Altitude Training | Hypoxic Training

Do the adaptive mechanisms described above compensate for the decrease in oxygen available at altitude. The answer is NO. Even with acclimatization, the proportion of the energy supplied by anaerobic metabolism for any level of activity (rather than by oxygen supported or aerobic pathways) increases and performance suffers.

Does hypoxic exercise at altitude provide a training benefit? This is controversial, but controlled studies in trained athletes have not been confirmed any benefit for hypoxic exercise WITHOUT CONCOMITANT ACCLIMATIZATION.

And the direct effects of interval training to stress and improve an athlete’s maximum aerobic capacity (VO2 max.) definitely deteriorate with training at elevation as a result of the inability to maintain a VO2 max. comparable to sea level when training in a hypoxic environment. During interval work outs, speed, oxygen uptake, heart rate, and lactate levels are all lower than those from lower altitudes suggesting that interval training is best performed as near sea level as possible.

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Based on the anecdotal date collected on a retrospective study, altitude training may be suitable for experienced athletes for several conditions:

1. aerobic boost prior to high intensity training in preseason
2. performance advantage in endurance events at sea level
3. aerobic fitness during and post injury
4. preparation for quicker recovery between rounds of competition and
5. preparation for performance at altitude.

Many scientists, athletes, and coaches have been intrigued by the similarities of altitude acclimatization and training effects. Does living and training at altitude (with the associated changes in red cell mass and cellular changes in mitochondria, etc.) lead to an increase in the maximal aerobic exercise capacity (VO2 max.) upon return to sea level? The answer is “it depends”. It is the net balance between the benefits of the acclimatization effects and the negatives of a reduction in training intensity and deconditioning from hypoxia that are the ultimate determinate of the outcome of altitude training in endurance athletes. Controlled studies have NOT shown any advantage of TRAINING at altitude compared to a similar TRAINING program (the same absolute VO2 max. being achieved at both altitudes) at sea level.

CYCLING PERFORMANCE TIPS
Altitude
FULL TEXT: * Physiology

Short term physiologic responses to altitude

The most immediate response to altitude is the hyperventilation that occurs in response to a decrease in arterial oxygen levels above 2000 meters. And this increased respiratory rate can remain elevated for up to a year at altitude. The hyperventilation response varies from individual to individual. Those with a strong hypoxic drive will perform exercise tasks better at altitude than those with a blunted ventilatory response.

There is also an increase in the resting heart rate and cardiac output. The increase in blood flow compensates for the decreased blood oxygen concentration and leaves the total amount of oxygen delivered to the muscles unchanged. However, the fact that there is always less oxygen available means that even with the compensatory increase in heart rate and blood flow, the level of exercise at which oxygen demands are unmet and metabolism becomes anaerobic (VO2 max.) will always be less than at sea level.

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What should an athlete do to prepare for competiton at altitude ?

For endurance events, adequate time should be allowed to complete acclimatization - 2 to 3 weeks. The longer one waits, the more deconditioning of the VO2 max. that occurs. Returning to sea level to do interval training several times a week would be a definite advantage but is usually impractical.

For sprints (400 meters or less) most of the energy for muscular activity is oxygen independent and acclimatization will not be of any benefit. And the lower air resistance at altitude will increase race times - that is why the 400 meter events were very fast in Mexico City in 1968 but the longer 1500 meter results were slower than at sea level.

The major concern for this individual is Acute Mountain Sickness. The rider needs to accept that there will be an inevitable decrease in VO2max (see above) and no special training program that will blunt this effect of altitude on performance.

Preventive strategies include allowing 2 days of acclimatization before engaging in strenuous exercise at high altitudes, avoiding alcohol, and increasing fluid intake. A high-carbohydrate, low-fat, low-salt diet can also aid in preventing the onset of AMS.

Although slow ascent is the preferred approach to avoiding AMS, there are times when this is impractical (plane connections to the start of a ride, emergency situations).

Rosalba Courtney wrote:
Athletes have known for many years of the benefits of altitude adaptation in enhancing performance. Using the principle of ‘train high and live low’, they have been able to perform better at sea level when their bodies compensate for oxygen levels lower than those found at altitude by becoming more efficient at utilising oxygen.

What’s more, altitude adaptation has implications well beyond giving elite athletes that extra edge. Russian medical researchers and others are finding increasingly that adaptation to altitude has tremendous potential for enhancing the health of the average person and modifying the course of many chronic illnesses.

Are people who are acclimatised and live at altitude healthier than those living at sea level? The answer seems to be a clear ‘yes’. Many of the chronic degenerative diseases and infective diseases found commonly at lower altitudes occur less at
high altitude.

The Indian Army recorded the incidence of 18 different diseases in 130,700 soldiers stationed at altitudes from 3692 to 5538 metres over a period of seven years. When the rates of disease were compared to those found in soldiers on the plains, almost all diseases had a lower incidence at altitude. The occurrence of bacterial, viral or protozoan infections was significantly lower (except for amoebic hepatitis and lobar pneumonia). Diabetes, hypertension, ischemic heart disease, asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, several types of gastric disorders, skin diseases, psychiatric ailments (including neurosis and psychosis) and anaemia all occurred with much lower frequency when the soldiers were living at altitude.

September 9, 2008
Altitude Climbing Endurance (ACETM) Training for Cyclists reviews the principles of bicycle training, and specifically discusses training for ACETM events–which are defined as one-day rides or races of more than 100 miles with more than 10,000 feet of cumulative climbing. Arnie has not forgotten to list practical workouts as well.
Learn about:

* Bicycling fitness, workouts, aerobic and anaerobic training
* Improving your climbing endurance and your climbing speed
* Climbing and descending skills
* The effects of altitude
* The importance of pacing
* Endurance sport nutrition
* The equipment you’ll need for ACETM events
* Motivation theory and strategies that help you keep focused

Rosalba Courtney wrote

Intermittent Hypoxic Training

Rejuvenation, healing and enhanced athletic performance are just a few of the benefits

Only a few times in my adult life can I remember feeling the unbounded exuberant energy of childhood and experiencing it continuously for days at a time — a feeling of my body being light and movement effortless, drawing energy from a seemingly bottomless well.

One of those times was when I was trekking in the Himalayas, descending from an altitude of 5000 metres. Walking up had been a fairly grueling experience, but on the way down I felt like I could walk all day and never tire.

Altitude Physiology - full article

As altitude increases above sea level, atmospheric (or barometric) pressure drops with a parallel decrease in the amount of oxygen available at the blood/air interface in the lung alveolus. Hypoxia (a low blood oxygen level) occurs and results in a decrease in the amount of oxygen delivered to the cell to do physical work. Although the heart rate (and thus the cardiac output) increases to deliver more blood (with less oxygen per ml) to the cell, complete compensation does not occur and the maximal aerobic ability (VO2 max.) is reduced by approximately 1% for every 100 meters (~ 300 feet) above 4500 feet in recreational athletes and can be detected in highly trained athletes at altitudes as low as 1500 feet above sea level.

Other adaptive changes (acclimatization) include a higher ventilation (respiratory or breathing) rate and a higher blood lactate level for any level of submaximal exercise, both of which increase the sensation of dyspnea (shortness of breath) and fatigue. Some acclimatization responses occur immediately while others may take 4 to 6 weeks.