Training in High Altitudes … Indoors

As you may or may not be aware, to train at high altitudes is great for an endurance athlete. At higher altitudes the concentrations of red blood cells increase their concentrations, allowing more oxygen to reach muscles at times of exercise as a result of increasing red blood cell counts. It also increases the levels of of an important chemical known as 2.3-DPG.  This helps release oxygen from red blood cells to your muscles during times of intense work outs and exercise.

There is an issue with training in high altitudes though … It’s really difficult to train and you don’t feel like your getting the work out quality you’d really like.  And there is a reason … When you limit the amount of oxygen that will your muscles will receive, you in affect reduce the work out quality.

Studies have shown that a majority of athletes during training sessions decrease the intensity of each work out session by between Five to Ten Percent when at higher altitudes, in comparison to training at lower altitude levels (like at sea level).  It is important to note at this stage that intensity of the session is not based on the heart rate, but the actual range and speed of movement.

An interesting point to note is that research shows that a reduction in training performance usually occurs from elevations as little as 2000 feet, which is far below 4000 – 5000 feet normally associated with a reduction in training performance.  Training slower and harder is not necessarily the best way to become a top performer.

The Living High and Training Low Principle

There is a rising trend amongst athletes (especially some of the more recent world-record breakers) to use the living high and training low principle.  As the name would suggest the individual spends most of the day performing normal daily tasks at higher altitudes and travels to lower altitudes to train and exercise.

As you would imagine this exercise would be very expensive, inconvenient and may not be practical.  As an example in a location like Albuquerque, it is possible to live at 7500 feet and travel to train at an altitude of 4500 feet in less than an hour, yet this altitude is still too high in comparison to a sea level exercise session.

Introducing … Heikki Rusko

This is where we introduce Heikki Rusko. The well known somewhat little researcher from Finland is recognized for making several “Game Changing” discoveries in the area of exercise in the new year, especially in the field of overtraining and extra-load conditioning, but right now what he is working on will be considered his best work yet.

In northern Finland, Heikki has constructed a ‘high altitude house’.  There are specific pumps that are located in the basement of the house that keep the air pressure at normal levels, but they slowly add nitrogen to the air that is filtered around the house.  The nitrogen forces some of the oxygen normally present in the air and although the house is at sea level, the oxygen levels are only at Fifteen point three percent (well less than the normal 21 percent).  The result … this simulates the oxygen levels and pressure at 8200 approximately feet.

As you would expect on the outside of the house, everything is completely normal with the house at sea level, which means athletes can appear from the house (exiting from the inside air pressure simulation) to train on areas around the house.  These exercises are normally impossible to perform at high altitudes to the intensity and effectiveness of sea level.

The Results

Recently 7 Finnish athletes lived in the pressured home for at least 18 hours per day, exiting to train in the outdoor oxygen rich atmosphere at sea-level.

After just 2 weeks of training there was an astounding increase in Erythropoietin (EPO is the chemical that stimulates red blood cell production in the body’s bone marrow) levels with levels soaring by a massive 84 percent.  Also, the compound that makes oxygen more available in the muscles increased by a whopping 15 percent and red blood cell volume increased by 7 percent over 3 to 4 weeks.

The overall result was a dramatic increase in performance with many experiencing training breakthroughs above other athletes living within the same area, but not within the high-altitude house.

For now, Heikki’s house is a one of a kind with many others interested in the opportunity to train in the house. The benefits of High Altitude living combined with sea level training are shown in this example.

So many are turning to High Altitude Sports to test themselves beyond the usual measure of every day existence with the opportunity to gain insight into a rarely seen world. Many ask ‘why the sky’ and when you read the example of Heikki’s high altitude house you can begin to understand how untapped the world of high altitude really is.