REVIEW:
No longer only for elite athletes, altitude training has gone
mainstream. So, how effective is it?
WORDS: ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR MIKE CLIMSTEIN & JOE WALSH
Title: Effects of High Intensity Interval Training in Normobaric
Hypoxia on Aerobic Capacity
Authors: Dr’s Czuba et al.(Jerzy Kukuczka Academy, POLAND)
Source: Journal of Human Kinetics, Dec 2013 (ePub before print).
Available free online at ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3916912/
Introduction: Every endurance fitness enthusiast is interested
in the next ‘new’ supplement or training technique that will
further increase their maximal aerobic power, aka ‘VO2 max’
(maximal oxygen consumption). We are devoting this issue’s
Research Review to altitude training, which although not new
in professional sport has now entered the fitness enthusiasts’
commercial market for both health and fitness benefits. Yes,
we said health benefits. We recently published a review
paper on the health benefits of altitude training and found
that it was associated with improvements in body weight,
body composition (>1,700 metres altitude), improved fasting
blood glucose (1,500 to 3,000 metres for > 21 days), improved
resting blood pressure in hypertensive individuals (1,285 to
2,650 metres) and improved total cholesterol and low density
lipoprotein cholesterol. There is still plenty more work to be
done in this area.
As we mentioned, altitude training for improved aerobic
performance is not a new concept, and according to altitude
expert at the Australian Institute of Sport, Professor Chris
Gore: ‘there is a 1-2 per cent increase in performance, which
mightn’t sound like much, but can be the difference between
a medal and failing to qualify’. Altitude training refers to the
use of normobaric or hypobaric hypoxia (i.e. reduced oxygen
concentration, <20.93 per cent) in an attempt to emulate altitude
acclimatisation to attain improved endurance performance.
Normobaric hypoxic training incorporates the use of masks,
tents and chambers, whereas hypobaric hypoxic training
involves ascending to elevated environments. Clearly, it is more
cost effective to utilise chambers and the like when you are
geographically disadvantaged to elevated environments.
30 | NETWORK WINTER 2014
Interestingly,
altitude
training
originated as a result of noticeable
decrements in performance that
were associated with competition at
altitude. However, Professor Burt in
1943 was the first scientist to notice
that there were highly favourable
alterations which occurred in muscle
as a result of exposure to altitude.
It took some 40 years to realise
that environmental hypoxia could
compound the normal physiological
adaptations to endurance training, and
in the mid-1980s the scientific literature
exploded with studies investigating
the advantages and adaptations
associated with altitude training.
Today, altitude training in professional
sport in Australia is considered an
integral aspect of training.
Most
professional
sporting
disciplines now use altitude chambers,
and a number of AFL footy teams
travel to the US (Arizona or Utah) to live
and train at altitude in order to derive
an additional physiological benefit.
Additionally, a number of rugby league
teams have utilised altitude training
systems to gain a drug-free advantage
over competitors. It’s not surprising
that altitude training has filtered down
to fitness enthusiasts: here on the
Gold Coast we have two commercial
altitude training centres and business
is booming.
Method