| HISTORY
Hypoxic stimulation has been a highly sought after
training modality for athletes since the Mexico City Olympics
of 1968. It was recognised that there were certain physiological
advantages to having trained in a high altitude environment. For
this reason numerous high altitude training centres were built
around the world. Unfortunately the competitive nature of the
sports industry has created an air of secrecy around the exact
nature of the improvements that the athletes have experienced.
There are certain problems with the use of high altitude facilities
for training athletes and these include the low overall air pressure
that they are subjected to as well as the inaccessibility of the
premises. This, coupled with the deconditioning that invariably
occurrs when the athlete returns to normobaric (or sea-level)
conditions, makes clear the need for a device which can simulate
hypoxic (or low oxygen) conditions at sea level.
The original devices involved hypobaric chambers
that reduced the air pressure, thereby simulating high altitude
environments. The same problems involving the consequences of
the reduced pressure environment were inherent as well as extreme
costs. From here devices which produced reduced oxygen air at
normal pressures were invented including nitrogen tents and re-breathers
(involving the repeated respiration of one's own air).
At this stage hypoxic air generators were developed
to provide air at normobaric conditions with reduced oxygen content.
The immediate response was to spend a maximal amount of time under
the influence of hypoxic air to get the greatest benefit from
these devices. The concept that shorter exposures might be of
more benefit than the longest period available was not looked
into in any great depth for a while. This concept of extensive
periods of hypoxia has been elaborated upon by a number of companies.
Research in the former USSR, from space and military
programs, found that subjects who were acclimatised to a hypoxic
environment exhibited more endurance in this environment and developed
an increased resistance to a wide range of stressful and damaging
factors.
Further experimentation in the same programs showed
that the greatest benefit from hypoxic stimulation could be gained
by introducing an intermittent approach. This method involved
cycling between hypoxic and normoxic air for short periods, with
an entire session lasting about 1-2 hours.
It is now clear that the trick to maximum performance
improvement lies not in the duration of the stay at altitude or
mode of acclimatisation ("sleeping", "training", etc.), but in
the number of transitions from LOW to HIGH and back. The GO2Altitude®
equipment simulates a higher altitude than its competitors and
this, coupled with the cyclic modality of use, allows us to attain
significantly better results. We can also precisely control and
monitor the training, allowing us to optimise the session for
the individual.
Currently there are several models available which
allow the user to breathe hypoxic air. They include several devices
that require the user to either sleep in a reduced oxygen environment
such as the tent and the hypoxic chamber. Another option involves
a hypoxic air generator that can be linked to a room in which
the user can exercise or rest. None of these systems allow for
IHT modality, requiring a minimum of eight hours exposure to the
hypoxic environment, and some take a long time to reach their
programmed altitude. The GO2Altitude®
system, on the other hand, makes use of the latest IHT technology
and requires only about an hour a day of breathing while reading
or watching TV. Instead of being enclosed in a small space for
this period of time, a comfortable facemask is worn and removed
at cyclic intervals.
GO2Altitude®
is at the forefront in the field of hypoxic stimulation. Cutting
edge technology in hardware and protocol. | 
