TheFinalSprint.com - Track & Field, Marathons, Racing News, Training Advice, Elite Athlete Blogs, Interviews, Podcasts, Videos and More! - TheFinalSprint.com is the Premier Destination for Track & Field, Marathon, Cross Country, Olympic and Road Racing Enthusiasts.

In memory of Adam Jacobs, support the Challenged Athletes Foundation

In memory of Adam Jacobs, founder of The Final Sprint, please donate so that someone with dreams as big as Adam can reach their goals too.

Live High, Train Low
Benefits of altitude training

Posted December 11th, 2006 at 8:13 AM by Emily Hoskins

Section: Running & Training, Training Tips

Many endurance athletes utilize altitude training. While it was once a controversial topic, researchers now universally agree that when done correctly altitude training offers many benefits.

So how does altitude training work? When you are exposed to hypoxia (oxygen reduced environments) your body struggles to produce the required energy needed to perform due to less oxygen available. This struggle initiates many physiological adaptations that enhance the efficiency of your body’s respiratory, cardiovascular, and oxygen transport systems.

Scientists now believe that the best method for improving sports performance is by following the “live high, train low” concept. Traditional altitude training has athletes train at high altitudes, but the positive benefits were canceled out by the fact that with such little oxygen athletes have a reduced ability to train hard. Athletes can still benefit from training at high altitudes, but it is necessary to come back to sea level for high intensity training sessions where oxygen is more available. The “live high train low” concept allows for the best of both worlds.

There are many factors that determine an individual’s response to altitude training including the length of daily exposure, number of consecutive days to exposure, altitude acclimatization, and max altitude. According to research done by Colorado Altitude Training, a person needs a minimum of 6-8 hours of exposure per day and benefits can be seen in as little as 14 days. Within 4-6 weeks of altitude exposure a person can expect max benefits. It is important when living at altitude that you allow your body to acclimate to the new elevation. 40% of people going from sea level to 8,000 ft. experience symptoms of acute mountain sickness, so it is important to slowly increase your altitude over the course of several days.

Research has also found that there is an optimal altitude that athletes should live at and also a max altitude. The recommended altitude for exposure is between 8,500-12,500 ft. The saying “too much of a good thing” applies to altitude training because at elevations over 13,000 ft, research has shown a reduction of lean muscle mass and deconditioning effects. This fact highlights the “live high, train low” concept.

Now that you know how to properly train, what are the great benefits of the “live high, train low” concept of altitude training and how can your performance improve? After exposure to high altitude your oxygen intake increases, so more oxygen gets from your lungs and into your bloodstream. The transportation of oxygen in your body also increases because after altitude exposure your body makes more red blood cells. Red blood cells are responsible for carrying oxygen to your muscle cells where it is converted to energy for sports performances.

Thus, the more red blood cells you have the more oxygen you deliver to your working muscles. High altitudes also produce a hormone called EPO that is responsible for the production of red blood cells. Altitude acclimatization creates more capillaries, which improves the delivery of oxygen to muscles by providing more pathways for blood to reach the working muscles. The total result of these physiological effects is an increased VO2 max- the max amount of oxygen that your body can convert to energy. More oxygen converted to energy equals greater endurance, power, and speed. You can go faster and longer with a more efficient body.

If you are not lucky enough to live by the mountains you can still benefit from altitude training thanks to many companies that are now creating specialized training facilities that simulate high altitudes regardless of the elevation where they are located. One such concept has been created by Colorado Altitude Training and is called a CAT system. A CAT system is a structure that utilizes a high-flow hypoxic air delivery unit. The air unit draws in ambient room temperature air and separates the oxygen molecules from the nitrogen molecules. The oxygen molecules are trapped while the nitrogen is allowed to freely flow through creating an oxygen-reduced environment. They also make a CER, or Colorado Exercise Room (featured above). These systems are capable of simulating altitudes of 14,000 ft.

Athletes of many different sports can benefit from altitude training, but the biggest benefits are seen in athletes who participate in high endurance events such as triathlons and marathons. It doesn’t matter if you are up in the mountains or hitting up your local health club with an altitude simulator, altitude training is beneficial and can help you take your running to the next level with more speed, endurance and efficiency.

Sources: [Colorado Altitude Training], [Hypoxico]

Pictures from: [Summits of Canada], [Nicole Miller], [Summit Colorado], [Colorado Altitude Training]

American distance runners beginning to catch up to their East African opponents | The Final Sprint (TFS) | Comprehensive Running, Nutrition, and Fitness Publication said:

[…] There has been much speculation about why there is such a disparity between course times for East Africans and runners from other nations. One possible reason is that Ethiopians and Kenyans do quite a bit of running in their lives, starting at early childhood; another possibility is that they do a considerable amount of training at high altitudes. The latter is something that can be emulated by runners around the world and it is starting to be noticed as an indispensable training practice. This has proved to be a very valuable tool for American runners as they have begun to make significant strides in catching up to their East African opponents. […]
January 18th, 2007 at 7:41 pm
Bob Scott said:

No doubt simulated altitude training Trouble is these systems are for the wealthy only, costing upwards of $5K-$10K. But for the rest of us the only affordable altitude training systems are provided by Higher Peak. They have altitude simulators starting under $2K (http://www.higherpeak.com)
November 3rd, 2007 at 2:50 pm