Questions About Altitude. Answer: It hurts!

A while back I was asked in an interview for a magazine about how to prepare for an event at a high altitude if the athlete is from a much lower location. Good question. I experience this myself every year when I make my annual summer pilgrimage from Scottsdale near Phoenix to Boulder, Colorado. That means an altitude gain from around 1850 feet (~680 meters) to 5500 feet (~1676 meters). It certainly makes a noticeable difference in training for a few weeks after arrival.

I learned this the hard way last week when I did a bike road race after only one week in Boulder. It started at about 5500 feet and climbed to around 8300 feet (~2529 meters) in just over 9 miles (14km). Needless to say, I wasn’t ready for the thin air. It was by far the greatest drubbing I’ve ever been on the receiving end of in a race. I could tell that my legs were doing fine, but there just didn’t seem to be enough O₂. Now, just a week later, it’s apparent from another similar climbing workout today (to 8800ft – ~2669m) that there are positive changes taking place. But there is still a long way to go. I’ve written about this phenomenon before here and here.  

As mentioned, I was asked if I would answer some questions to help the writer get a handle on preparing for an event in Colorado at altitudes very similar top those I experience every year in Boulder and in the mountains above the city. Here are my answers to his questions…

Q. Why is riding at altitude so difficult? Physiologically speaking, what happens to the body?

A. Oxygen delivery to the muscles is reduced at altitude. This means that the athlete’s aerobic capacity (VO₂max) will decline as altitude increases. There are only three physical attributes that define endurance “fitness” and VO₂max is one of them. The research suggests something like a decrease of about 2% for every 1000 feet (~300m) of altitude gain for someone who is not adapted. Many of the Colorado passes are above 10,000 feet (~3030m). So compared with sea level, the athlete’s VO₂max could decrease about 20% by the top of one of these climbs. That’s huge!

Q. Is it possible to train for altitude?

A. It’s possible to prepare for altitude by living at altitude, not by training for altitude. The research suggests that you need about four weeks at roughly 6600-8200ft (~2000-2500m) to get a significant benefit. This could cut the losses of VO₂max in half. (Note that some athletes in studies don't improve their aerobic performance at all by living at altitude.)

Q. Can you suggest a workout someone could do to improve their altitude preparation?

A. Training at altitude is probably not going to be of any value in adapting. It takes something on the order of around 12-16 hours a day of exposure to a sufficiently high altitude to beneficially adapt. More is better. A few hours working out at altitude would be of little or no value and might even be detrimental to performance as one would not be able to train at as great an intensity (power or pace) as at low altitude, so muscular fitness would decline.

Q. What about an exercise that can be done, not at altitude, that will prepare you for when you come out to high altitude. In other words, are there things that lowlanders or east and west coasters can do to prepare specifically for the altitude component?

A. Short of living at high altitude (or simulated high altitude) for four weeks, there is nothing physiologically the athlete can do to prepare for altitude—other than to get in the best aerobic condition possible. The higher the athlete’s VO₂max is, the better his/her performance at high altitude.

Q. I recently interviewed pro cyclist Andy Schleck. He said something about how he was training at altitude, but three or four days before the race he was going down to sea level to really get the benefits. He couldn't explain why. His trainer had simply told him this. Is there anything to this?

A. At altitude there is a loss of muscular fitness since the workouts can’t be as intense as at sea level. Coming back down for a few days (perhaps as much as two weeks) allows this muscular fitness to be re-established by higher-intensity training. The aerobic benefits from the period at high altitude last perhaps four weeks, so the athlete should be ready to race well a couple of weeks after descending and rebuilding muscular fitness but before the aerobic gains of altitude are lost.

Q. Short of living and training at altitude, when is it ideal for someone who is coming from low levels to arrive at the high race site to get "acclimatized" for an event like this?

A. Acclimatization starts as soon as the person arrives at altitude. But the gains are quite small, negligible, for the first several days. Also, the old idea of arriving immediately before a race has been shown to not work. So athletes can arrive whenever they want in the days prior, but should fully expect not to go as fast in a race as they would at sea level. There is no magic bullet for altitude.

Note: If you’d like to learn more about altitude and endurance performance I’d recommend reading Altitude Training and Athletic Performance, by Randy Wilder, PhD. Dr. Wilber runs the human performance lab at the US Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Comments

[Neeraj]

Hi Joe,
Any thoughts on Hypoxic training? Basically, using generator produced thin air to do intervals as opposed to living at altitude?
Also, on the flip side, any thoughts on Oxygen supplementation?
thanks Joe.
Btw, Sunshine HC kicks butt even when you live up here. :)

[Joe Friel]

Hi Neeraj--It was good to meet you last week before the race. I hope yours went better than mine. I don't use hypoxia at all as it seems like a sure way to detrain someone. Hyperoxia, however, can be quite effective, especially if you live at a high altitude such as Boulder. Supplemental O2 allows you to train here as if you were at sea level meaning the muscles can be worked maximally. I've used it with one of my athletes who lived at high altitude quite successfully. The major downside is that it can be costly ($).

[Neeraj]

Thanks Joe. Almost all the races that I had signed up for earlier this year, were above 8000 ft so I figured Hypoxic training would help with that. But is there something counter-intuitive happening here? Why would hypoxic training cause detraining.
-Neeraj

[Harrison]

Yes it's really true that the Oxygen delivery to the muscles is reduced at altitude. Great set of answers for important questions. Thanks for sharing.

[Joe Friel]

Neeraj--Preparing for a race at altitude is not about getting used to having less O2 to breathe. It's about producing more red blood cells to more expeditiously move what little O2 there is available to the muscles. Hypoxia for a couple of hours a day - perhaps even 8 or so a day - is inadequate to produce more RBC. As mentioned in the post, it takes something like 17+ hours a day of exposure to high altitude for the body to produce more natural EPO and therefore increase RBC count.

[Neeraj]

Thanks Joe. As usual, very informative.

[J Bernardini]

I don't think I have the coin for it, but would a legal EPO producing cocktail help then? http://www.active.com/swimming/Articles/U_S__swimmers_take_diet_supplements_that_give_EPO-like_benefits.htm

This Hammer nutrition article seems thorough and suggests a strategy for raising EPO levels to 48%. Think it could work? Would 48% make a difference?

[J Bernardini]

whoops, forgot the link to the hammer nutrition article: http://www.hammernutrition.com/knowledge/diet-for-increasing-your-natural-epo.280.html

[Patrick]

Hi Joe.

Very interesting article. Your book, website and software are essential for my training. I live at 8,000ft and plan to do events from 7-14,000ft. Based on the article, it seems it would be best to go into denver at 5000ft to train rather than training at 8,000ft where I live (live high, train low). Is this a correct conclusion?
Thank you!
Patrick

[Joe Friel]

Patrick--Yes, that's correct.

[Dave Barber]

I remember seeing a film on Chris Boardman, who'd built a contraption in one of his bedrooms that thinned the atmosphere to simulate altitude training.

[Jay]

Inversely, if I live/train at 5800 ft, would my aerobic capacity be higher at sea level? Would I have an advantage racing against sea level cyclists at sea level?

[Joe Friel]

Jay- Your aerobic capacity would be higher at sea level than it was at 5800 ft. For the first few weeks after coming down you would probably have more red blood cells also. That should boost your AC beyond what it would be if you lived at SL. But your muscles would be less well-trained than those who live at sea level, at least initially.

[Shane]

"At altitude there is a loss of muscular fitness since the workouts can’t be as intense as at sea level." I never hear coaches, experts, or athletes saying sea level training having value over altitude training. Its usually about how great altitude training is compared to sea level training. Thanks Joe. Nice to see a benefit of living at sea level and training versus altitude training.

[Patrick]

Joe, I was wondering if you had ever heard of this before and what you think.

http://store.pharmapacific.com/tr101.html

[Joe Friel]

Patrick--No, never heard of it. I'd be highly skeptical. I'd want to see research studies done by independent and qualified researchers.

[Jeff]

I lived at 9,000 feet for years in Colorado, it always killed me to do anything near sea level for a week or so after coming down from altitude. Constant fatigue, etc? Why is this? People always suggest - Oh you are from Colorado, you should be great! It's like reverse altitude sickness for me.

[Joe Friel]

Jeff--I don't know. It could be that because you live at altitude your muscular system is not stressed very much. Then when you go to sea level muscle power/force becomes your limiter. Just a guess.

[Kweixel]

Joe,

I live at sea level, and go to Mammoth Lakes every summer (7000-10000 ft). I have noticed that the first days I am very out of breath to climb up and down the condo steps, but by the end of the week, I have no problem.

Also, I have done a bike ride where I needed to stop and regroup multiple times along a long steep climb early in the week. Later in the week on the same ride, I completed it with much more ease.
first ride: http://tpks.ws/2zfO (ended abruptly but not from my choice)
second ride: http://tpks.ws/SQDk

Is it just my imagination that I feel far more acclimated after about 4 days? It would seem that I would want to have a race on day 4+. How could such a short period of time make a difference?

[Joe Friel]

Kweixel--yes, that's certainly possible. There's a bit of adaptation to altitude happening daily while there. And some peo
Ke are also fast responders. Could be you. Good luck!

[Shaun Callaghan]

are you able to suggest a strategy of adaption for us sea level folks taking on Ironman Lake Tahoe next year?

[Joe Friel]

Shaun--Either get there weeks or at least several days in advance. If that's not possible then arrive in the best aerobic condition possible. In either case, expect your performance/power/pace at a higher altitude to be less than at sea level. The guide is 2% for every 1000 ft above current level IF NOT ADAPTED. Once adapted the difference is roughly half that. It takes about 4 weeks to fully adapt. Search my blog for "altitude" to find details.

[Stano]

Thanks for the article Joe but for a guy of your caliber you sure made many mistakes in this one.

All of your altitudes are calculated wrong, you are waaay off :))

Example:
You mention "...5500 feet (~2000 meters)..." but it's only 1676m.
Another one "...8300 feet (~3050 meters)..." is 2529m.

Also, the life-cycle for a red blood cell is about 100 days and not "...four weeks (the life cycle of a red blood cell)..."!!!

Hope you got your most of your training advice correct because you seem to be missing lots of details ;)

[Joe Friel]

Stano--You're right. Thanks for the catch.