May 11
27
Marty Kinsey
Most of us have heard that if we train at altitude, we can have a great boost in performance at sea level. While many elite athletes will train at higher elevation levels, there is no guarantee that training at altitude will boost your performance. This has led to a variety of theories that have coaches and athletes asking several questions. How high should I go to train? How long should I stay at this elevation before competition? And just how does training at altitude help anyway?
Lets start with the last question. We must first understand that this topic is debatable as there is no concrete proof that altitude training will enhance your performance. The theory, however, behind it is simple. Due to less oxygen available at higher altitudes, your body will need to acclimate to the difference. During this acclimation period (15-20 days), your body slightly adapts to smaller amounts of oxygen required to conduct your training and begins creating more red blood cells. Then, once your body has adjusted to these changes, you can travel down to sea level where oxygen is more abundant for a race. During your race, your body will still be acclimated to the altitude oxygen levels. Because of the adapted physiological changes, your body will absorb more oxygen and perform at a higher level, giving you a boost in performance. There are several approaches to training at altitude: Live high and train high, live high and train low, and live low and train high.
The theory of living at a higher altitude, and training at this altitude is known as the “live high, train high” technique. This has proven to be the least effective, as the body must work rigorously while training as well as during recovery to adjust to the oxygen change. The two more common approaches are the “live high, train low” and the “live low, train high” techniques. In the live high, train low approach your body will adjust to the oxygen chance during recovery hours, and when you train you will drive down to sea level and have a boost in performance. The other method of live low, train high allows your body recovery at sea level, but forces you body to adjust to the oxygen change when you are going fast at altitude.
Other Running With Coach Kinsey Blogs:Winter blahs and tips to avoid them
Marty Kinsey
Men’s and Women’s Head Coach
Cross Country Coach
Saint Mary’s College
www.smcgaels.com
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Saint-Marys-College-of-California-Cross-CountryTrack/108895645803973?ref=ts
