New Training Advice: Get High!

As winter draws near, you'll soon be in the mountains, skiing and snowboarding down crazy slopes. Or maybe you'll hiking in the backcountry, searching for adventure in the snow.

Either way, those higher altitudes could give you fits if you've been spending most of your spare time at sea level. So before you head out and up this season, here are the top things you must know before training in higher altitudes.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

How can high altitude training help me?

When you enter higher altitudes, your body creates more red blood cells to adapt to the lower oxygen content in the air. With that increase in red blood cells, "you can now deliver more oxygen to the muscles," says Robert Chapman, Ph.D., the Associate Director of Sport Science and Medicine for USA Track & Field. “This essentially makes you able to run faster or hold a steady pace for a longer period of time.” So whether you're a swimmer, runner, or cyclist, there's a clear altitude advantage for endurance athletes.

How long do the effects last?

Researchers aren't entirely sure, though Chapman says a red blood cell in the body lasts about 180 days from birth to death. But in one study, the red blood cell count in Kenyan runners returned to normal in just 28 days. "So the effect is short lived," says Chapman. That's because at the end of the day, it's hard to trick your body. When you come down from a high altitude, your body essentially notices you've got more red blood cells at sea level than needed, so in comes neocytolysis, a process in which the body selectively kills off the immature red blood cells instead of letting them die naturally, Chapman says. But those extra red blood cells do help you train harder before they're killed off, he says.

How long would it take to get my cell count up?

About 21 days, Chapman says. So unfortunately, if you only train at a higher altitude for a day or even a week, you won't really see any benefits. In fact, high altitudes may even hold you back, because all they'll do is cause you to train slower. "Research shows that in the time period between 21 days and 28 days, the amount of red blood cells your body makes practically doubles," Chapman says. "So we often recommend [the time in between] as the sweet spot."

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

How high is high enough?

Chapman and his team had a group of athletes train at the same altitude for 28 days, all running the same workouts. A quarter of the athletes lived at 6,000 feet above sea level, a quarter lived at 7,000, a quarter at 8,000, and a quarter at 9,000. At the end of the study, folks in the 7,000- and 8,000-foot ranges performed the best.

How does a higher altitude make my body feel?

Simply put: more out of shape. “Your breathing, at any given pace, is going to feel harder than it does at sea level,” says Chapman. And the altitude also affects the stroke volume of your heart, which is essentially your cardiac output—or how much blood your heart can pump. So these two factors combined makes working out feel like more of a challenge, says Chapman.

So wait. If I can't spend a month training at 8,000 feet, is high altitude training just a giant waste of time?

Well, we didn't say that. When people work out at higher altitudes, there’s the "training camp effect" and the "altitude effect." “For those who only go for a week, the altitude is essentially going to slow them down and their training is going to be harder while they’re there”, explains Chapman. But on the flip side, you also see the training camp effect: That stems from the excitement of working out with others, traveling somewhere new and exciting to work out, and getting away from your stressful day-to-day routine.

If you liked this story, you’ll love these:

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
More From Running