hematocrit

[gds]

I've never paid any atention to this. The suspension level is 50%- is
that right?
Well I'm 60 y. o. and the only "supplement" I take is bratwurst and
on my annual physical my hematocrit is 47.8%. Seems awfully close to
the edge for that 50% number to be the absolute cut off.

Now I feel really bad- obviously I should be a much better rider. Is
that last 2.2 % what makes you fast?

 

[Brenton James]

Last checked, I was 48%.
My hemoglobin level was near the limit too, I think.
I must be on EPO.

"gds" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I've never paid any atention to this. The suspension level is 50%- is
> that right?
> Well I'm 60 y. o. and the only "supplement" I take is bratwurst and
> on my annual physical my hematocrit is 47.8%. Seems awfully close to
> the edge for that 50% number to be the absolute cut off.
>
> Now I feel really bad- obviously I should be a much better rider. Is
> that last 2.2 % what makes you fast?

 

[erik saunders]

no.. you both are fine.. if you were 51 then you would take 2 weeks off from
racing.. but you wouldnt be positive for anything.. if you always tested 51
then you might be able to get a clearance... but then when you failed the EPO
test youd be screwed.. then you will wish you would have done more with all
those 2 week vacations!...

 

[Stewart Fleming]

gds wrote:

> Well I'm 60 y. o. and the only "supplement" I take is bratwurst and
> on my annual physical my hematocrit is 47.8%. Seems awfully close to
> the edge for that 50% number to be the absolute cut off.
>
> Now I feel really bad- obviously I should be a much better rider. Is
> that last 2.2 % what makes you fast?

No, it is the lack of bratwurst that makes you go faster.

 

[chris]

Well if you were taking EPO 24/7 you wouldn't last too long after
racing...lord knows what all that EPO would do, but your body would
likely reduce its own production.

CH

[email protected] (erik saunders) wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> no.. you both are fine.. if you were 51 then you would take 2 weeks off from
> racing.. but you wouldnt be positive for anything.. if you always tested 51
> then you might be able to get a clearance... but then when you failed the EPO
> test youd be screwed.. then you will wish you would have done more with all
> those 2 week vacations!...

 

[Warren]

"gds" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I've never paid any atention to this. The suspension level is 50%- is
> that right?
> Well I'm 60 y. o. and the only "supplement" I take is bratwurst and
> on my annual physical my hematocrit is 47.8%. Seems awfully close to
> the edge for that 50% number to be the absolute cut off.
>
> Now I feel really bad- obviously I should be a much better rider. Is
> that last 2.2 % what makes you fast?

Nah, it's what you do with all those blood cells that counts. If you start
training a lot (if you aren't already) the hematocrit level would likely go
down at least a few percent.

-WG (48%)

 

[Pippen]

"gds" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I've never paid any atention to this. The suspension level is 50%- is
> that right?
> Well I'm 60 y. o. and the only "supplement" I take is bratwurst and
> on my annual physical my hematocrit is 47.8%. Seems awfully close to
> the edge for that 50% number to be the absolute cut off.
>
> Now I feel really bad- obviously I should be a much better rider. Is
> that last 2.2 % what makes you fast?

Trust me the last 2.2% does NOT make you faster! Or, at least in my case it
does not... My last physical showed a hematocrit of 50.4%. I live at an
elevation above 6,000 feet, maybe that has something to do with it. And no
Jackass (Crit Pro) I'm not doping...

-p

 

[Tom Kunich]

"gds" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I've never paid any atention to this. The suspension level is 50%- is
> that right?
> Well I'm 60 y. o. and the only "supplement" I take is bratwurst and
> on my annual physical my hematocrit is 47.8%. Seems awfully close to
> the edge for that 50% number to be the absolute cut off.
>
> Now I feel really bad- obviously I should be a much better rider. Is
> that last 2.2 % what makes you fast?

A healthy man usually has a hematocrit of between 42% and 48%. There are
some variations outside of that but 95% of men will fall into that catagory
normally.

Athletes train a great deal which causes red blood cells to age a bit faster
but more importantly, it causes an increase in blood volume which is more an
increase in serum levels than in cells. The sum result is that athletes tend
to have slightly lower than normal hematocrit though the total red blood
cell count is higher than a non-athlete.

It isn't clear if this holds up with elite athletes however, since I've
never seen a study that has sufficient standards.