Giving blood pros and cons?
 

I've been thinking for a while now about giving blood, but recently I've been told that giving blood would be an all-round good thing for me in terms of my strength conditioning.

A post-graduate in biomedical science has informed me that depleting my blood stores will cause the production of new, stronger erythrocytes (red blood cells), which in turn will give me a boost in stamina and promote growth and strength in virtually all areas.

I've never before given blood, and so I was wondering if anyone out there has given blood and noticed any credible effects in their training?

Sounds interesting, looking forward to an answer!

After 9/11/01 I began giving blood every 8 weeks. Didn't notice any difference in training at all. If there was a difference, it was minimal. I don't give blood anymore now. It also depletes your iron.

Thanks mate. I was warned to keep my iron up, but with the amount of red meat I consume that isn't an issue. At all.

I never felt anything bad or negative after giving blood.

Giving plasma...yes. I gave plasma once and felt like a train wreck.

I used to sell my blood and plasma as often as I could when I was the service. E1's and E2's don't make much, and needs more money to drink.. easy cash was at the clinic off base.

But I never felt anything in terms of training good or bad. Sometimes I got a little headache, but I was always fine in a couple of hours..

I've given blood twice and it made me... tired. But only for the day and was in the gym a day or two after and it made no positive difference.

A bit of a good read here:

Can I Work Out or Exercise After Donating Blood? by MunFitnessBlog.com

Btb had you given plasma before? I've always either donated R2 or plasma, and once I'm up for it (something like 100 days between donations for how much I give), it'll be my first since I started lifting.

I'm curious how this will go, as I feel strongly about donating. I've actually put off getting another tattoo just so I wouldn't be banned from donating for a full year.

I usually bounce right back from Plasma and R2 donations.. hopefully it's not too bad! I'll post back here after I donate next.

Ryano, Ricka, Hazzard... what type of training would you do after you donated?