Introduction
Many people regularly go to donate blood to help others and earn some pocket money. Straight sportsmen ask themselves after a blood donation, how it behaves with the direct sport driving. When donating blood, about half a liter of blood is withdrawn from the body, which may have an effect on physical performance.
When can I do sports again after a blood donation?
Athletes who donate blood more often may wonder how long they should wait until they resume their sport. Many athletes do not take a break and endurance athletes often run a smaller or larger lap on the same day. Nothing speaks against a sporty training unit on the same day.
However, there are a few tips that you can follow. Before the blood donation is carried out one should drink enough liquid in the form of mineral water and juices. This replenishes the mineral and nutrient balance in the blood.
In addition, after a blood donation, coffee and alcohol should be avoided, since these substances tend to dehydrate the body. Every person feels differently fit, tired or weak after a blood donation. Therefore also the own feeling of the achievement condition is decisive to complete still another sport unit on the same day or not.
However, it is recommended to refrain from high physical strain for one or two days until the blood balance is restored. For competitive athletes, the issue is somewhat more serious, since they are training in a different performance area. The body is completely converted to high performance and every blood platelet is needed to transport nutrients to the muscles.
If the amount of blood is reduced by the blood donation, the body is automatically in a lower performance state. If training is done the same day and the body has no chance to recover from the blood donation, this can lead to overtraining in extreme cases. However, the athlete does not train and does not become fitter, but continues to lose performance. The muscles and organs are not supplied with nutrients as they normally are. Competitive athletes should therefore talk to a doctor about how and when they can resume normal training after a blood donation.
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