Altitude training with prof. Grégoire Millet | EP#258
Nov 2, 2020
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Professor Grégoire Millet, a leading researcher in altitude training and hypoxic training, discusses the physiological effects of altitude training, individual responses to altitude, monitoring hydration and acclimatization, considerations for athletes racing at sea level from altitude, and general advice for endurance sports.
Living and training at high altitudes can lead to an increase in total hemoglobin mass, improving the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood and potentially enhancing endurance performance.
During the acclimatization phase at altitude, athletes should focus on low-intensity training, strength exercises, and sprints to maintain muscle quality and explosivity.
Altitude tents and chambers offer similar performance benefits to training at real altitude, allowing for individualization and adjustment of the hypoxic dose.
Monitoring physiological responses, such as hydration, heart rate variability, saturation, and weight, throughout the acclimatization process is crucial for optimal adaptation and performance benefits.
Deep dives
Altitude Training: Improving Oxygen Transport Capacity
Altitude training is a method used to improve oxygen transport capacity in athletes. By living and training at high altitudes, athletes can adapt to the lower oxygen pressure and stimulate adaptations in their body. One of the key adaptations is an increase in total hemoglobin mass, which improves the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood. Altitude training camps of at least three weeks can lead to a 2-4% increase in total hemoglobin mass. This increase in oxygen-carrying capacity can result in a similar improvement in VO2 max and potentially enhance endurance performance.
Acclimatization and Training intensity
During the acclimatization phase at altitude, it is crucial to maintain low to moderate intensity training to allow the respiratory and erythropoietic adaptations to occur. The acclimatization phase typically lasts for 5-10 days, during which athletes should focus on low-intensity training, strength exercises, and sprints to maintain muscle quality and explosivity. As the acclimatization progresses, athletes can gradually introduce more intense training, such as interval training or repeated sprint training. Monitoring blood oxygen saturation, hydration levels, and heart rate variability can help determine the effectiveness of acclimatization and guide training intensity.
Altitude Tents and Chambers: Simulated Altitude vs. Real Altitude
Altitude tents and chambers are popular tools for simulating altitude training at lower elevations. Research suggests that the performance benefits of simulated altitude are comparable to those of training at real altitude. Simulated altitude allows for easier individualization of training and adjustment of the hypoxic dose. It also offers the convenience of adapting the altitude setting to the athletes' specific needs. While there are some differences between simulated and real altitude, performance-wise, they provide similar benefits for improving oxygen transport capacity and enhancing endurance performance.
Monitoring responses and hydration during altitude training
A key piece of advice is to monitor physiological responses, including hydration, heart rate variability (HRV), saturation, and weight throughout the acclimatization process at altitude. This monitoring allows for adjustments and ensures optimal adaptation.
Monitoring post-altitude responses and timing of performance
Post-altitude, it is crucial to monitor post-altitude responses, such as fatigue, mood, and training data, to determine the optimal timing for peak performance. This helps avoid overreaching and ensures the athlete benefits from altitude training.
Importance of education and understanding of altitude training
Altitude training is not neutral and requires education and understanding. Coaches and athletes should familiarize themselves with the proper techniques, including hydration, nutrition, recovery, and intensity, to ensure the best results from altitude training.
General advice: Embrace polarized training and HRV monitoring
In the realm of endurance sports, the combination of polarized training and heart rate variability (HRV) monitoring is recommended as a powerful tool for improved performance and training adaptation.
Professor Grégoire Millet is one of the world's foremost researchers in the field of altitude training and hypoxic training. He combines his academic prowess with a background as an elite triathlete and coach, and is therefore in a perfect position to not just do the science, but actually apply it in the real world. In this episode, we discuss all things altitude training, plus general training principles from a few of the world's best athletes that prof. Millet has worked with and published data from.
IN THIS EPISODE YOU'LL LEARN ABOUT:
-What happens physiologically when training at altitude or in hypoxic conditions
-The potential performance gains from altitude training, and how everybody can be a responder
-How to structure altitude training to maximise the performance benefits
-New(ish) paradigms in altitude training: Live high-train low and high, and Repeated Sprint training in Hypoxia (RSH)
-Living at altitude year round
-Altitude champers and tents
-Dissecting the performances of Martin Fourcade (the most successful biathlete of the last decade, and the most successful French Olympian of all time) and Kilian Jornet (mountaineer, trail and mountain runner, summited Mount Everest twice in a week without supplemental oxygen)
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