Systemic swelling?

[Silly Sally]

I think it was on the "HIIT" thread earlier this week where PowermanDL mentioned something called systemic swelling resulting from the early days of heavy weight training.

Can anyone elaborate on this phenom?

[missjane]

I got nothing on when I googled it? I'm not familiar with it.

[Silly Sally]

I didn't either.

I'm wondering if maybe he meant the water and such that surround the muscles during DOMS producing a swollen effect? ??

Anybody?

[rixatrix]

I bet if you sent him a PM he'd explain what he meant. He seems like a helpful kind of guy.

[Jenn Equestrian]

Systemic swelling is normally due to increases in plasma volume and packed cell volume as well as enzymes produced by the differing myofibrils in response to an increase in the intensity of training. Some people also experience more dramatic fluid compartment shifts in response to the introduction of additional load. Normally this initial response returns to near before training levels, but some changes do remain, like a raised hematocrit or say glycolytic enzymes in your FOG or FG fibers (given you continue exercising).

[Silly Sally]

Wow, thanks! That's quite a mouthful, Jenn. I think I understand that it'll go away for the most part, and THAT's good! Hematocrit... Does this mean that your blood/volume increases for as long as you exercise?

[Jenn Equestrian]

Hey Silly Sally:

Effective and proper training can increase blood volume for sure. Training at higher altitudes also increases this effect (which is what many athletes will do). It's excellent for performance as higher plasma volume and hemoglobin content gives the blood a higher O2 carrying capacity while simultaneaously increasing the stroke volume and cardiac output of the heart. Summary: your heart pumps blood to the working tissues quicker and that blood will bring more O2 to the tissues and wash out the CO2 quicker as well.

It is all dependant on each person's individual physiological composition, so not all people respond the same or can achieve the same results. Which is why not all cyclists will do La Tour De France and not all runners clock sub 4 minute miles. It's part of the genetic potential and advantage some people just have. It is also dependant on the adaptation of other systems, so it's a tricky subject. It's also the reason so many athletes will try to use some form of blood doping.

An off topic but interesting fact is the horse's physiological response to exercise (mainly when it comes to the sport of racing). They hold a splenic reserve of red blood cells (which contain hemoglobin our O2 carrying friend), and there is both the psychological excitment and physical drive which causes the spleen to contract and increase packed cell volume by 20-30% during intense exercise. Unfortunately, there are as many people in the horse world that don't know the basics of conditioning and will use EPOs/blood dopers on horses; with this splenic reserve released the blood actually becomes too viscous and drags performance down. Now strength training for horses is a whole other topic lol....

[LisaS]

Originally Posted by Jenn Equestrian

An off topic but interesting fact is the horse's physiological response to exercise (mainly when it comes to the sport of racing). They hold a splenic reserve of red blood cells (which contain hemoglobin our O2 carrying friend), and there is both the psychological excitment and physical drive which causes the spleen to contract and increase packed cell volume by 20-30% during intense exercise. Unfortunately, there are as many people in the horse world that don't know the basics of conditioning and will use EPOs/blood dopers on horses; with this splenic reserve released the blood actually becomes too viscous and drags performance down. Now strength training for horses is a whole other topic lol....

very interesting. when I took physio of ex, it was Compartive Physio of Ex - and so we read studies on many species - but I didn't remember seeing this tidbit.

[Bytsi]

Now strength training for horses is a whole other topic lol....

I used to ride (eventing and dressage) and I just had the funniest mental image of getting my little mare to curl some db's...