Altitude Training

Take your training to a new HIGH

We have often read that Paula Radcliffe, Lance Armstrong or another elite athlete has just returned from altitude training in some distant country with temperatures way above what us wannabe elites have to endure day in day out. So, what actually is altitude training, how does it benefit these elite athletes and what benefits does it hold for us wannabe elites?

Firstly, let's take a brief look at the history of altitude training. Most of the current interest in altitude training can be traced back to the 1968 Summer Olympic Games, which were held in Mexico City at an elevation of 2300m. At the 1968 Olympics, Sprinters & Jumpers in the sport of track and field set several world records in the "thin air" of Mexico City. In addition, athletes from altitude-based countries such as Kenya and Ethiopia won a relatively high percentage of medals in the middle and long distance races, where native lowlanders felt the negative effect of competing un-acclimatized at altitude. Interest in altitude training has continued to grow since the 1968 Summer Olympics (1).

At this point it is important to note that altitude acclimatization has been around since the ancient Incas. Recent research, bringing together census data and satellite measurements, suggests around 30% of the global population live at altitudes above 1500m and around 10% (70 million people) above altitudes of 2500m.

It's all about Oxygen

So it's all about oxygen! The air in the atmosphere contains 20.94% oxygen at every altitude. However, as altitude increases the air pressure is lower, so every breath contains fewer oxygen molecules. Or simply put you breathe in less oxygen per breath as altitude increases.

To cope with the relative lack of oxygen above 2500m, the human body adapts in several ways. By living and training at altitudes above 2500m athletes expect to get an increase in their red blood cell (RBC) mass and haemoglobin. Increases in red blood cell mass and haemoglobin, in conjunction with the production of new capillaries (small blood vessels) have been shown to enhance an athlete's oxygen carrying capacity from the lungs to the rest of the body and in particular the working muscles. An important natural hormone involved in this process is EPO (Erythropoietin). Quite simply these changes significantly boost athletic performance by improving your aerobic engine. The increase in red blood cells can mean 3% - 7% (2, 3) more speed, endurance, and power.

To the vast majority of us it's just not possible to travel and train at altitude to improve our athletic performance. However, there is an answer thanks to modern technology and the use of simulated altitude training equipment called a hypoxicator (hypo = low and oxi = oxygen), such as the McKinley Altitude Simulator™. Click here to find out how it works.

The McKinley Altitude Simulator™ allows all of the three scientifically researched training protocols over the last 40-years to be applied. Let's take a look at each one and see how it may enhance athletic performance and whether there any other benefits that may be applicable to the health and fitness arena.

Live High + Train Low (LH + TL)

The LH + TL model was developed in the early 1990s by Drs. Benjamin Levine and James Stray-Gundersen of the United States. Essentially, LH + TL is based on the premise that athletes can simultaneously experience the benefits of altitude/hypoxic acclimatization and sea level training, thereby resulting in positive haematological, metabolic and neuromuscular adaptations.

With LH + TL you sleep or work in a low-oxygen environment, using a mask, tent or semi sealed room, and continue to train normally, at low altitude. To view our Hypoxic Tent please click to open a new window. Significant post altitude improvements have been reported in VO2MAX (4), cycling peak power output (5), cycling power output at the respiratory compensation point (5), and 800- to 3000-m run time (6).

Parameters to elicit 1-2% improvements in 800- to 3000-m were to sleep 8hrs per day for 24 days at 2500-3000m (15.48% - 14.65% O2) (6). Considering a 1-2% improvement may mean a 30-60m advantage over 3000m, it may make all the difference to standing on the podium.

More information about the Live High + Train Low (LH + TL) training protocol and how to integrate the training protocol into your training rountine can be found on our training protocols page.

Live Low + Train High (LL + TH)

LL + TH can be used be used by athletes in the resting state (Intermittent Hypoxic Exposure; IHE) or during formal training sessions (Intermittent Hypoxic Training; IHT). During both protocols intermittent bursts of Hypoxic air are interspaced with regular air (20.94%). To achieve this successfully, it is recommended to use The McKinley Altitude Simulator™ (Pro Version) and the Higher Peak Performance proprietary IHT/IHE windows based Command Software.

Unlike the previous stated LH + TL model, LL + TH via IHE/IHT research on elite and well trained athletes is unclear and there is minimal data to support the claim that IHE or IHT enhance VO2MAX. Only one study has demonstrated an improvement in 3000-m run time (7). However, beneficial changes have been demonstrated in untrained individuals (8, 9).

A recent study of IHT outside of athletic performance, is of particular interest to exercise professionals specializing in weight management and the fight against obesity. The research demonstrated significantly greater weight loss was achieved when obese people were subjected to mild physical exercise using IHT three times per week for 90 min over a period of 8 weeks than the control group undertaking the same exercise routine without IHT(10).

Although this is the first study of its kind, it offers promising results in the war on obesity within the UK.

A final note regarding LL + TH via IHE/IHT: a number of studies have found IHE/IHT to be an effective method of pre-acclimatization before ascending to high altitude (> 4000m) (11, 12, 13, 14). It seems that IHE/IHT may be used effectively by athletes, mountaineers, trekkers and skiers to pre-acclimatize before visiting areas of high altitude.

REFERENCES

The author, Jason Hughes, (Click to find out more about us) gratefully acknowledges Randy L. Wilber Ph.D (U.S. Olympic Committee), Stephen R. Muza Ph.D (U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine), Frank L. Powell Ph.D (Professor, Dept. Of Medicine, University of California, San Diego), for their assistance in providing the necessary research papers to write this article.

1. WILBER RANDALL L., Altitude Training & Athletic Performance (Human Kineteics (2004) ISBN 0-7360-0157-3)

2. SAUNDERS et al. Improved running economy in elite runners after 20 days of simulated moderate-altitude exposure. J. Appl. Physiol., 2004.

3. MEEUWSEN et al., Training-induced increases in sea-level performance are enhanced by acute intermittent hypobaric hypoxia. Eur. J. Appl. Physiol., 2001.

4. BRUGNIAUX, J V., L. SCHMITT, P. ROBACH, et al. Eighteen days of "living high, training low" stimulate erythropoiesis and enhance aerobic performance in elite middle-distance runners. J. Appl. Physiol. 100:203-211, 2006

5. SCHMITT, L., G. MILLET, P. ROBACH, et al. Influence of "living high-training low" on aerobic performance and economy of work in elite athletes. Eur. J. Appl. Physiol. 97:627-636, 2006

6. HINCKSON, E. A., and W. G. HOPKINS. Changes in running endurance performance following intermittent altitude exposure simulated with tents. Eur. J. Sport Sci. 5:15-24, 2005

7. HAMLIN, M. J., and J. HELLEMANS. Intermittent Hypoxic Training in Endurance Athletes

8. DESPLANCHES, D., and H. HOPPELER. Effects of training in normoxia and normobaric hypoxia on human muscle ultrastructure. Pflugers Arch. 425:263-267, 1993

9. VOGT, M. , A PUNTSCHART, J. GEISER, C. ZULEGER, R. BILLETER, and H. HOPPELER. Molecular adaptations in human skeletal muscle o endurance training under simulated hypoxic conditions. J. Appl. Physiol. 91:173-182, 2001

10. NETZER, N. C., R. CHYTRA, T. KUPPER. Low intense physical exercise in normobaric hypoxia leads to more weight loss in obese people than low intense physical exercise in normobaric sham hypoxia

11. BRUGNIAUX, J V., L. SCHMITT, P. ROBACH, et al. Living high-training low: tolerance and acclimatization in elite endurance athletes. Eur. J. Appl. Physiol. 96:66-77, 2006

12. RICHALET, J. P., J. BITTEL, J. P. HERRY, et al. Use of a hypobaric chamber for pre-acclimatization before climbing Mount Everest. Int. J. Sports Med. 13(Suppl. 1):S216-S220, 1992

13. SAVOUREY, G., N. GARCIA, Y. BESNARD, A.-M. HANNIQUET, M.-O. FINE, and J. BITTEL. Physiological changes induced by pre-adaptation to high altitude. Eur. J. Appl. Physiol. 69:221-227, 1994.

14. SAVOUREY, G., N. GARCIA, J.-P. CARAVEL, et al. Pre-adaptation, adaptation and de-adaptation to high altitude in humans: hormonal and biochemical changes at sea level. Eur. J. Appl. Physiol. 77: 37-43, 1998