Create a new account

It's simple, and free.

Athletic training at high altitude

Athletic training at high altitude takes a while for your body to adjust to (2). Respiratory rate and heart rate speed up to offset the lower partial pressure of oxygen, and the faster breathing rate changes the acid/base balance of the body. These are immediate changes. Longer term changes include: decreased maximum cardiac output; increased number of red blood cells; excretion of base by kidneys to correct acid-base balance; a chemical change in red blood cells to aid unloading of oxygen in the tissues; and an increased number of mitochondria and oxidative enzymes. Workouts have to be slower until these adjustments take place.

American runner Suzy Favor Hamilton sleeps in a hypoxic tent, which simulates the atmospheric oxygen concentration of oxygen at high altitudes (1). Breathing less oxygen than is normally present in the atmosphere forces her body to make more erythrocytes (red blood cells) to increase the amount of oxygen getting to her brain and tissues while sleeping, Muscles use oxygen to release energy stored in the cells, and the build-up of extra carrying capacity in HamiltonÆs leg muscles gives her more power to run faster at low altitudes when she is breathing normal oxygen levels.

The reason Hamilton goes to this extreme measure is that at the elite level, all athletes has a similar running style, are about the same weight, and have muscles in equally good shape (1). The extra oxygen uptake that Hamilton gains by sleeping in a hypoxic tent gives her the edge over other runners she is competing against. Some athletes go so far as to sleep in hypobaric chambers, which reduce the atmospheric pressure by producing a vacuum. The problem with this method is that athletes must spend time repressurizing before coming out, and the low pressure can cause headaches. With the hypoxic tent, the pressure doesnÆt change: a pump keeps the tent filled with oxygen-poor air, so there is no need to repressurize when ...

Page 1 of 2 Next >

More on Athletic training at high altitude...

Loading...
APA     MLA     Chicago
Athletic training at high altitude. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 03:43, March 29, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1701887.html