Difference between revisions of "Altitude Training Approaches"

Revision as of 17:52, 4 May 2010

1 Altitude Training Approaches

There are various ways of using altitude to improve performance.

1.1 Live High, Train High

By moving to altitude, you are exposed to lower oxygen all the time. While this approach can have a good effect on altitude acclimatization, it makes training much harder. Therefore the benefit of altitude on increased red blood cell count are offset by the reduced ability to train hard.

1.2 Live High, Train Low

Sleeping at altitude produces the increase in red blood cells, and training at low altitude provides optimum training benefits. This effect can be achieved by literally living at a high altitude and travelling to a lower level to train. However, this approach is also possible by using a hypoxia generator to reduce the level of oxygen in a tent. The downside to an altitude tent is that the quality of sleep can be significantly degraded.

1.3 Intermittent Hypoxic Training

Being exposed to low oxygen for short periods has been shown to provide similar benefits to other altitude training approaches. The technique usually involves breathing air with reduced oxygen content for a few minutes, followed by breathing normal air for a few minutes, repeating for about an hour. IHT can provide the increase in red blood cell count as longer periods, as well as improving oxygen delivery to the muscles. IHT is normally performed at rest rather than when training, and uses a pulse oximeter to verify the impact of the hypoxia. IHT uses lower oxygen content than other forms of altitude training.

IHT promises a number of advantages over other techniques. It does not reduce training intensity in the way that Live High, Train High does. It does not impair sleep in the way that an altitude tent does. The biggest advantage is that chemical based IHT can be obtained for much less than other systems.

The evidence for IHT is rather mixed. Some studies^[1][2][3] show improvements with IHT type approaches, at least one well designed study^[4] showed no improvement. There are claims that the USSR^[5] used IHT extensively.

2 See Also

• Altitude Training
• Hypoxia Systems
• Book Review – Altitude Training and Athletic Performance

3 References

1. ↑ http://jap.physiology.org/cgi/content/abstract/73/3/837 Erythropoietin response to acute normobaric hypoxia in humans
2. ↑ http://jap.physiology.org/cgi/content/abstract/66/4/1785?ijkey=5bbdebe4e97a65aad9ea16d9d6a7f0c9de2d7dc0&keytype2=tf_ipsecsha Rate of erythropoietin formation in humans in response to acute hypobaric hypoxia
3. ↑ http://www.pharmapacific.com/images/AltoLab_Clinical_Research_Study.pdf Running performance and altitude exposure
4. ↑ http://jap.physiology.org/cgi/content/full/96/5/1800 Intermittent normobaric hypoxia does not alter performance or erythropoietic markers in highly trained distance runners
5. ↑ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12162864 Intermittent hypoxia research in the former soviet union and the commonwealth of independent States: history and review of the concept and selected applications.