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Types of Altitude Training

Fresh mountain air and beautiful scenery inspire athletes to reach their full potential. Many Americans enjoy running as a hobby or a way to stay fit, and some athletes incorporate high-altitude training into their workouts to give them an advantage over peers. When the 1968 Olympics were held in Mexico City, it marked the first high-altitude Olympic Games. Spectators noticed that people born and raised in high-altitude regions had an advantage over those who were not. This event launched research into how altitude affects athletes in regard to endurance and performance.

  1. Live High-Train Low

    • Dr. Stray-Gunderson and Dr. Levine developed the Live High-Train Low approach to altitude training in the early 1990s. The doctors believed living at a high altitude but training at sea level would increase an athlete's performance in high-altitude areas. Typically, athletes sleep in a high-altitude environment -- at least 2,000 feet above sea level -- but do endurance training at sea level. The Live High-Train Low program is considered effective only when the person remains at a high altitude for three or more weeks and at least 12 hours of each day. Altitude.org notes that regardless of personal athletic ability, all athletes using this program showed benefits from this altitude training style.

    HiHiLo

    • The HiHiLo method of training suggests that athletes live at high altitudes but train at high and low altitudes. This method encourages an athlete to do hard training one to three times per week at or near sea level. During the rest of the week, athletes do easy and moderate exercises at high altitude. The goal of the HiHiLo method is to increase endurance at high altitudes while incorporating the benefit of at or near sea-level training.

    Simulated

    • The simulated altitude program relies on Intermittent Hypoxic Training to prepare athletes for training and competing in high-altitude areas. People who undergo Intermittent Hypoxic Training are exposed to high and low levels of oxygen during a training session. Trainers use nitrogen dilution and oxygen filtration to decrease the oxygen an athlete receives. Users undergo mild hypoxia during each session to prepare the body for high altitudes. A series of signals are sent to the body, representing hypoxia; this is more beneficial to the body than longer exposure to a hypoxic state.

    Traditional

    • In the Traditional altitude training program, athletes must train and live at high altitudes. This program encourages athletes to reside at a high altitude and do all of their training and workouts at high altitude. The direct and continuous exposure to a hypoxic state during daily life and workouts is supposed to increase hemoglobin mass in athletes. This program also increases red cell volume in some athletes.

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