High altitude training for popular runners, does it make sense?

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As we progress in our running or trail training, it is likely that our performance as runners will increase at a slower and slower pace. The improvement in physical condition translated into an ability to run faster and faster will translate into faster paces or less effort to cover distances that were previously more difficult. Of course, this improvement is not exponential or linear, nor does it occur in the same magnitude in all types of runners.

When we already have a medium-high level and a long experience in this of putting on our running shoes and going out to run, what we are looking for is a finer line to be able to improve our performance to the maximum. The higher our level is, the more complicated improvements are to achieve because we are at the top of our maximum physical capacity, but that does not mean that we can not continue to improve.

And how can I keep improving?

One way to keep improving is to hire a training service, at least, if you were not doing it until then. A qualified trainer and expert in the field can give you that "plus" you need, as it will analyze and organize your way of training according to your physical and mental characteristics, preferences or availability.

But it is possible to go further. Nowadays, runners are demanding other types of professional services such as personalized strength training, nutrition or even psychology. It is becoming increasingly clear that not everything is training and that there are other aspects that have a special impact on running performance.

Returning to running training, beyond the types of training, it is possible to maximize performance by focusing on physiological improvement. A way of training that is not new but is still used today is altitude training. Don't know what it is? Don't worry. We'll tell you about it here on RUNNEA.

What is altitude training?

As the name itself indicates, altitude training consists of training in locations that are elevated in meters compared to del mar level. With this data we can think that any point higher than 0 meters can be valid, but as we will see later, for altitude training to be effective we should train at least above 1500 meters above del mar level.

It is a matter of taking advantage of the physiological responses and adaptations that altitude generates at the cardiovascular, respiratory and blood levels, mainly.

At higher altitudes, the atmospheric pressure decreases, which in terms of effort, makes it harder than if we did it at lower altitudes. But beware, it is believed that this difficulty in exercising is due to a lower presence of oxygen, but in reality the concentration of oxygen remains intact at miles meters above del mar level.

What is altitude training for?

Exposure to altitude causes the body to be in a state of hypoxia (lack of oxygen availability), which has a direct influence on different body systems at the nervous, respiratory, cardiovascular and muscular levels (Rusko et al., 2016).

The main purpose of altitude training is to take advantage of the adaptation that altitude causes at the globular level, since it is able to increase the total volume of red blood cells and hemoglobin, which is the inner protein of red blood cells and which is responsible for oxygen transport. If we increase the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood, our Vo2max will increase and, consequently, performance will be improved.

How to increase your VO2max to improve your performance?

The key to this type of training is that there must be a transfer, i.e. the search for performance in other conditions. Therefore, once you have trained at altitude, you must descend to altitudes close to del mar level to be competitive, but always leaving a period for the adaptations generated to settle.

But it is also very interesting for cases in which you compete in very high locations, as is the case, for example, of certain South and Central American cities such as La Paz (3640 m), Quito (2850 m), Bogota (2625 m) or Mexico City (2240 m) where altitude is adetermining factor.

How to train at altitude?

Training at altitude requires a necessary process, acclimatization. Therefore, it does not only consist of training at a higher altitude, but it is also necessary to rigorously control both the volume and, above all, the intensity. It is recommended, especially if you are inexperienced, that in the first few days you should only do low and medium intensity sessions and only introduce high intensity after a few days or even more than a week.

The high intensity will also normally be more conservative, since seeking the maximum in the training sessions would cause that besides not achieving the desired adaptations, there would be a risk to health. Therefore, it is necessary to know how to train and it will be better to do it by trainers with experience in this training method.

It seems that for hematological adaptations to be effective, a continuous exposure of at least 12 hours a day for at least 3 weeks is required, being the altitude between 2100 and 2500 meters above del mar level the ideal point to experience improvements.

Is high altitude training for me?

Honestly, and although improvements can be seen in runners of all levels, it doesn 't make much sense to do this type of high altitude training if you are not a high performance athlete or if you want to be very careful in the training process. On the one hand, because of the availability of time required (minimum of 3 weeks), since being able to spend all this period and only spend time training is not within the reach of many people.

On the other hand, because of the economic investment. Unless you have access to accommodation in an area of this altitude, you will have to find a place to rest and spend the night during the whole training period. Not only that, but the area should allow you to train and do sessions similar to those you would do in another place: runs, series, gym ....

In the field of running, stays at altitude are usually performed in facilities prepared for it, such as the High Performance Centers (CAR).

In short, you should assess whether it is worth doing it and think about whether you can progress in training in other ways that still have room for improvement.

References:

Rusko, H., Tikkanen, H., Peltonen, J. (2016). Height and Endurance Training. PubliCE. https://g-se.com/altura-y-entrenamiento-de-resistencia-2091-sa-t57cfb2727a029