The basis for high altitude training is all about oxygen and how your body adapts to the lack thereof. What’s commonly referred to as acclimatization.
Essentially, when your body is subjected to a scant source of oxygen it responds to make the most of what’s available. And it is these effects that interest endurance athletes for a competitive benefit.
The initial effects of altitude on your body is hyperventilation and increased heart rate in response to a lower partial pressure of oxygen. An adverse effect of breathing quicker is respiratory alkalosis. Which in turn may inhibit respiration. In addition, some unessential body functions, are suppressed, i.e. digestion.
In time, your body gradually compensates for the lack of oxygen by acclimatizing. Acclimatization has some oxygen transporting effects, some of which are beneficial during aerobic exercise. Some of altitude training effects related to the delivery of oxygen include:
- increase in myoglobin
- increase in red blood cells
- increase in cell mitochondria
- increase in oxidative enzymes
- higher concentration of muscle tissue capillaries
- chemical change that makes oxygen unloading more efficient
So in theory, the benefits of high altitude training is the more oxygen delivered the better your performance.
However, altitude training acclimatizing effects have negative impacts as well. For instance, the increase in the number of red blood cells makes your blood thicker. So, the mere density of your blood may cause blood flow difficulty to such an extent that the delivery of oxygen actually decreases. As a result, some of your high altitude training benefits could potentially be cancelled out.
Also, it may not be possible to train as hard as you do at sea level. Therefore, your performance will likely suffer in the long run. And depending how high you go, you could suffer from acute mountain sickness.
The effects of altitude on training are not the same for everyone. And oxygen acclimatization might benefit your performance high up, yet this doesn’t equate to an enhancement at sea level.
The latest version of altitude training is living high (~ 2,000 feet) and training low (near sea level). As such, you’ll have the benefit of more blood cells without the detriment on training. For some athletes high altitude oxygen acclimatization training offers a boost, while others reap no benefit.
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