Specific Changes

Let’s look at the details of the changes that occur when training at altitude. The more you understand them, the better you can compensate with appropriate lifestyle changes while there and the better your strategy for competing afterwards:

 

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  • The air you breathe at higher altitudes contains the same mix of oxygen and other gases as the air at sea level—about 20.9 percent oxygen. The barometric pressure, however, is lower as you ascend in altitude, and this difference reduces your lungs’ ability to get oxygen out of the air.
  • As you ascend, air temperature drops quickly. For example, going from 4,000 feet at a temperature of 45ºF to 6,000 feet will bring the temperature to 38ºF. This can be significant when cycling, more so at even greater altitude changes, especially when considering the wind chill.
  • Humidity is much lower at higher altitudes, since cooler air holds less water. In addition to increasing your need to consume water to stay hydrated, higher altitudes can dry out your sinuses and thus increase your vulnerability to colds and flu.
  • You should also be aware that the increased solar danger at higher altitudes significantly raises your risk of sunburn. The decreased water in the air, which normally absorbs light, also increases the amount of sunlight that hits your body. Midday summer training outdoors is probably best avoided.
  • The muscles can be affected at altitudes of 5,248 feet (1,600 meters) and above. Overall muscle performance is diminished due to the reduced oxygen, resulting in a slower pace. (Mountain climbers above 20,000 feet feel like they are moving in slow motion.) In addition, muscle enzymes, which regulate energy production, decline, and total surface area of the muscle is diminished.
  • While there are a lot of factors to consider when training at altitude, wearing your heart-rate monitor and following your max aerobic heart rate will allow you to compensate quite well, reduce the potential training stress, and continue building your aerobic system.
  • After weighing the positive and negative factors of spending time at altitude, some athletes will invariably decide it’s worth it. My strongest recommendation is this: Altitude training should be a strategy implemented only after you have improved your overall health and built a great aerobic base—but it should not be used as a way to get more fit or healthy.

Below are additional recommendations for those planning a high-altitude period of endurance training:

 

 

 
  • If you can’t spend two to four months at altitude, it may not make much sense as a training strategy. However, it makes a wonderful vacation, and training during this period should be reduced and always done with a heart-rate monitor.
  • The altitude for endurance training benefits begins at lower levels, but significant effects start around 5,000 feet (just under 1,600 meters) after adequate time there and for a short period when you return to sea level.
  • Your training should be diminished for the first two weeks of arriving at altitude. For the first two or three days, training should be restricted to easy walking.
  • Anaerobic workouts should be minimized at altitude—it’s a great time to build an aerobic base. If you do perform anaerobic work, keep it to short intervals, emphasize recovery, and use your heart-rate monitor.

If competing at altitude, train aerobically for at least two weeks at that altitude in order to better adapt. If you are not able to stay at altitude for two weeks before competition, arrive at your race the night before. Many of the negative physiological changes become significant after the first twenty-four hours at altitude.

Using a mild hyperbaric chamber is easy.

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The optimal situation is to live at higher altitudes, and train at lower ones—for example, living at 5,000 to 6,000 feet, then driving down the mountain for your training sessions. This is not very practical for most athletes. But technology has changed all this. You could live year-round in Florida and still receive the benefits of high-altitude training. This is made possible with two types of portable indoor chambers.

You can simulate low altitude with a mild hyperbaric chamber and high altitude with a hypobaric chamber. The hyperbaric chamber can have an altitude range of about 5,000 feet or lower relative to your current altitude. The hypobaric chamber can have an altitude range above 5,000 and even up to 18,000 feet. In other words, the hyperbaric chamber mimics lower altitude/higher barometric pressure; the hypobaric chamber mimics higher altitude /lower pressure.