Respiration, in its simplest terms, is the “release of energy in cells by the breakdown of food substances”. It is the process by which we obtain energy through the food we intake; this energy we use to fuel our life processes of movement, growth, excretion and so on. Respiration is especially important when it comes to physical activity, such as sports. We need energy for everything we do, and this energy is created through the process of aerobic respiration.
In aerobic respiration, glucose and oxygen are transported to the mitochondria in cells, where a reaction takes place. Here, the glucose and oxygen react to produce energy which is then transferred to the cells.
Two waste products are created from this reaction; they are carbon dioxide and water. Animals release carbon dioxide back into the environment, and take oxygen in through the process of breathing (not to be confused with respiration: breathing is a muscular contraction whereas respiration is a chemical reaction).
Aerobic respiration is especially focused on in a sport like long distance biking. Cyclists’ bodies are required to continuously produce energy to fuel their bodies to keep pedalling. But, there are methods by which the process of respiration can be altered, to further improve the physical capabilities of the human body. This was the case in the professional cycling circuit, with a man named Lance Armstrong. He was famous for blood doping; this process consists of increasing the number of red blood cells in the bloodstream to enhance athletic abilities. Since blood carries oxygen from the lungs through to the muscles, a greater number of blood cells means more oxygen can be carried through to the muscles which results in more endurance.
A very commonly used method of blood doping is an injection of EPO (erythropoietin). EPO is hormone that is naturally produced in our bodies by the kidney, and it regulates the production of red blood cells. Injections of EPO are given to stimulate red blood cell production, and can be used to treat different stages of kidney diseases. In athletics, some athletes illegally inject EPO into their bloodstream to make their bodies produce higher amounts of red blood cells than usual, to enhance their endurance and performance.
Another common method of blood doping is through blood transfusions. In the medical world, blood transfusions are done to replace lost blood, or to treat those with a low red blood cell count. There are two main types of illegal blood transfusions done by athletes:
Autologous transfusion
The athlete draws their own blood, which is then stored for later use. By drawing their own blood, the athlete is ensuring that their body produces more blood cells to make up for the lost ones, and then they can inject the stored blood to further the red blood cell count even more.
Homologous transfusion
The athlete draws blood from someone else of the same blood type, for the same purpose.
A blood doping incident shocked the biking world, in the form of 7 time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong, who saw himself stripped of all his titles and later publicly admitting to using banned performance enhancing drugs. He had faced repeated allegations of doping, but no official action was taken until 2006. Charges were continuously dropped and taken up once more until 2012, when the USADA (United States Anti Doping Agency) accused him of doping and drug trafficking based on collected blood samples and testimonies from Armstrong’s teammates. He was charged with using EPO and steroids, as well as blood transfusions as long as 16 years prior to the accusations. A year later, Armstrong publicly admitted using banned performance enhancing drugs on the Oprah show, and was consequently stripped of all Tour de France titles.
There could be a variety of opinions towards this issue; the honest answer that Lance himself provided was that, if he were racing in the modern cycling world, he would not do it again, but take him back to 1995 and he said that he would do it again. In my opinion, I think that he would not be likely to do it again; in the interview, he talks about how his kids hearing of this incident would absolutely crush him, and I think that now with the influence that his family has on him he would be encouraged to be clean, were he racing. If he did not have his family by his side, and like he said, if he was back in 1995, then he would probably do it again in my opinion as well.