Comments on: That Which Divides http://www.kirstensanford.com/2008/07/30/that-which-divides/ The world according to a hula hooping, TKD black-belt wearing, radio show producing physiologist with aspirations of science journalism Tue, 06 Jan 2009 12:58:39 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.1 By: Kevin http://www.kirstensanford.com/2008/07/30/that-which-divides/#comment-1183 Kevin Wed, 30 Jul 2008 22:42:07 +0000 http://www.kirstensanford.com/2008/07/30/that-which-divides/#comment-1183 I don't know about other sports, but proffesional cycling is one genetic freak show. To compete at a such a high level and win most riders have some sort of natural genetic advantages. Take Tour de France winner Miguel Indurain. At the top of his career, Miguel Indurain had a physique that was not only superior when compared to average people, but also when compared to his fellow athletes. His blood circulation had the ability to circulate 7 litres of oxygen around his body per minute,[2] compared to the average amount of 3-4 litres of an ordinary person and the 5-6 litres of his fellow riders. Also, Indurain's lung capacity was 8 litres, compared to an average of 6 litres. In addition, Indurain's resting pulse was as low as 28 BPM, compared to a normal human's 60-80 bpm , which meant his heart would be less strained in the tough mountain stages.[3] His VO2 max was 88 ml/kg/min; in comparison, Lance Armstrong's was 82 ml/kg/min and Greg LeMond's was 92.5 ml/kg/min. With specs like that it doesn't give much hope for us mere mortal of winning the Tour de France. Stay Cool, Kevin I don’t know about other sports, but proffesional cycling is one genetic freak show. To compete at a such a high level and win most riders have some sort of natural genetic advantages. Take Tour de France winner Miguel Indurain. At the top of his career, Miguel Indurain had a physique that was not only superior when compared to average people, but also when compared to his fellow athletes. His blood circulation had the ability to circulate 7 litres of oxygen around his body per minute,[2] compared to the average amount of 3-4 litres of an ordinary person and the 5-6 litres of his fellow riders. Also, Indurain’s lung capacity was 8 litres, compared to an average of 6 litres. In addition, Indurain’s resting pulse was as low as 28 BPM, compared to a normal human’s 60-80 bpm , which meant his heart would be less strained in the tough mountain stages.[3] His VO2 max was 88 ml/kg/min; in comparison, Lance Armstrong’s was 82 ml/kg/min and Greg LeMond’s was 92.5 ml/kg/min.

With specs like that it doesn’t give much hope for us mere mortal of winning the Tour de France.

Stay Cool,

Kevin

]]> By: bill http://www.kirstensanford.com/2008/07/30/that-which-divides/#comment-1182 bill Wed, 30 Jul 2008 18:59:02 +0000 http://www.kirstensanford.com/2008/07/30/that-which-divides/#comment-1182 You might find <a href="http://www.alicedreger.com/home.html" rel="nofollow">Alice Dreger</a>'s work interesting. (fyi, got here via friendfeed) You might find Alice Dreger’s work interesting. (fyi, got here via friendfeed)

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