im doing starting strength MWF. i’m thinking about donating blood, probably on friday after workout. is this wise?
also, how long would recovery be? i dont wnat this to make me miss workouts. I’ve never done this before, so i would like any information on your experiences. thanks!
Give blood. Don’t hesitate.
You might have a sub-average workout monday, depends on how well you take it.
Personally I do it like you said, before the longest break. Doesn’t affect my lifting at all but a buddy of mine usually has problems first workout after.
I never had a problem (other than the time I lifted the same day, oops).
If you lift on MWF then set an appointment for Friday if that’s convenient (although M or W would also be good). Basically rehydrate and eat as much as you can for a quick recovery.
Potentially saving 3 lives IMO is a hella lot more important than a lifting session in my book. After the Friday WO should be fine.
During a SS stint two months ago, I gave blood. Donation in the morning and workout in the afternoon. No strength loss. I did ice the area all day though.
I’ve given blood and then worked out 3 hours later. Strongman events, so it’s not like I was taking it easy either. Not only can it be done, but even if it somehow, someway takes a toll on your lifting 60, 70 some-odd hours later, there are more important things than having a good workout.
Does anyone else have a nagging feeling that your blood is being given to horrible, horrible people? I am about 90% convinced that I have inadvertently saved the life of some murderer or pedophile or something.
That’s encouraging to hear. I always assumed it’d kill me strength wise. So there’s no ill effect??
[quote]Hanley wrote:
That’s encouraging to hear. I always assumed it’d kill me strength wise. So there’s no ill effect??
[/quote]
i’m sure it’s all individual. but this was my workout that day:
7/7/07 Blood Donation/Overhead Events Day
Donate Blood x 1 pint - EDIT to add: got my heart rate measured at 66 and my BP at 110/70 woohoo!! yknow what that means … if I’m that healthy when I eat like crap and dont do specific cardio, I can do even UNHEALTHIER things and still be ok
Axle outta tires
whatever x whatever@whatever for warmups
260 with a double overheand full clean (PR)
wanted to stay with 260 (80%) and work reps since all I’ve done for a WHILE has been to go heavy
260 - clean once, press 3 times
260 clean& press once, miss the second cleanx2 … or something like that
Bottoms up 8" log press
165x3
215x1 - this rep legitimately took about 8 seconds. Real deal ME, a true strain
8" Clean and Press
1 or 2 warmups
235x4
255x2 - That’s 5 lbs more than my PR for a single AND I doubled it
2" DB Overhead
I think it went
100 (R and L)
120 (R and L)
130 (R yes, L no)
150x no way
Yoke
490
580
630 x ~45-50ish? w/ one drop
Basketball with friends,
as you can see, two PRs, plus a true ME grind it out lift with teh log. Looking at my notes, I wasnt happy with the db presses, btu still not bad for a days work. On the other hand tho, there are people who puke and get dehydrated adn stuff after tehy give blood even if they dont work out. ONly one way to find out…
I give blood on off days or cardio only days just to be safe.
I don’t want to injure myself doing a max lift.
You’re back to 100% after 24 hours after giving blood.
In fact I’d say you’re at 99.9% 20 minutes after.
They only take a pint of blood. You won’t notice it.
Actually its probably good for you to give blood regualry since t-men tend to have high iron levels from all the red meat.
Give blood.
i never found giving blood effected my training but i make sure its done on my off days…how often can you donate blood in the u.s. because here in aus you can only donate once every 6 weeks or every two weeks for plasma.
I donated plasma 2x a week with no ill effects on lifting…
It’s not the same as giving blood, though.
That’s awesome guys, thanks for the info.
You’ll probably just be fine 24 hours after you give. If you lift before then you might be dealing with a little bit of low blood pressure, but you should be OK if you don’t go crazy. If you are a red meat guy you should give blood just for the Fe balance. In addition to saving lives, replenishing blood eats up 3500 cals for those dieting. Plus you get to hang out with hot nursing techs.
[quote]Hanley wrote:
That’s awesome guys, thanks for the info.[/quote]
Give it a go sometime, just don’t plan it the day you’re shooting for a new squat PR. 
Hey, I’ll sign up for anything that gives me free snacks!
Can’t remember in which article but Dan John highly recommends it for health purposes as well as the charitable aspect and does so 2-3 times a year.
The reasons were something along the lines that it helps optimise iron levels and encourage turnover of new blood cells.
[quote]HoratioSandoval wrote:
You’ll probably just be fine 24 hours after you give. If you lift before then you might be dealing with a little bit of low blood pressure, but you should be OK if you don’t go crazy. If you are a red meat guy you should give blood just for the Fe balance. In addition to saving lives, replenishing blood eats up 3500 cals for those dieting. Plus you get to hang out with hot nursing techs.[/quote]
Giving away blood also means I’ll drop an pound when dieting?? Awesome… I’m in!