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What's your personal hematocrit level?

May 26, 2010
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SlantParallelogram said:
What's your personal hematocrit level? Has anybody has their level tested?

Can I just ask my regular doctor to test it, or would I have to see a sports-medicine guy?

IIRC a regular blood test should test for sugar levels, salt levels, white/red blood cell count, Hema, cholesterol, kidney function, etc
 
My figure is around 49-50, but for one reason or another, the hemoglobin concentration is higher than should be calculated from HCT, last value being 17.8 g/dl. I have my blood checked by the healthcare system of my employers roughly once a year.

When I first heard about the high figures as a teen, I started running regularly and participated in a few quarter and half marathons. Full of hubris and with full confidence on my (presumably high) oxygen uptake, I got my ass handed to me every time. In the end, hematocrit is just a relative figure and even tends to be higher with non-talented people like me.
 
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I dunno, I haven't actually checked it. I suppose it's pretty average...
Whatever they are, they're definitely not giving me any kind of advantage. Can't even get up the hills around here without getting short-of-breath.

How can you have a non-personal hematocrit level though? :p










(Yeah... useless post is useless...)
 
Average - 45.

I'm a mid-50s competitive runner who lives at about 5300 ft. I've had yearly labs for about 30 yrs when I started running in the late 80s. I've been as high as 47 and no lower than 44.

Interestingly, back in my younger days when I was hitting 40 mpw and racing a lot, my Hct was the same as it is now when I can barely manage 20 mpw with limited racing due to chronic injuries. I used to be obsessed with Hct levels & race performance, now it's all about getting this old body out there and trying to get some decent workouts. Lol.
 
It has varied considerably even while living at or near sea-level.
Since about 1980, every year, I have had at least one blood analysis done and I have tried to do it on different months.
When out of shape - end of winter - my Hct has been as high as 46.2 %, but still with only 14.9 g/l.
When in great shape, in summer, as low as 38% with 12.8 g/l.
Which means that properly doped up with EPO I could have been in my late forties climbing at 1650 m/h (for 30 min) instead of 1250 m/h on 7% :)

A few years ago i started eating black chocolate regularly ( 20 g/day) as my iron values always tended to be low and I don't want to eat too much red meat. In the past 3 years, end of spring, my Hct has been around 45%, but then I don't exhaust myself on the bike as I used to (age, you know, well past 70).

50 years ago, when I lived at an average weekly altitude of 4500 m, I probably approached 55%, unfortunately not confirmed by an analysis.
 
63 yo male living at sea level, I have had HCT tests as part of my regular blood work since I started doing annual physicals 10-15 yrs. ago.

HCT for years was always around 41.5. Then for a few years it dropped to 36-37. That's when (for completely different endocrine reasons) I started monthly prescribed T injections. The next time I had blood work done it was 43.4, then it dropped back down to 41.5 range in the following years.

Interesting considering the clinic discussions re: T use and blood values.
 

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