Tidbit Tuesday - Elevation Training & Altitude Masks

Hello,

Welcome to another Tidbit Tuesday where we aim to teach you something new about health, nutrition, lifestyle, training, and so much more, every week! 

Today we are talking about Elevation Training and Altitude Masks, do they really make a difference?

When we breathe, the atmospheric pressure around us allows the oxygen to enter our lungs, going from an area of greater pressure to lower pressure.

This is most evident when at sea level!

As your altitude climbs higher and higher, there is less pressure available to induce the transition.

The less pressure there is the harder it is for oxygen to enter our bloodstream.

The body’s way of adapting to the lack of pressure is to create more red blood cells.

But what does that mean for us and our training?

Training at higher altitude improves your fitness faster!

That's right. With less available oxygen your body must work harder to take in enough oxygen, as well as remove the lactic acid from our system as we work.

Another great bonus is increased explosive power.

And, let's not forget that with more work comes the need for more rest.

Working harder due to altitude means you'll need more recovery time. The caveat to training harder is you will likely be met with a better night's sleep from your training session, getting you that much needed rest.

Athletes have been taking advantage of altitude training for as long as we have been aware of it.

There was an Olympic Training Centre built in the US in Colorado because it has the highest elevation.

Training here would boost the production of red blood cells in the athletes, improving stamina.

But what if you don't live at a higher elevation?

Since you need to train at the higher elevation for a minimum of 8 weeks to see the affects, a single session wouldn't do anything.

However, unless you're a professional athlete, we can't always afford to travel and train for extended periods.

Is there another way to get this hypoxic affect?

The short answer is "kind of"... Let’s dive a little deeper into what I mean.

If you don't live at a higher elevation or have the ability to travel there for training you'll have to use a device or tool to create the environment for you.

Studies aiming to replicate this affect typically use one of two devices:

A hyperbaric tent, which can change the pressure of the room, creating more or less atmospheric pressure.

Or an oxygen reducing mask, this makes it comparable to breathing through a straw, reducing your total oxygen uptake.

While the hyperbaric tent will actually change the pressure you are training in, recreating a higher altitude. An oxygen reducing mask does just that, it reduces your oxygen.

There isn't much scientific literature on altitude/hypoxic training and most of those were done using hyperbaric tents to properly control the environment.

The study which reported the most improvement used a tent and had the athletes exposed to altered conditions 10 minutes before inducing exercise, and 30 minutes after to simulate recovery at altitude.

Over 8-weeks they were able to produce more red blood cells and were better able to deliver/restore oxygen levels to the working tissue.

Most of the literature assessing the oxygen reducing masks shows little to no improvement.

This may be because of misuse of the product. For example most people only use it during their working set and then take it off in-between sets.

In order to get the full effect you would have to wear the mask before you begin training, for your warmup, never take it off during training, and keep it on during your recovery as well.

WARNING!

Be cautious when using an oxygen reducing mask! Restricting airflow does not simulate training in altitude. In fact, training with reduced oxygen can cause serious problems like hyperventilation, disorientation, rapid heartbeat, elevated blood pressure and loss of consciousness.

A meta-analysis done on hypoxic training masks indicates that high-intensity, short-term, and intermittent training is likely the most beneficial way to benefit from hypoxic training.

Compare that to someone doing a similar exercise protocol - HIIT, Tabata training, explosive Olympic lifts - you are going to see very similar outcomes, regardless of the mask.

And considering it is more about the duration you are in the environment, not the individual training session, you are better off living in a location at a higher elevation, in order to gain the most benefits.

That being said, what if you simply want to train for a specific event that takes place at a different elevation than where you live?

Well, this is a tricky one. Because there are more factors than just the altitude to consider when traveling, especially for a physical event.

If you spend time training in Colorado, which is high and very dry, then do a marathon in Florida, which is low and very wet; you may experience some problems because of the humidity.

When you're not accustomed to altitude, you have two choices: do the race immediately—within a day—or wait 7 to 10 days before racing. If you get to an event a couple of days before, your body has time to figure out that you are in a different environment, and then it will start making the necessary changes it needs to survive at altitude. Your body will become stressed, and then it will show in your performance.

If you do the event immediately, it will not have time to start adapting, and you should not see terrible challenges to your pulmonary system. If you get there 10 days ahead of time, your body will have plenty of time to fully acclimate.

However, generally, you should see better times, strength, and recovery if you train at altitude (or simulated altitude), and then perform at sea level.

Happy training!

Your friend in health & fitness,

Coach Sean