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UT Study on Lance Armstrong's physiology

When we took images?an echocardiogram?of his heart, we saw that it was much bigger than average. Although he?s only 5?5?, he has the heart of someone who?s around 6?4?
 
Originally posted by: Analog
When we took images?an echocardiogram?of his heart, we saw that it was much bigger than average. Although he?s only 5?5?, he has the heart of someone who?s around 6?4?
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that wasn't Lance though, thats Leo Manzano another person that is being studied.
 
Originally posted by: GalvanizedYankee
Good read, thanks DaShen. I have read all of Lance's books :thumbsup:



...Galvanized
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Same here. "It's Not About the Bike" is my favorite though.

The guy has a great physiology and philosophy for endurance sports. I have heard he is very blunt and to the point (speaks his mind and is completely honest to a person <i.e. if you are not working hard, he will come out and say your lazy> ) in real life which actually shows up in his writing too. Some people don't like that mentallity, but I think it is the best way to better yourself if you can be totally honest and direct, but I digress. His attitude and mentallity make him always look for things he lacks and want to improve on them instead of trying to sidetrack and make excuses. That and his monstrous heart and you have a winning combination.
 
For more interesting facts on Lance, go to his website and click on "all about lance" then "key stats." It's a flash site so I can't link right to it, but some of the stats are amazing.

Link
 
Originally posted by: marketsons1985
For more interesting facts on Lance, go to his website and click on "all about lance" then "key stats." It's a flash site so I can't link right to it, but some of the stats are amazing.

Link
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Ummm... kay? Is that the link you were trying to link? Lance isn't Spiderman.
 
Originally posted by: DaShen
Originally posted by: marketsons1985
For more interesting facts on Lance, go to his website and click on "all about lance" then "key stats." It's a flash site so I can't link right to it, but some of the stats are amazing.

Link
Click to expand...

Ummm... kay? Is that the link you were trying to link? Lance isn't Spiderman.
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LMAO.

 
I will make up the cliffs without reading the article

"If you can remove your right testicle without anesthetics, you are tough enough to win the Tour de France" 🙂

Waiting for Lance to decide that he wants to start racing FIA Rally...
 
Originally posted by: JS80
Originally posted by: PingSpike
Originally posted by: JS80
i'm surprised his extra large heart hasn't exploded
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Why?
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i thought extra large hearts that beat really fast tend to explode
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Some people's hearts get extremely large because they're crammed full of bacon grease and the heart has to work really hard. I don't think lance is an example of that though.
 
Originally posted by: JS80
Originally posted by: PingSpike
Originally posted by: JS80
i'm surprised his extra large heart hasn't exploded
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Why?
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i thought extra large hearts that beat really fast tend to explode
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"Five Step Exploding Heart" technique 😉

Overly large heart that don't pump efficiently are bad. People with that problem tend to faint when overworked, but large heart that work efficiently are good.
 
If his heart beats so fast so often, does that mean he'll die young? Like I keep reading the heart only has a limited # of heartbeats or something like that. Would it be possible the Lance might only live into his 60s, or would his great physical conditioning mean his heart has more heartbeats than the typical heart has?
 
I must say, he makes up for having one ball with the fact that that one ball is about the size of a watermelon.
 
He was funny in his Espy's intro. In one part, he said he was about to divulge a secret about performance enchancement... and showed a pic of half his face as T2.
 
Originally posted by: UNCjigga
If his heart beats so fast so often, does that mean he'll die young? Like I keep reading the heart only has a limited # of heartbeats or something like that. Would it be possible the Lance might only live into his 60s, or would his great physical conditioning mean his heart has more heartbeats than the typical heart has?
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Nope. It means his capacity is higher. Most of us have an average VO2 max. Meaning we cannot process oxygen and move it through our system as fast as some people. We also have a threshold of how fast our heart beats (depending on age) before our body and system conk and we have to slow down.

So while one person might have a maximum heartrate of 177-185 before he has to slow down (average for someone 20-30). A person with a good heart might have much higher capacity for a faster heart beat. If your heart can bheat efficiently, you may have a hgih cpaacity, but that also means that your Resting Heart Beat tends to be lower than average.

Athletes like Lance might have a resting heartrate of 30-35 or sometimes (very rarely slightly lower than that). Most average people can't get below 40-45 no matter how hard they work out (and this is considered quite healthy). I have an extremely good heart as well, so I find it a lot easier to maintain high speeds on a bike without feeling exhausted at least when I work out. On the other hand, I have a friend who has been riding his bike twice as long as I have, yet "conks" way before I do (this is partly physical, partly mental). So you have some people who are more suited to endurance than others.
 
The reason Lance gets accused of doping is because his physiology makes him almost completely efficient (with a hard work ethic) at processing sugar and oxygen.

Doping - taking EPO and blood transfusions, as well as other things. Boosts the hemoglobin and red blood cells in your blood system. This improves oxygen and sugar processing, but at a cost. Because the "engine" (heart) isn't suited for the extra fluid (blood and/or hemoglobin) in your system, the "engine" can fail. That is why it is extremely risky to dope. Of course professionals who dope, have teams of experts that know exactly what dosage to do when to minimize risk and maximize efficiency. Lance with his superior heart and lungs, didn't need to dope.

Sterols and other things, improves your muscle strength but not your oxygen use efficiency, so you find more use of EPO and blood transfusions and the like in endurance sports.
 
Interesting article, thanks!

I just can't imagine having my heart beat 200 times a second and do it at a constant rate. That would certainly kill me.
 
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