# COMPETITIVE BODYBUILDING - POWERLIFTING - ATHLETICS & SPORTS > COLLEGIATE & PROFESSIONAL SPORTS >  epo

## olympian 08

hey
been looking about for info on epo,wanna increase endurance.
kno the basics about it i think,does any 1 av any first hand info.
thanks in advance

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## soldier01

what event are you in?
what are your stats?

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## soldier01

go to cuttingedgemuscle.com teach you evrything you need to know about epo in the endurace section

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## oneshot

epo will not do much unless you are already in very good cardiovascular and respiratory shape/high VO2 max.

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## PrideFEDOR

Epo is a very nice hormone. If you have a great source - go for it. The cycle length is about 3-4 weeks at 5000 iu 3times a week. Make sure u take your blood work before and after the cycle. Doesn't matter what ur supplier says- the bloodwork does not lie. Your hemocrit levels should increase substantially(spelling). Be careful with it though , it has pros and cons. Its virtually undetectable 24 hours after the injection , but it makes so much red blood cells that your blood thickens up to the point that the whole Dutch cycling team died in their sleep. Their average doses were 17000 iu per day , so at 5000iu 3times a week - you dont have anything to worry about, unless u have already thick blood. Oh yea, make sure u get folic acid, iron etc.

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## T_Own

its also not a bad idea to donate blood if you're afraid of it getting too thick

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## daem

^^^^^^^ I'm a huge fan of donating blood every 2-3 months...It really helps keep your body in top form if it's always trying to create / replace red blood cells.

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## T_Own

yeah i try to, but its hard when i play sports 3 seasons out of the year. i can't imagine surviving a wrestling practice with a pint less blood lol

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## Kratos

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2004...cling.cycling1

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## Kratos

> its also not a bad idea to donate blood if you're afraid of it getting too thick


and what would be the point of that exercise? Raise your red blood cell count just to donate them?

It's important to monitor your crit if you want to do it safely. Just donating blood dosen't mean you keep yourself in a safe range cause you don't know what the count is.

It's not a substance that should be used by everybody. Only high level endurance athletes with the resources to do it correctly.

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## Kratos

Some estimates say that because of EPO, as many as 80 riders died in the 1980s and '90s, their doped-up blood.

the strain EPO abuse puts on an athlete's heart is horrific. Oversaturated with oxygen-carrying red blood cells, blood can become like molasses, clogging the heart until the blood stops flowing. I don't understand the statement about nothing to worry about unless your blood is thick already. The red blood cells are what's making the blood thick.

The long-term effects of EPO, however, have yet to be determined, and over 100 odd riders may have died as guinea pigs so that the sport could learn how to cheat better. I don't think it's use should be so lightly advocated or cycles laid out for someone with no knowledge or intention of monitoring thier red blood cell count.

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## TommyTrainR

Blood doping..ahh the wonders. Throw your blood into the freezer for a bit, re inject it and your golden. Simple and VERY effective. But needless to say, EPO itself is very effective.

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## Kratos

If an EPO-doped marathoner starts the race at 52, his hematocrit could climb above 60 during the race from the dehydration alone. Blood volume reduces durring heavy exercise increasing crit.

It's not uncommon for doped athletes to wake up 3 times per night to exercise for the reason of avoiding a blood clot.

Not saying nobody should use the stuff and it isn't useful. I just think it should only be used at high level of competition. People should be aware of the risks and well educated. Nobody should touch the stuff if they have no intention of hemocrit monitioring.

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## berzin

> I know this is an old post but just to straighten up, only Hct levels above 55% could pose dangerous. Get your Hb and Hct levels checked before the cycle, every 3 vials will put up your hematocrit about 1%. If your Hct is only around 42% a cycle of 12 vials (4,000I.U) will only raise your Hct about 4%, so your Hct would be at 46%. Normal range is from 41%-51%. If you do regular blood work its almost impossible to go over 55%.


Is this information from first-hand experience, or did you read it somewhere?

Because there are different EPO medications out on the market, the latest being CERA which only requires a monthly or bi-weekly injection. So if you are talking about dosing, you also have to include which exact medication you are referring to or else your information is just conjecture and doesn't help anyone. 

Also, guys who do EPO have portable centrifuge machines and measure their levels at home. It is just as accurate and way less expensive than having to go through a doctor, then a lab and back to the doctor, who then charges you for another visit just to hand you the paperwork.

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## BgMc31

I'm starting to hear about a lot of strength athletes (oly lifters, strongmen, and powerlifters) injecting EPO into partial muscle tears to speed healing, is this effective?

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## Kratos

> I'm starting to hear about a lot of strength athletes (oly lifters, strongmen, and powerlifters) injecting EPO into partial muscle tears to speed healing, is this effective?


nah, no way is it effective in that way
but, I'm betting your thinking of platelet rich plasma (PRP) and not EPO
blood platelets are loaded with growth factors
you can spin your own blood plasma to concetrate the platelets
there is a lot of preliminary research showing some promising results for some conditions.
It's something I work with as part of my job.

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## BgMc31

Thanks for the follow up Kratos, I was actually speaking of EPO because I've seen it used by top American strongmen (whom shall remain nameless, LOL). I figured EPO was ineffective when used like that, but some of these cats swear by it. I've had some nagging injuries so I considered using it but I figured I'd check here 1st. Thanks again!!!

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## Kratos

erythroproetien's target is bone marrow, as far as I know there is no documented local tissue response, and no medical reason why it should aid in healing at the injection site.

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## JohnS

Does anyone know where CERA can be purchased???

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## pedalbot

Any response on where CERA can be purchased?

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## powerliftmike

> What's a good source to purchase CERA?





> Does anyone know where CERA can be purchased???





> Any response on where CERA can be purchased?


*No source fishing on the forums.*

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## asimov

> nah, no way is it effective in that way
> but, I'm betting your thinking of platelet rich plasma (PRP) and not EPO
> blood platelets are loaded with growth factors
> you can spin your own blood plasma to concetrate the platelets
> there is a lot of preliminary research showing some promising results for some conditions.
> It's something I work with as part of my job.


Interesting stuff. Do you have anything on using a high dose of HGH for similar purpose?

I used it on a chronic, extremely sore and worn out tricep. Amazing how quick the turnaround was in making it feel great again. Recommended to me by someone who had it done on a pulled hamstring.

At the time (summer '06) it was new thing, to me at least. I've been out of the loop since.

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## nikolas

Hello everybody. I am doing middle distance running semi-professionally. i have a record of 1min 53 secs in 800m and 3min 52 secs in 1500m. I have started training before 3 years and i am now 28 years old. I have got interested in EPO because i have heard that it helps boost the athlete's performance na dthe last year i have not seen really impressive progression in my personal records. I had quite high RBC before I started traiing heavily ( i do nowdays a bit more than 100km per week). The highest measurement of my RBC was 51 (before 4 years) but since i have started training heavily it has gone down and my average measurements are around 47-48. The last time i got measured (before 2 months) and after some really difficult trainings in my VO2max (and even higher) speed my RBC was 45. Do you think taking EPO would enhance my performance for sure or there are cases of athletes where EPO has no effect on them? Where could i find more information about EPO, its resutls, its side-effects and about the quantity i should take?
I have never used any other hormones and/or steroids . I only take some vitamins at the moment, carbohydrates and some creatine. If i finally decide to take EPO should i also take some other substance?

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## happysumo

> Hello everybody. I am doing middle distance running semi-professionally. i have a record of 1min 53 secs in 800m and 3min 52 secs in 1500m. I have started training before 3 years and i am now 28 years old. I have got interested in EPO because i have heard that it helps boost the athlete's performance na dthe last year i have not seen really impressive progression in my personal records. I had quite high RBC before I started traiing heavily ( i do nowdays a bit more than 100km per week). The highest measurement of my RBC was 51 (before 4 years) but since i have started training heavily it has gone down and my average measurements are around 47-48. The last time i got measured (before 2 months) and after some really difficult trainings in my VO2max (and even higher) speed my RBC was 45. Do you think taking EPO would enhance my performance for sure or there are cases of athletes where EPO has no effect on them? Where could i find more information about EPO, its resutls, its side-effects and about the quantity i should take?
> I have never used any other hormones and/or steroids. I only take some vitamins at the moment, carbohydrates and some creatine. If i finally decide to take EPO should i also take some other substance?



good luck to you bro. Like soldier1 said, check out the endurance section over at cuttingedgemuscle.com. Very good info there for you

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## scottdoppler

Ive heard great things about EPO and am considering doing myself. The only thing is how to get it? I can get everything but that. Hmmmm?

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## depfife

I have been on EPO for about a year... I'm a distance runner.. It def. helps me. My natural hematocrit is only about 40.0...rather low.. EPO brought that up to about 47.0... BOY CAN I BREATHE NOW !!! I ran a marathon in 80 degree weather.... and dropped dead from thick blood...NOT !!! I used to not be able to sleep that well, cause I could not seem to get enough O2... NOT ANYMORE!!!!sleep like a baby.. i TAKE ABOUT 14000IU/WK. TO MAINTAIN.

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