Donating Blood and Weightlifting

MrBrightside

MrBrightside

Active member
I donated blood around 9:00 this morning. I was wondering if it would be fine to resume my normal weightlifting schedule, if I should wait longer, or if I should avoid certain body parts to train? I don't particularly want a hematoma.
 
I'd wait a day. there was another thread floating around the other day about this and almost everyone said to take a day off and rest
 
Good to hear for future reference. I am very worried about my bench at the moment. Normally I can get 185x6 and a day after giving blood (it's been about a week since the last time I benched) 185x3 was a struggle. The next day, I also noticed a significant drop in reps in a giant set of WG Pullups/Underhand Barbell Rows/Dumbell Rows/Standing Lat Pulldown. I couldn't control the weight as easily on the negatives and I ended up falling a good amount short of the reps total in every set (compared to my last back workout before giving blood).

I've been taking B12 like it's my job to help red blood cell formation, drinking a lot of water to up fluid intake and eating a lot of kidney beans to replace iron lost...and I'm still weak as hell. I don't know when I should go back to lifting.

Will this strength come back, or am I ****ed? I'm so pissed that I've basically been punished for helping another person.
 
I donate every 8wks, the weakness is mostly mental, but you did just lose a lot of blood so your body needs to rebuild it before your 100%, takes only a day or 2.

With regard to lifting, I would not lift the same day. Eat more, rest, drink water and dont do arm specific exercises for at least another day after. Getting huge bruises on your arms suck.
 
Yeah I figured I would stay away from the arms. The weird thing was my squat weight seemed normal enough. But my back/bi and chest workouts were just awful with the weights I normally use.
 
The actual blood volume will be replaced within a day or so...however it takes 4-8 weeks for the red blood cells to be fully replaced (hence why you can only donate every 8 weeks). I'm not sure whether or not this would cause any weakness.
 
I know I am allowed to donate once a month. But I havent donated in a long time. It takes me about 3-4 days to feel good again. Then again I am 0-positive, so that is one of the most desired ones....I swear they take extra. Last time I did it I know those bastages took about 2 times as much as they were supposed to....
 
Zero V said:
I know I am allowed to donate once a month. But I havent donated in a long time. It takes me about 3-4 days to feel good again. Then again I am 0-positive, so that is one of the most desired ones....I swear they take extra. Last time I did it I know those bastages took about 2 times as much as they were supposed to....
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Blood donating is very regulated.

How often can one give blood?
Regulations in the United States allow people to donate whole blood once every 56 days. The waiting period between donations can be different for other blood components. For example, donating only platelets in a process called apheresis requires only a 3 day wait before a person can give again. Donating two units of red blood cells through a similar process doubles the waiting period to 112 days.

How much blood is taken — won't it make me weak?
A blood donation equals approximately one pint of blood. The average adult body has 10-12 pints. The vast majority of people will not feel any different because of the donation. A very small percentage may experience temporary dizziness, but some rest and fluids will help you feel better quickly. Your body will replace the lost fluid within 24 hours.

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Zero V said:
I know I am allowed to donate once a month. But I havent donated in a long time. It takes me about 3-4 days to feel good again.
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I think this is the case for me as well. My bench is still a bit down but it climbed back up today, which was nice to see. We'll see how high-intensity goes for back and bi tomorrow, hopefully I'm not as gassed as last time.


Bastards didn't even tell me my blood type :grumpy:
 
Was this the first time you donated? If so, within a couple weeks, you should get a plastic donor card in the mail from the ARC. On it will be what blood type you have and on the back they write the date each time you donate.
 
Now you've discovered the reason I don't give blood.

I gave 1 pint, 1 measly pint of blood, and I felt like **** in the gym for a week.
 
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