How to Train for High Altitudes and Low Oxygen Environments

High-altitude performance can be optimised using local hypoxic training, a service which utilises state-of-the-art technology to mimic exposure to lower oxygen levels.

How your body is impacted at high altitudes

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High altitude has a profound scientific impact on your body, with the specific effect varying based on exactly how high the altitude is.

Altitude results in less oxygen intake per breath as a result of decreased atmospheric pressure, which leads to increased physical strain, and causes your body to tire much quicker.

Here are some of the key physiological effects of high altitude:

Respiratory changes - Breathing becomes more rapid and deep to account for reduced oxygen levels. This is known as the ‘hypoxic ventilatory response’.
Cardiovascular feedback - The body automatically increases resting heart rate and blood pressure to maximise oxygen delivery.
Blood changes - Your body will begin to produce more and more red blood cells in order to carry more oxygen around the body.
Metabolic shift - As a result of increased red blood cell count, the body becomes more efficient at using the oxygen it gets. This can increase glucose consumption in some organs.

How low oxygen environments affect you

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Low oxygen, or ‘hypoxic’, environments reduce the amount of oxygen your body can take in with each breath. This leads to a number of symptoms of ranging severity:

1
Respiratory issues - Breath shortness, wheezing, rapid breathing.
2
Neurological changes - Headache, confusion, dizziness, lightheadedness.
3
Physical impact - Increased heart rate, blue/gray skin/lips (in extreme cases).
4
Mountain sickness - Acute mountain sickness (AMS) can cause headache, nausea and fatigue.

The good news is, you can prepare and train your body to become more accustomed to these conditions in the build up to high altitude exposure.

Whilst you can never fully mitigate the effects of low oxygen levels, altitude training with a generator is a controlled and evidence-backed approach to gradually increase your red blood cell production, boosting oxygen delivery to muscles.

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Why would you need altitude training?

You may need altitude training to improve athletic performance and/or physical endurance, either at high altitudes and just in general. The benefits of altitude training include increasing the lactate threshold, improved endurance and boosted metabolic efficiency.

Altitude training has important applications for a range of athletes or individuals:

Elite endurance athletes such as marathon runners, cyclists, or triathletes.
Team sports athletes such as football, rugby, or basketball players.
Mountain climbers who are preparing for a specific expedition and need to acclimatise to the conditions.
High altitude athletes such as mountain runners/bikers.

How to train for high altitude and low oxygen environments

Training for high altitude and low oxygen environments involves integrating a number of different methods to improve performance and endurance across the board.

Key methods to consider:

Aerobic conditioning - Increasing your general cardiovascular endurance by running, cycling or swimming using interval training is a highly effective technique.
Simulation training - Simulating the physical aspects of a high-altitude environment through the use of stair climbers, steep hills or weighted vests can help you to adjust to the increased physical demands of mountains.
Generator hypoxic training - Perhaps the most important aspect of all, hypoxic/altitude training is the only method which actually exposes your body to the low oxygen conditions you’re going to experience. This drastically improves your body’s ability to deliver oxygen to muscles.
‘Live high, breathe low’ - A common technique which utilises hypoxic tents, allowing you to sleep in high altitude conditions, passively increasing red blood cell production.

Combining as many of these aspects into your overall training plan is the best way to fully prepare yourself for high altitude environments, no matter what sport or event you’re training for.

When should you start altitude training?

If preparing for a major event, trek or race, we’d recommend that you work altitude training into your plan about 4 weeks before the event

This gives enough time for the body to make noticeable changes to physiology such as increased red blood cell count and general increased endurance. It’s also a short enough period of time that you won’t risk any of the long term detrimental effects caused by significant overtraining.

Hypoxic Training with Injury Mechanics

Maintaining strength at high altitudes

Maintaining strength at high altitudes is highly dependent on your body being accustomed to low oxygen conditions.

At high altitudes, your muscles typically fatigue much faster, as they’re receiving significantly less oxygen. As a result, the only way to reliably maintain strength at high altitudes is to train your body to deal with such conditions through hypoxic training. This way, your body develops resistance to the impact of high altitude and allows you to maintain strength and endurance for longer.

Get in touch with Injury Mechanics today to discuss a targeted altitude training plan.