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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.

 
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