooked up to a heart monitor and ECG, but the alarm keeps going off and waking me up. Turns out my resting pulse was only 44 BPM. When the nurse finally figured out I was not taking my last breath, she shut off the alarm. lol