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Hematocrit

To blow my own trumpet a little I try and drink a lot of water...the 52.2% test I'm sure I was a little dehydrated as I rode an hour that morning to the test.
I've always had decent natural fitness, especially when I was 15,16 & 17.
At rugby training as everybody was dropping from exhaustion I seemed to be getting more and more energy...that year I was drinking lots of freshly made carrot and tomato juice before training. I thought that was my secret, not having any idea about hematocrits and such.
I also did a home delivery milk run 3 nights a week after school which built up a strange fitness..but also a lot of knee damage. Running with as much as 15kgs hanging off each arm up and down the steep home driveways of Collaroy.
Rather than study hard I was in almost every school sports team. We had both Rugby League and Union, basketball, baseball a bit of cricket...
When I was 17, I did a sports test at Sydney University and they said they'd never seen such results with Vo2 max and other. I wish I'd have known then what I know now.
Would have been nice to have been whisked off to the Australian Institute of sport and put into the cycling squad.
Women, beer, cigarettes and having a good time took me down the wrong path....I still played a lot of competitive basketball and rugby...
Then when I was 23ish I snapped my ACL...was in the valley then for a long time.
Last week before this test was done I had extra water the days before and that morning... I've been on a strict diet though which I think helped.
My natural body water content is lower than normal...but I guess that is due to the high hematocrit levels and trying to fight it doesn't seem to make much of a difference.
I'm still a fat bastard now but have held my own in a lot of cycling races due to my natural doping ability....against much younger opponents...
And I was also in the school band blowing my trumpet then as well....
 
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wikipedia:

Elevated[edit]

In cases of dengue fever, a high hematocrit is a danger sign of an increased risk of dengue shock syndrome.

Polycythemia vera (PV), a myeloproliferative disorder in which the bone marrow produces excessive numbers of red cells, is associated with elevated hematocrit.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and other pulmonary conditions associated with hypoxia may elicit an increased production of red blood cells. This increase is mediated by the increased levels of erythropoietin by the kidneys in response to hypoxia.

Professional athletes' hematocrit levels are measured as part of tests for blood doping or erythropoietin (EPO) use; the level of hematocrit in a blood sample is compared with the long-term level for that athlete (to allow for individual variations in hematocrit level), and against an absolute permitted maximum (which is based on maximum expected levels within the population, and the hematocrit level that causes increased risk of blood clots resulting in strokes or heart attacks).

Anabolic androgenic steroid (AAS) use can also increase the amount of RBCs and, therefore, impact the hematocrit, in particular the compounds boldenone and oxymetholone.

If a patient is dehydrated, the hematocrit may be elevated.

Capillary leak syndrome also leads to abnormally high hematocrit counts, because of the episodic leakage of plasma out of the circulatory system.

Sleep apnea has been known to cause elevated hematocrit levels.
 
According to the report last week I still fall within a normal allowable safe range...39.8 to 51.8
 
According to the report last week I still fall within a normal allowable safe range...39.8 to 51.8

Not too different, but when looking at some recent blood work (検査情報書), for ヘマトクリット値 it says normal for males is 40.2 - 51.5, females 33.6 - 44.6 (and mine was 45.0).
 
Annual update.

2007 47.7%
2008 50.0%
2009 51.1%
2010 49.9%
2011 49.2%
2012 52.7%
2013 47.2%
2014 48.3 & 49.4%
2015 50.9%

May have to start bottling it and selling it.
 
When the large spikes happen, like in 2012, did you feel any different than the previous year?
 
Taking a sample at random one day a year is probably not going to show true peaks and drops.
2008 & 2009 were my best racing years... but I was training often at 200 to 300km a week back then... don't think I did 300km last year...
 
I'd forgotten about this. Just checked mine for this year and its up on last year but down on the one before.

2015 41.2
2014 40.5
2013 43.4

Is it any wonder I suffer in the hills?
 
Power to weight, glycogen stores, cadence and knowing when to attack and lay off based on your current fitness levels.

A person with all of the above perfectly sorted and a hematocrit of 40 would ruin a 55 hematocrit overweight low cadence dude in seconds.
 
Haha. Your weight is spot on, and your power is stacked right up. Muller a load more rice and stuff before you ride, and keep your cadence high.

You spanked me up some tasty climbs on the Monkey Dozen ride though, so I have no place handing out advice do I. Haha.

Just get on the drugs mate.
 
Annual update.

2007 47.7%
2008 50.0%
2009 51.1%
2010 49.9%
2011 49.2%
2012 52.7%
2013 47.2%
2014 48.3 & 49.4%
2015 50.9%
2016 49.1%
2017 50.5%
 
The last 4 of my 5 years in Japan, I registered a Hermatocrit of over 50%. This year, now in the UK, mine was back down to 48%. Suspect hydration and warmer average temperatures had a part to play in my elevated levels.
 
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