High altitude training is often used by elite athletes seeking to gain an edge in their fitness. The principle is very simple: at high altitudes the oxygen level is very low, and when you train in this environment your body is forced to acclimatize by using oxygen more efficiently. You become accustomed to doing more with less, and then when you go back to your ordinary training environment you are able to train harder before you get out of breath and your performance declines.
Most of us are unable to go to a remote training camp in the mountains somewhere in order to take advantage of this phenomenon. But yet we may like to increase our fitness and our athletic performance.
Fortunately there is a way to replicate the effects of high altitude training without having to spend a lot of money or leave your home. You can do it through simple breathing techniques. Restricting your breathing a little during exercise can have the same effect.
In his book ‘The Oxygen Advantage’ Patrick McKeown shares a range of techniques for doing this, as well as for improving overall health. They start very simple: try to delay mouth breathing and inhale through your nose as much as possible. Breathing through the nose is better for sports performance in other ways – it helps increase nitric oxide in the blood which expands blood vessels and pumps more blood to the muscles. But it does also restrict the volume of air going in and out of our lungs, so most people will automatically start to breathe through the mouth when they get a little breathless. Training yourself to keep breathing through the nose for as long as possible, and only switch to mouth breathing under very heavy physical stress, is on way to simulate high altitude training.
Another technique is to use a treadmill and begin holding your breath while running. Start by holding for a few steps and then gradually build it up. Be careful because you can get light headed and dizzy and even faint if you push yourself too far – the goal isn’t to hold your breath for as long as you possibly can, only to train your body to keep performing as your oxygen levels get depleted.
If you are looking to gain an edge in your sports performance I would recommend taking a look at The Oxygen Advantage and giving these techniques a try.
