Fitness and Performance (2) Benefits of Training at altitude

Altitude training is utilized by many endurance athletes. The athlete trains for several weeks at a high altitude of greater than 2,400 meters or 8000 feet above sea level. The reason endurance athletes train at high altitudes because the air is sometimes said to be “thinner.” At every altitude, the air we breathe always contains the exact same percentages of oxygen and other gases. The beneficial training effect occurs because the partial pressures of these gases are less at higher altitudes resulting in poorer gas exchange at the alveoli of the lungs. This reduced oxygenation due to the lower partial pressure of oxygen causes the body to compensate by producing erythropoietin. Erythropoietin is produced by the kidneys stimulating the bone marrow to produce red blood cells. Red blood cells deliver oxygen to the working muscles. By training at high altitudes, the athletes produced more red blood cells. The benefits are demonstrated when returning to lower elevations to take advantage of these physiological changes that should last between ten and twenty days.