The definition runs like this: altitude training is the use of a shortage of oxygen, hypoxia, to push your body towards better performance.
Mountaineers use it to adapt to the altitude they will meet on their next trip. With an altitude tent you train at home up to 3,400 metres while you sleep, and even up to 6,500 metres using a mask.
Anyone looking to perform better in competition benefits too. That applies to elite athletes as much as to recreational runners, cyclists and swimmers.
If it is purely about sporting performance, you usually sleep at around 3,000 metres. Sleeping higher adds little to your endurance performance at sea level, for instance when you want to run a faster marathon.
In this article we answer the questions we are asked most often about altitude training. If you have other questions about using altitude tents to prepare for a mountain adventure, do get in touch.
Whether you plan to climb Mont Blanc, Kilimanjaro or even Mount Everest, travelling at altitude always demands careful planning and preparation. Both your fitness and your equipment help determine whether you succeed. An altitude programme before departure helps your body adapt in advance to the particular conditions up there.
What happens to your body at altitude?
From around 2,000 metres the thin air starts to affect your body. Sensitive people already experience the first symptoms of altitude sickness there. Headache or nausea are the first signals that you would do better to descend. Feeling somewhat unwell does not automatically mean you are developing acute mountain sickness, though.
Whether you get acute mountain sickness depends on several factors, such as your physical fitness and your general health. On top of that, some people acclimatise faster than others of the same fitness, purely because of their genetics.
When you climb a mountain or walk at altitude, also factor in the pace of your ascent and extra acclimatisation days.
Regardless of altitude, the oxygen concentration in the air is 20.9 percent everywhere on earth. Air pressure falls as you climb higher, however, and with it the partial pressure of oxygen. That leaves your body short of oxygen, which is hypoxia.
While you sleep you expose yourself to greater altitude, before you even leave. The point is to mimic the hypoxic conditions you will meet on the mountain. We do that with hypoxic generators that strip oxygen from the air you breathe, in a room, in a tent or through a mask. Exposure to oxygen poor air triggers adaptations that improve oxygen transport, which makes the experience on the mountain better and more comfortable.
How do you start with altitude training?
You normally start simulating sleep at altitude four to five weeks before departure. We usually begin at 1,500 metres and raise the altitude based on oxygen readings on waking. We use a pulse oximeter on your finger to measure oxygen saturation in your blood. Aim for a morning reading between 90 and 92 percent. At that level your body calls for more red blood cells through the production of EPO. If you read above 92 percent, the simulated altitude can go up. Below 90 percent, bring it back down.
Plenty of professional athletes use these same effects. Altitude training suits performance minded athletes who want to improve their endurance under controlled conditions. It has long featured in the training plans of endurance athletes, long distance runners, triathletes and cyclists. Ambitious mountaineers preparing for a high climb gain from it too.
How long does the effect last?
How long the training effect and the altitude adaptation last remains contested in the science. The first days after a longer stay at altitude are a recovery phase: reduce both the number of sessions and their intensity. You may even notice a dip in performance at first, so a short break helps you back up.
Several studies do conclude that the effect of a good altitude block lasts three to five weeks, and probably longer. The extra red blood cells remain in your body for a maximum of 120 days, so the effect cannot last beyond four months.
Travelling at altitude sets off a process of adaptation because of the reduced oxygen supply. Your breathing becomes more sensitive, as though your body were under stress. It also stimulates the release of the body's own hormone erythropoietin, or EPO. That is produced in the kidneys and drives the formation of new red blood cells in the bone marrow. At the same time your body increases the amount of available haemoglobin. Haemoglobin binds oxygen and has a positive effect on endurance, because your blood can carry more oxygen.
The science behind a successful expedition
Several studies show that exercise under hypoxia leads to changes at muscle level, such as higher enzyme activity in energy metabolism. Increased oxygen storage in the muscles has also been observed.
A well planned altitude block is therefore genuinely useful for recreational athletes and amateur alpinists. Recreational runners and cyclists benefit from the effects too.
For mountaineers heading high into the Andes, the Himalayas or onto the four thousand metre peaks of the Alps, preparing with an altitude tent makes particular sense. It reduces the possible symptoms of acute mountain sickness, or rules them out in advance.
One important caveat: build your own endurance first and make sure it is at a decent level. In other words, train, run or hike regularly for a few years before you consider an altitude block to improve your marathon or triathlon.
Your training does have to be specific and strategic. Simply spending time at altitude is not enough to produce meaningful adaptation. Combine it with a tailored training plan matched to your goal, the time you can set aside and your current level.
How we do it
Proper acclimatisation raises the odds that your expedition succeeds. We use altitude tents and masks from our partner Altitude Dream to acclimatise for our trips above 4,000 metres. It helps us perform better, which means we enjoy the journey more.
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