What is better living in altitude and training at altitude vs an altitude tent? And what about elites training in Michigan

“The record has shown that since 1968, 95% of all Olympic and World Championship medals from the 800 through the Marathon were won by athletes who lived or trained at altitude. It can therefore be concluded that altitude training is necessary for success in endurance events.” – Dr. Joe Vigil, 2008 USA Olympic Team Running Coach

MohammedAA the Phoney wrote:

MohammedAA wrote:

I’ll take that challenge.

your 3:17 marathon pr won't cut the mustard

Thanks for letting us know what your marathon PB is.

If live high train low is the best approach, don't tell the East Africans because they are doing so well without doing that

Yep, and they don't dope because they don't need to. ?

What percentage of good runners from East Africa don’t grow up at altitude? Can you name one?

Also East African altitude has very moderate temperatures YEAR ROUND. That is in sharp contrast to the Rocky Mountains which have harsh winters.

On the West Side wrote:

What percentage of good runners from East Africa don’t grow up at altitude? Can you name one?

Also East African altitude has very moderate temperatures YEAR ROUND. That is in sharp contrast to the Rocky Mountains which have harsh winters.

Meh, the real truth is somewhere in between. Gunnison, Alamosa, Leadville, even Nederland can be considered to have harsh winters. Just ask any SoCal softie. Boulder, Denver, Colorado Springs all have moderate winters. Just ask anyone who's lived in MN, MI, MA, ME.

long time altituder wrote:

From experience, live high train low works. I made a nice jump doing that. Consistently 2% better, and maybe more if I'm having a good day. You can just dig deeper on hilly sections or withstand surges better.

Same experience here. About a 1.5 - 2.5% increase in speed at the 5000 and up. The part about withstanding surges better is what makes me think this "long time altituder" is legit. That is the part I noticed more than anything. I could recover extremely fast after surging very hard. For instance I might only need 30 seconds of recovery (slightly slowing down) versus 3-4 minutes.

I was living at 6250' and training between sea-level and 8500'.

EPO, which our bodies produce more of at altitude, has been shown to buffer lactate and that aligns with my experience.

Evan Jogger wrote:

Live at altitude wrote:

To train and get the benefits of altitude you need to live at altitude. The tents don't work because you don't live in them 24/7. Most, if not all, of the great Kenyan runners were born and lived at altitude. It's not just the training at altitude it's just the everyday life in thinner air.

It actually goes to where you and even where your parents were born. And there is always an array of individual adaptation.

That is correct. The Kenyans are a perfect example. They have lived at altitude for many generations. Now there offspring are well ahead of everyone else even without the drugs.

You should stay there for 19 out of 24 hours. Hard to do in a tent. If you can't spend time at altitude i think it is better for you to do some training in a sauna