Ergogenic Aid in VO2 Kinetics

In the world of human fitness, there are bound to be limitations. Limitations of how fast, strong, or tall a person is, but also limitations of the basic physiology of the person. As stated in a previous article, there are various limitations of oxygen consumption in humans during exercise, and there are always individuals looking for ways to overcome those limitations in competitive environments. One of the most common techniques to overcome those limitations is “blood doping”.2

Blood doping is the action of infusing blood, or blood products, to increase a person’s red blood cell volume in order to favorably affect VO2 max. With blood infusion, blood is taken from an individual and kept either refrigerated or frozen until it is time to be used.4 An increase in blood volume alone would increase a person’s VO2 max, but the main goal is to increase the hemoglobin concentration.5 Blood doping has been shown to decrease the heart rate, decrease lactate and increase blood pH values. As discussed in a previous blog, a decrease in blood pH causes hemoglobin to be less likely to bind to oxygen, therefore, releasing that oxygen into the tissues instead of the muscles.1 The effects of altitude and heat stress seem to lessen due to blood doping. In areas of high elevation, which cause hypoxia, the increased levels of hemoglobin allow the athlete to be less affected by the impact. The increase in blood volume allows more blood to flow to the skin to maximize thermoregulation efforts.  

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A study done by Malm et al. 2016, showed an increase in performance of 15% ± 8 and an increase in VO2 max of 17% ± 10 with blood infusion.3 Increasing red blood cell mass causes an increase in the ability to transport oxygen throughout the body. A limitation to blood transfusions is that the effects only last a few weeks, or as continued transfusions are administered. That’s where the use of synthetic erythropoietin comes into play.1

Another method of blood doping is done by infusing the blood with synthetic erythropoietin (EPO). EPO is is a naturally occurring hormone produced in the kidneys that stimulates red blood cell production and has been used in patients undergoing dialysis or chemotherapy to reduce the chance of anemia.5 Naturally, this led to the unethical abuse of this hormone through synthetic use. Synthetic injections of EPO cause an increase in red blood cells which in turn produce a higher hemoglobin density. These injections are more easily accessible than blood transfusions, so the blood doping effects can last longer.1

Limitations to human fitness will always push athletes to find ways around those limits. But with the rewards of increased performance from blood doping, come risks. The increase in extremely high red blood cell levels could result in embolisms and end in blood clots, strokes and myocardial infarctions.5 To keep athletes safe, and to keep playing fields fair, there are bans against blood doping in professional sports.5 Of course, dedication to improving performance lead to finding safer means of ergogenic aids in VO2 kinetics, which will be discussed in a later blog.

References:

1Baechle, T.R. and Earle, R.W. Essential of Strength and Conditioning. National Strength and Conditioning Association. 2008; (3):124-130.

2Lundby, C., Robach, P., and Saltin, B. The evolving science of detection of ‘blood doping’.  British Journal of Pharmacology. 2012; 165(5): 1306-1315.

3Malm, C.B., Khoo, S. N., Granlund, I., Lindstedt, E., and Hult, A. Autologous Doping with Cryopreserved Red Blood Cells – Effects on Physical Performance and Detection by Multivariate Statistics. PLoS One. 2016; 11(6): e0156157.

4Oliveria, C. D., Bairros, A.V., Yonamine, M. Blood Doping: risks to athletes’ health and strategies for detection. Substance use and Misuse. 2014; 49(9): 1168-1181.

5Powers, S.K. and Howley, E. T. Exercise Physiology. Theory and Application to Fitness and Performance. 2015; (9): 71-77,216-239.