Hayden Paddon is an auto car racer who has been using AltoLab for years. It helps him keep his heart rate down while he is driving. Ordinarily, the stress of driving at high speed during a race caused his heart rate to skyrocket above 220 bpm. After using AltoLab, it stayed around 180-190 bpm, much more manageable to keep "cool and calm" and to think straight at those high speeds and crazy off road driving conditions.
Congratulations on your win, looking forward to more in the future!
]]>Overtraining is a problem for many athletes (10 to 20 percent of those who train intensively) and appears to be relatively common in endurance athletes. Some well established warning signs include:
Among other factors that may increase the risk of developing this condition, a poor intake of carbohydrates and fluids is known to be a problem.1 Overtaining syndrome is an untreated excessive training overload with inadequate rest, resulting in chronic decreases in performance and in the ability to train. Other problems may result and may require medical attention.
Factors associated with the development of overtraining syndrome include:
According to the American College of Sports Medicine, overtraining syndrome can be effectively eliminated through a logical training program that allows for adequate rest and recovery with proper nutrition and hydration.2 Studies of marathon runners suggest that even athletes who consume a high-carbohydrate diet require seven days after a marathon to return to muscle glycogen to prerace levels.3
A continuation of regular training before full muscle glycogen resynthesis will inevitably lead to performance degradation. Athletes must therefore understand that rest is a useful and necessary part of training, particularly after a hard and intensive training session.
Athletes fearing that a reduction in training may diminish competitiveness may resist getting enough rest. Therefore, everyone in the athlete's training circle (family, coach, athletic trainer, and so on) should support the concept that overtraining is associated with reduced performance.
Put simply, rest and recovery should be an integral part of the training plan.
References:
1 American College of Sports Medicine. 1999. Overtraining: Consensus statement. Sports Medicine Bulletin 31 (1): 29.
2 American College of Sports Medicine. 1999. Overtraining: Consensus statement. Sports Medicine Bulletin 31 (1): 29.
3 Asp, S., Rohde, T., and Richter, E.A. 1997. Impaired muscle glyocen resynthesis after a marathon is not casused by decreased muscle GLUT-4 content. F. Appl. Physiol. 83 (5): 1482-1485
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AltoLab Altitude Simulator | Vs. | Living and Training At Altitude |
Little change from normal | Physical discomfort | |
Increase in blood volume, better blood circulation and O2 supply throughout body |
Decrease in blood volume, by up to 25% | |
Growth of muscle tissue | Reduction in muscle mass | |
No change to normal | Reduced training intensity in thinner air | |
Affordable, easy 15-day program | Expensive, disruptive, away from home |
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We generally advise athletes to follow the traditional protocol for their first 15 days of training. That is a program where the saturation targets get progressively lower over the 15 days starting around 90% saturation and ending around 80-83%.
The first time you use AltoLab determine a benchmark for how many black cups (AltoMixers) you need to reach 90% and use that to guide you:
Before starting your first session, you want to do a test called a de-saturation benchmark. It’s a measure of your body’s ability to maintain blood oxygen levels at a set altitude. Blood oxygen levels are related to how much oxygen is in the air you breathe, how much your demand your body has for oxygen and the efficiency of your cardiovascular system to transport it. We want to have some sort of measure of this efficiency. Hence the test standardizes the oxygen you breathe and is done at rest to limit differences in oxygen demand.
Sit quietly for 5 min and let your heart rate settle. Set up the AltoLab so that you have two full AltoMixers attached. Place the oximeter on your finger and record your blood oxygen levels (SpO2%) and resting heart rate (HR).
Set your timer and start breathing through the AltoLab for 6min. Record your SpO2% and HR at the end of the 5th min and also the 6th min. You’ll get a table that looks something like this:
SpO2 | HR | |
Rest | 98% | 66 |
5th min | 87% | 83 |
6th min | 84% | 88 |
Average for 5th & 6th min |
87.5% | 83.5 |
Then at the end of your 15 days (or each day if you want to check progress) you can simply repeat. If you are tired prior to doing an AltoLab session, you can test first to see if you should do it. Say for example, you did a long bike ride of 75mi (120km) and were feeling tired and not sure if you should do your AltoLab session, you can do a 6 min test. If your rest SpO2% saturations are LOWER than normal then it’s probably a good day to skip AltoLab and you can continue the 15 day program a day later. Because you’ve done hard training that day your resting oxygen demand will be higher, resulting in higher resting HR and lower SpO2 levels than on a rest day.
To help you, look over the de-saturation benchmark retest outcomes and response table below:
Outcome of Retest | Response (What to Do) |
HR and Saturation are about the same as the initial test. |
This is normal in the first 4 days. After day 4, this may happen when you are combining hard training and AltoLab. If you feel tired then consider making the saturation targets 1-2% higher for that session, repeat the test the following day. |
HR and Saturation are both 10% higher then the initial test. |
If this occurs in the first 4 days consider making the saturation targets a bit higher or delay lowering the daily saturation targets. If this occurs after the first 4 days then consider modifying the session, consider making the session easier by aiming for 3-4% higher saturation. If this is the night after a heavy training day skip and continue the plan the following day |
HR and Saturation are both 10% Lower then the initial test. | You are responding well and you are recovering well. Keep with the program. |
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For a number of years now we have been advising athletes we coach to utilize AltoLab to simulate altitude and get improvements in performance. There has been positive feedback from them about the benefits. The first athlete we trialed it with was professional triathlete & world junior duathlon champion Jamie Hunt and it helped take him to 4th place at the world long distance champs, several podiums at world cups and a couple of top 10s at the world championships. That was back in 1996. At the time there was no scientific support for using AltoLab and there was a great debate about altitude training generally. Then we didn’t know what was the best way to do it and we had no one to ask about it so we simply did a lot of educated trial and error. We simply kept an eye on how the athletes felt and went from there.
Since those early days there has been a raft of research done on both simulated altitude and also real altitude, the most notable being that the “live high, train low” real altitude method works. This is where you sleep up a mountain but then travel down to do all or some of your training, certainly any harder training. The obvious issues with this are the costs to do it, unless you live somewhere where you can do it and the shear amount of travel time involved in going up and down each day. There are also a limited number of places in the world where you can do this and even less when you think about the often additional requirement to also train in a hot and/or humid environment (for those competing in hot and/or humid environments).
Recently there has been some solid published research showing that the AltoLab will give performance gains for both endurance athletes and also team sport/field athletes and probably most importantly the gains are BIGGER for less well trained athletes.
AltoLab works! Results highlighted in key findings:
15 days of AltoLab will give endurance athletes around 3-5% gains in performance (more for age group athletes). To give you an idea of how much that’s worth, everything else being equal, a competitive athlete could reasonably expect to get 2-3 min faster in a 40km bike TT or a 1/2 marathon. (Carmen J. Babcock, 2007, PhD Thesis, Ohio State University).
15 days of AltoLab will give team sport athletes up to 7% gains in repeated sprints, the type of thing that you do all game long. (see Running performance after adaptation to acutely intermittent hypoxia, Wood et al, 2006 Euro J Sport Sci 6(3): 163-172)
Since those early days we’ve also had a chance to refine what we advise athletes, thanks to the feedback we’ve had from the numerous athletes who have tried it. That’s included people like Bevan Docherty, the 2004 World Triathlon Champion and Olympic Silver Medalist and Dwight Phillips, World Long Jump Champion.
Biofeedback essential in simulated altitude
It’s been known for some time that people respond differently to any given altitude. That’s a particular issue for team sports if you go to altitude. For some it won’t be high enough, for some it will give them an ideal boost and for a few it will be too high.
Not only that but many athletes need a higher altitude to get further benefits after an initial bout. The impracticality of shifting base every week is obviously a major issue for real altitude. Again that’s where the simulated altitude option comes in and with the use of a blood saturation meter (finger pulse oximeter) you can get instant feedback on the actual level of stress you place on your cardio-vascular oxygen transport system.
So as your body adapts to a given simulated altitude, you can go higher to maintain the desired bloody oxygen levels. However, on days where you might be stressed or tired you can reduce the simulated altitude levels to keep your stress in check. Try doing that with real altitude. It’s not possible.
AltoLab is like other types of personal training
AltoLab is much like other forms of training, when you go for a bike ride, run or do a skills or speed session. These all place stress on your body and require you to assess your recovery and modify to get the best, consistent, beneficial training over the longer term.
So just like other forms of training there are times when it’s better to skip a session and there will be times when it might pay to simply make an AltoLab session easier. It all comes back to monitoring how you are feeling and adjusting your plan as needed. Feedback from athletes has provided guidelines on how to do this:
When planning your first 15 days of AltoLab, don’t start when tired and time it so that days 5-7 fall on easy training days. Simulated altitude may make you feel tired so you don’t combining that with hard training. If you start during your competitive season it’s ideal to start on a week going into a bye or before a match/completion that is of lesser importance. Another ideal time to start if you have an injury and your usual training is going to be reduced for a week or so.
Skip AltoLab on really heavy training days. Typically that’s any really long training session where you totally tap out your carbohydrates, any heavy speed session, competition simulation or an actual event. So for cyclists we recommend skipping a session on the evening after a competition, especially if the event is 2+ hours long.
By monitoring how you are feeling and being smart about which days to add in the training you will get more out of your AltoLab simulated altitude training.
How do you do the first 15 days of AltoLab?
We generally advise athletes to follow the traditional protocol for their first 15 days. That is a program where the saturation targets get progressively lower over the 15 days starting around 90% saturation and ending around 80-83%.
The first time you use AltoLab determine a benchmark for how many black cups (AltoMixers) you need to reach 90% and use that to guide you:
Before starting your first session, you want to do a test called a de-saturation benchmark. It’s a measure of your body’s ability to maintain blood oxygen levels at a set altitude. Blood oxygen levels are related to how much oxygen is in the air you breathe, how much your demand your body has for oxygen and the efficiency of your cardiovascular system to transport it. We want to have some sort of measure of this efficiency. Hence the test standardizes the oxygen you breathe and is done at rest to limit differences in oxygen demand.
Sit quietly for 5 min and let your heart rate settle. Set up the AltoLab so that you have two full AltoMixers attached. Place the oximeter on your finger and record your blood oxygen levels (SpO2%) and resting heart rate (HR).
Set your timer and start breathing through the AltoLab for 6min. Record your SpO2% and HR at the end of the 5th min and also the 6th min. You’ll get a table that looks something like this:
SpO2 | HR | |
Rest | 98% | 66 |
5th min | 87% | 83 |
6th min | 84% | 88 |
Average for 5th & 6th min |
87.5% | 83.5 |
Then at the end of your 15 days (or each day if you want to check progress) you can simply repeat. If you are tired prior to doing an AltoLab session, you can test first to see if you should do it. Say for example, you did a long bike ride of 75mi (120km) and were feeling tired and not sure if you should do your AltoLab session, you can do a 6 min test. If your rest SpO2% saturations are LOWER than normal then it’s probably a good day to skip AltoLab and you can continue the 15 day program a day later. Because you’ve done hard training that day your resting oxygen demand will be higher, resulting in higher resting HR and lower SpO2 levels than on a rest day.
To help you, look over the de-saturation benchmark retest outcomes and response table below:
Outcome of Retest | Response (What to Do) |
HR and Saturation are about the same as the initial test. |
This is normal in the first 4 days. After day 4, this may happen when you are combining hard training and AltoLab. If you feel tired then consider making the saturation targets 1-2% higher for that session, repeat the test the following day. |
HR and Saturation are both 10% higher then the initial test. |
If this occurs in the first 4 days consider making the saturation targets a bit higher or delay lowering the daily saturation targets. If this occurs after the first 4 days then consider modifying the session, consider making the session easier by aiming for 3-4% higher saturation. If this is the night after a heavy training day skip and continue the plan the following day |
HR and Saturation are both 10% Lower then the initial test. | You are responding well and you are recovering well. Keep with the program. |
]]>
In this article from RunnersWorld.com titled "How to Train for the Mile-High Marathon" highlights strategies to consider like:
And often one of the most missed strategies is considering how the elevation will affect you. Everyone responds to altitude differently and much of the research suggests it is highly genetic. This is where altitude training or simulation can assist.
AltoLab is a portable Altitude Simulator about the size of a thermos. It's easy to use and requires no external power. Take it anywhere to avoid the limitations that come from adapting to altitude including sleep disturbances, fatigue, nausea, and dehydration.
Learn more on our Frequently Asked Questions page or by downloading our AltoLab User Manual.
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Improves anaerobic capacity & endurance at high exertion
Improves lactate clearance
Up to 15% increase in O2 carrying capacity & efficiency, especially with repeated use
Increases Lactate Threshold = measure of fitness
Increases VO2 max, amount of O2 body can hold, more power, more endurance
Increases mitochondria in muscle cells to provide more efficient energy conversion
Increases muscle capillaries to improve O2 delivery
Increases EPO in blood (naturally & legally!)
Improves hematocrit and hemoglobin levels
Increases red blood cell count, thus more O2 to muscles & better performance
Increases blood volume, thus more blood pumped per heartbeat & better performance
and less fatigue
Skyrunning is the extreme sport of mountain running with athletes known as skyrunners. The idea started from Italian mountaineers and were pioneers of races on Mont Blanc in the early 90's, since then the races have taken off across the world's mountains.
With races above 6,000 ft. it is not your usual ultra-marathon run. Comprised of different disciplines from short steep runs like SkySpeed and SkyScraping race to the favorite SkyMarathon.
Considering a Skymarathon? Be prepared to compete in this brutal personal challenge with an AltoLab program. AltoLab forces your body to work as if at altitude, even if you are at sea level. It’s ‘live high, train low’ made easy! And now, with AltoLab, it is possible to harness these benefits without setting up base camp!
Some of our most gratifying results come from mountain climbers and the military that use the AltoLab simulated altitude training system to prepare and acclimatize for excursions to extremely high altitudes.
]]>[ESPN]
]]>He began racing in college, then spent years riding domestically, before finally racing in Europe. But if it wasn't for his early years riding under the umbrella of USA Cycling, Bouchard-Hall wouldn't be in his current role.
New USA Cycling Coach Goals:
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AltoLab altitude simulator can do this better and at a fraction of the price!
AltoLab improves athletic performance and stamina at sea level and to acclimate mountaineers and adventures in preparing for strenuous activities. AltoLab is a small plastic, portable rebreathing device that lowers the body's oxygen to levels found at high altitudes. It is used for only a few minutes at a time by alternating breathing between fresh air and the AltoLab simulator. The initial cost is a fraction of that of other devices, making it affordable to competitive individuals from all sporting codes. Furthermore, replacement components are also realistically priced.
Be among a group of athletes who are taking advantage of the latest scientific advances in Intermittent Hypoxic Exposure (IHE) to bring your training to the highest level.
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Inspired by the incredible events surrounding an attempt to reach the summit of the world’s highest mountain, Everest documents the awe-inspiring journey of two different expeditions challenged beyond their limits by one of the fiercest snowstorms ever encountered by mankind.
Their mettle tested by the harshest elements found on the planet, the climbers will face nearly impossible obstacles as a lifelong obsession becomes a breathtaking struggle for survival.
Featuring one of the most impressive casts of the year, director Baltasar Kormákur is ready to take audiences to one of the most frightening and mythic places on the globe: Everest. The new film, which stars Jason Clarke, Josh Brolin, John Hawkes, Robin Wright, Michael Kelly, Sam Worthington, Keira Knightley, Emily Watson and Jake Gyllenhaal, opens September 18.
The film was shot on location in Nepal on the foothills of Everest, the Italian Alps and at Cinecittà Studios in Rome and Pinewood Studios in the U.K. Universal will distribute Everest worldwide.
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“They resent some 55-year-old yahoo from Texas climbing these mountains they’d dreamed about,” he said. “When I see guides now, they hug me because the seven summits made the mountain-guiding profession. It made them!”
Mr. Bass, who said he “never planned to climb anything, except out of bed in the morning,” was 51 when he started his record-setting expeditions.
]]>The blood-doping data, containing 12,000 tests from 5,000 athletes, was leaked to the Sunday Times and German broadcaster ARD/WRD by a whistleblower at the International Association of Athletics Federations.
Robin Parisotto, described as one of the “world’s foremost anti-doping experts”, reviewed the data. “Never have I seen such an alarmingly abnormal set of blood values,” he said.
“So many athletes appear to have doped with impunity, and it is damning that the IAAF appears to have idly sat by and let this happen.”
While the evidence is not concrete proof of doping, the revelations raise more significant concerns over whether the sport’s governing body is doing enough to deal with the problem and raises more uncomfortable questions about the extent of cheating, and the number of people who might be getting away with it. [The Guardian]
AltoLab is WADA legal
In 2006 World Anti-Doping Association (WADA) ruled that altitude training including altitude simulators are legal to prepare athlete's for athletic competition.
To work-out at altitude takes increased effort which causes the body to produce more red blood cells and in turn transport and utilize oxygen more efficiently.
Altitude training has long been used by the world’s leading athletes, who know that living at high altitude in low oxygen air, results in a more powerful performance and faster recovery enabling you to literally lift your game!
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[Swimming World Magazine] via [USASwimming]
]]>Many of us would stop here and call it an achievement. Not Malaczynski. His sporting attention turned to other sports like cross country and downhill skiing and, ultimately, running. The Bloomfield Hills resident's metamorphosis began at the ripe age of 51. Now 73, Malaczynski is a champion distance runner, as evidenced by his recent National Senior Games gold and silver medal performances in Minnesota.
It's never too late to reinvent yourself. Take it from Malaczynski, running has helped him stay young, and has built behavior that goes far beyond running.
]]>[TheCall]
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“Altitude illness is caused by the interaction of genes and the environment, and it can happen to the sedentary executive or the triathlete,” says Peter Hackett, director of the nonprofit Institute for Altitude Medicine in Telluride, Colo.
The rise in popularity in mountain climbing rose 16% in 2014 from three years earlier, according to the nonprofit Outdoor Foundation. Nepal has seen a doubling over the last decade, with trekking and mountaineering among the top reasons, according to government statistics.
AltoLab can be an additional solution for those looking to acclimate to these higher elevations. Altitude training helps the body deal with this thinner air. It's important to understand two important things:
The body adapts to this change. Red blood cells in your body carry oxygen to muscles and vital organs. When the body is faced with less oxygen (such as at higher altitudes) it sends a signal to produce more red blood cells.
This means that the body becomes more efficient at delivering oxygen to muscles and this is the same as getting fitter and stronger. Altitude exposure makes you fitter and stronger and promotes better oxygen delivery throughout the body resulting in acclimatization.
Whether you are returning from the mountains or just getting ready to go, AltoLab will help you achieve your health and fitness goals.
]]>Studies show that Red Rose coach Stuart Lancaster could be using the wrong approach to maximise the benefit and peak for September’s tournament.
England will be based in the United States for a fortnight while Wales will spend the same amount of time in Switzerland during the leadup to their World Cup clash at Twickenham on September 26 in the so-called group of death.
Read the entire story here: [WalesOnline]
]]>He argues that the human body and it's ever-adapting organism always has a way of “figuring it out.” The real questions is, what happens when people who live at high altitudes come to sea level to train?
]]>With only less than four weeks remaining between now and the start of the Tour de France. Here’s a recap of the top contenders.
Vincenzo Nibali
• Trained at altitude on Mount Teide volcano in the Canary Islands
• Pre-Tour test at Criterium du Dauphiné
• So far nearly identical to results as last year
Chris Froome
• Defeated Alberto Contador at Ruta del Sol ("Route of the Sun")
• Trained at altitude on Mount Teide volcano
• Placed 3rd at Tour of Romandie (part of the UCI World Tour)
Alberto Contador
• Goal to win Giro d’Italia and Tour de France in the same season
• Pre-Tour tune up at four day race Route du Sud (stage race in the French Pyrenees )
• Balance rest and training, no easy task with just two weeks before Tour
Nairo Quintana
• Best climber in the peloton
• Skipped Tour last year after winning Giro d’Italia
• Acclimated racing on cobblestones, Stage 4 of Tour covers seven sections of them
• Training at altitude at home in Colombia
Joaquim Rodriguez
• Finished 10 of grand tour 10 times in career
• Won two difficult stages in Tour of the Basque Country (stage race)
• Next race is Dauphiné
The French Team
• Jean-Christophe Peraud and Thibaut Rinot with second and third at the Tour
• Frances best finishes since 1997
• Dauphiné event important for French squad
The American Team
• Tejay van Garderen and Andrew Talansky making Dauphiné last race before Tour
• Van Garden winning stage at the Volta Catalunya
• Talansky won Dauphiné last year, but abandoned Tour of California due to illness in Stage one
• Came back with win at US Pro Time Trial two weeks later
• Both need a strong showing at Dauphiné
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