Effective altitude training

Eight weeks at 7000-8000 feet to get the beneficial red blood cell effects.

But it takes a year or two before you can figure out how to train effectively up here. The fact is, your quality stuff needs to be at a harder effort level but slower pace than it would be at sea level, and your easy stuff needs to be a lot slower. I didn't get that (at least the first part) for a LONG time living here.

Spent 6 weeks at 5500ft and was in AWESOME shape when I got back. Like the poster above said, easy means real easy and harder stuff will feel harder but will be slower pace. I usually did strides at least twice a week to keep turnover, usually 200s

Denver Runner wrote:

Eight weeks at 7000-8000 feet to get the beneficial red blood cell effects.

Mythology, red blood cell count doesn't increase from altitude training.

At least 4 weeks at >6900ft.. Load up on iron for the month before you go and while you're there (daily, 1-2 tsps). Easy days easy, short intervals (100m-400m) and downhills help maintain turnover, +5-10 sec per mile for mile repeats, do longer threshold stuff based on heart rate NOT pace. Hydrate very well, lots of meat, sleep as much as you can, cover your skin/heat train, and wear a hat.

wellnow wrote:

Mythology, red blood cell count doesn't increase from altitude training.

Have you read Altitude Training and Athletic Performance by Chief USOC Physiologist Randall Wilber? His citations disagree with you.

I am sure they do disagree. Do a bit more research and you will find a different opinion, that the old idea of RBC boos is flawed.

so enlighten us then on what changes do take place

the best way is to live high, train low. like live at 7500ft and train at 5500ft, the way you will not lose your leg speed. also take iron thur that time keep drinking h20 and take naps. and train w/ a heart rate montior. you need to stay in that area for about 4-6weeks to get results.

wellnow wrote:

I am sure they do disagree. Do a bit more research and you will find a different opinion, that the old idea of RBC boos is flawed.

Opinion is moot. Peer-reviewed research is objective and based on the scientific method. This book is filled with study after study in support of the increase in RBC mass. I find it hard to believe all these studies are "flawed".

Read more research. If it contradicts your precious conclusion, you will just have to learn to live with it.

May I suggest more recent research? That was the old conclusion and one which many researchers seemed desperate to prove.

live high, race fast wrote:

so enlighten us then on what changes do take place

Changes in economy it seems. At 2000m, VO2 max drops 12% but 10k pace drops only 5% according to Daniels, who says that the different is due to less wind resistance, but this is not a logical conclusion in my opinion. Changes in wind resistance would make that much difference.

What's all this talk about altitude causing a loss of leg speed? I've never trained at altitude, but I don't see how it'd be so difficult to do strides/hills/short reps.

A positive attitude is the most effective type of attitude training. Negative attitude typically has a negative effect on performance.

Good Luck, and just remember to always look on the bright side of life.

krldffoldfllfllf wrote:

What's all this talk about altitude causing a loss of leg speed? I've never trained at altitude, but I don't see how it'd be so difficult to do strides/hills/short reps.

With less oxygen, everything is run slower.

I've lived at roughly 5000 feet most of my life. Whenever we went down to sea level, we always felt like our legs had to move too fast, but our lungs could go forever. When low altitude people came up to our place, they felt like their lungs hurt and ran out of steam at the end of the races...

It is not difficult to do short reps/strides... They just have to be done more consistently, and they don't replace the feeling of everything else being done slightly slower than at low altitude... That's why a lot of people say live high, train low...

wellnow wrote:

May I suggest more recent research?

You probably should. The other poster presented some research that supported his claim. Right now all you have done is said that's wrong, but have not given any evidence supporting your claim.

wellnow wrote:

Read more research. If it contradicts your precious conclusion, you will just have to learn to live with it.

May I suggest more recent research? That was the old conclusion and one which many researchers seemed desperate to prove.

There are many studies that show extremely high (20-21) Hemoglobin level of people that live at extrememly high altitude....and getting normal levels (13-14ish) up to 16 through moderate altitude exposure.

I have no idea what you are reading or smoking but the evidence is vaste and clear to anyone with google and time to read...

just another guy wrote:

A positive attitude is the most effective type of attitude training. Negative attitude typically has a negative effect on performance.

Cute.

Good to know about the iron supplement. I took some while I was up at our place last time and it seemed to help even if it was for a short period. Will be heading up there again later this afternoon for the weekend.

Medium High Altitude Dude wrote:

[quote]krldffoldfllfllf wrote:

With less oxygen, everything is run slower.

the amount of oxygen is the same it's the pressure that gives you this "less oxygen feeling". at altitude there is less of a difference between the pressure of the atmosphere and the pressure in your lungs.

The FiO2, also known as fraction of inspired oxygen is constant from sea level as you increase elevation, at .21 or 21%. However, the absolute amount of oxygen available for your body decreases as you increase in elevation. This is because of the decrease in barometric pressure as you gain elevetion. At sea level, barometric pressure is 760 mm mercury, at 8000 ft the barometric pressure is 564.6 mm mercury which means at 8000 feet you have about 25% less oxygen available for your body to use. A good analogy is to look at 21% of $760 which is $160 versus 21% of $564 which is $118 dollars. Both represent a constant fraction but the absolute amounts of dollars are different. The bottom line is that your body needs oxygen, and the higher you go the fewer oxygen molecules there are per breath you take. This makes you suck wind harder and faster the higher you go to quench your bodies thirst for oxygen to be able to attain the same level of performance. This applies for people changing altitude suddenly. People who live at altitude have physiologic compensatory mechanisms to overcome this which is why they can perform better when suddenly decreasing the altitude at which they run.