The effects of altitude on performance became evident during the 1968 Olympics in Mexico when they found the sea-level endurance athletes were under performing while their opponents from altitude (2400m) were unaffected. However, the sprint distance athletes performance wasn’t affected and their race times improved. Since then altitude training has been researched extensively and still to this day 80% of Olympic athletes incorporate altitude training into their competition training schedule.
Training at altitude stimulates cellular, haematological, metabolic and hormonal responses to increase the bodies oxygen carrying capacity. Training under hypoxic conditions prepares an individual for competition, acclimatise before a trek expedition or just improve their health and wellness.
Depending on your goal, altitude training can provide the following benefits:
Performance
| Increase in VO2 max by 4% to improve aerobic capacity and endurance |
| Increase in lactate threshold and improved lactate removal improving high intensity endurance performance |
| Increases in average and maximal power output by 5.6% subsequently increasing average speed |
| Increased capillarisation (density and length) enabling increased oxygen delivery to tissues |
| Boost in mitochondrial enzymes allowing more efficient use of oxygen for energy production |
| Improved anaerobic glycolytic activity (more efficient use of muscle glycogen for energy) |
| Increased number of sprints efforts by 38% (4 additional sprints) prior to exhaustion, improving fatigue tolerance and recovery time |
| Maintenance of cardiovascular fitness when injured |
Acclimatisation
| Reduced time to acclimatise prior to skiing or trekking holiday |
| Improved fitness and strength to enhance muscular endurance at altitude |
| Increases in mitochondrial enzymes and bicarbonate system allowing more efficient use of oxygen for energy production |
| Increased capillarisation and blood perfusion to working muscles enabling increased oxygen delivery to tissues |
| Increased efficiency of the respiratory muscles for easier breathing |
| Increases in myoglobin for enhanced cellular oxygen transport |
Fitness
| Increased growth and improved utilization of fast-twitch muscle fibers |
| Increased production of human growth hormone for muscle hypertrophy and hyperplasia |
| Increase strength gains from resistance training |
| Increase in cross sectional area of muscle |
| Reduce recovery time |
Health and Wellness
| Stimulating metabolism increasing calorie output up to 25% |
| Improved metabolic risk factors such as body fat %, blood glucose levels and blood pressure |
| Increased capillarisation density and length allowing for improved blood enabling increased oxygen delivery to tissues |
| Enhance endurance and stamina at without large loads |
| Reduce loads on joints without compromising cardiovascular fitness |
| Boost in mitochondrial enzymes allowing more efficient use of oxygen for energy production |
| Increased production of human growth hormone to increase muscle size |
ATHLETES
Athletes who can gain benefits from altitude training include:
Individual Sports
Team Sports
TREKKERS & SKIING
Holidaymakers and adventurers can pre-acclimatise before heading to high altitude areas such as:
WEIGHT LOSS & GENERAL FITNESS CLIENTS
Create effective and time efficient workouts for:
The length of your training regime will depend on your goals.
This is great for single or multiple events you are preparing for during the year.
For those looking for seasonal training we can customise a training regime to incorporate all the benefits altitude training has to offer during this period.
We also cater for people who are time poor and need to maximise results for less time.
All programs require a minimum of 4 weeks for improvements to be felt and up to 8 weeks to consolidate specific training adaptations.
