HIGH ALTITUDE TRAINING FOR ATHLETES
IMPROVE YOUR ATHLETIC PERFORMANCE
Altitude training is not a fad it has a profound effect on sports performance. Elite athletes use the low-oxygen (hypoxic) conditions found at high altitude as a training tool to improve their oxygen uptake and delivery (VO2 Max). Even a well trained athlete can expect an increase in power, endurance and speed by 3% or even more. 3% might not sound like much but it could be the edge you need. Look at it this way:
100 meter swim… One and a half body lengths
Marathon… 3/4 of a mile
400 meter track… 12 meters
There is less oxygen at higher altitudes, this requires athletes to undergo a degree of adaptation before training and performance can approach sea-level expectations for aerobic (predominantly endurance) activities.
Athletes who train at higher altitudes can expect a faster heart rate and faster respiration as the body adapts to the lower amount of oxygen being taken into the lungs with each breath. To counteract this your body starts to increase the red blood cell concentration this may take days, weeks, or months before a more normal heart rate and breathing rate occur. You should remember that several nutrition factors are associated with successful production of red blood cells, including adequate caloric intake, sufficient iron to increase the red blood cell concentration, vitamin B12 and folic acid.
SIMULATED ALTITUDE TRAINING
Simulated altitude training is not a fad or gimmick – it is based on a solid scientific principles: when your body is starved of oxygen, it responds by making new red blood cells.
More red blood cells mean more speed, endurance, and power. Altitude training and altitude tents are used by numerous world-class athletes including Paula Radcliffe, Lance Armstrong, and Khalid Khannouchi.