S203
Training at Altitude in Practice F. W. Dick British Athletic Federation, Birmingham, United Kingdom
F. W. Dick, Training at Altitude. mt j Sports 13,Suppl 1,S203—S205, 1992. Med,Vol 13,Suppll,S203—S205, Med,Vol 1992.
canbebelittle little doubt doubtthat thattraining trainingatataltialtiThere can There tude is fundamental to preparing an athlete for competition
at altitude. However the value of training at altitude for competition at sea level appears on the one hand to lack total acceptance amongst sports scientists; and on the other to hold some cloak of mystery for coaches who have yet to enjoy first hand experience. The fact is that very few endurance athletes will ignore the critical edge which altitude training affords. Each fraction of a percentage of performance advantage gained through methods which are within the rules of fair play in sport, may shift the balance between failure and achievement. Moreover, there is growing support for application of training at altitude for speed-related
disciplines. This paper aims to demystify the subject by dealing with practical aspects of training at altitude. Such aspects aspects include include aa checklist checklist of of what what should should and and should should not not be be done at altitude, when to use altitude relative to target competitions, and specific training examples. Key words
High altitude training, planning, effectivity, pitfalls
for the achievements of their athletes in endurance events. It should be said, however, that their female athletes' accomplishments far outweighs those of the males! Likely, in this case, is that the explanation is to be found in a social climate which advanced women's women's sport sport more more positively positively than than was wasthe the case in other contemporary cultures. In Great Britain, our only period of intense experience preceded the 1968 Mexico City Olympics. Of course, this was followed by the preolympic programme in 1972 — but
already economic constraints and an "unconvinced" sports science community were were drawing drawing this this form form of of training trainingtowards towards the periphery of the British endurance coach's work.
New interest followed the European Athletics Coaches Association Endurance Congress in Vierumaki, Finland in 1991. Petar Bonov of Bulgaria afforded coaches the
benefit of his extensive experience "and the mood of our coaches shifted to a determination to pursue training at altitude:" despite financial problems and the doubts of many of our physiologists.
The following commentary of "Training at Altitude in Practice" is based on the practical experiences of British coaches Norman Poole, Harry Wilson and the late Ron Holman; information from other nations who have generously made their advice available "Alexander Polunin (former USSR), Petar Bonov (Bulgaria), Walter Gladrow (formerly GDR), Kari Sinkonnen (Finland); and my own personal experience. These experiences deal with "evidence from practice", i.e. how well athletes perform, recover and feel rather than with "controlled scientific evidence".
Introduction
Why Altitude Training?
Although there continues to be debate amongst sports scientists as to the value of training at altitude, as preparation for competitions at sea level, there is no doubt amongst athletes and coaches. "Training at altitude works for
everybody" according to Alexander Polunin, Chief Endurance Coach of the former USSR. This said, it must be specific to the needs of the athlete — otherwise the athlete will not gain the intended training benefit.
The more experience the coach has of training athletes at altitude, the more likely he or she is to apply the prin-
ciples of training, through correct practice, to meet the individual's needs. Without doubt, the collective experience of coaches from Bulgaria, Romania and the former Soviet Union
and German Democratic Republic provided the foundation Med.13(1992) 13(1992) S203 S203 —S205 —S205 Int.J. Sports Med. mU. Sports
GeorgThieme Verlag Stuttgart New York StuttgartNew
most important important reasons reasons why why coaches coaches The most The
choose to include altitude training in the year programme of choose elite athletes are the following: 1. For aerobic boost prior to high intensity training.
advantage in in endurance endurance events at sea 2. For For performance performance advantage level. level.
3. For speed/coordination improvement. 4. For Foraerobic fitness during andpost postinjury. injury. aerobic fitness during and quicker recovery recovery between between rounds competition and 5. For For quicker rounds of of competition and 5. between competitions at sea level. between 6. For performance at altitude. We are considering here the objectives 1., 2. and 5.
Downloaded by: Universite Laval. Copyrighted material.
Abstract
S204mt. S204 mt.J.J.Sports (1992) SportsMed. Med. 13 13(1992)
Dick F. W. W.Dick
Table 1
Mexico City Johannesburg Nairobi
Thompson Falls Colombia Stelenbosch
Local athletes only
May—October
2200 m 1,800 m 1,500 m 2,800 m 2,000 m 2,000 m
South Lake Tahoe Los Alamos Belmekan
St. Moritz Font Romeu Sestrière Sestrière Davos Davos
Cortina Del Paso Alamosa Crater Lake Boulder A'buquerque Albuquerque
Where to Go? Consensus among top coaches is that athletes should train above 2,000 m, with 2,200 m appearing to suit most.
Venues used by international athletic groups are shown in Table 1.
2200 2,200 m 2,200 m 2,100 m 2,100 m 1800 m m 1,800 m 1,800 1,750 m 1,750 1,700 m 1,700 1,500 m 1,500 1,500 m 1,500 1,500 m 1,500 1,500 m 1,500
First of all, if training at altitude is to be consid-
a) To become familiar with the various problems, routines and procedures which come with altitude. b) To learn what does or does not suit the athlete in terms of training training methods. c) To establish how many days are required on return to sealevel to gain maximum performance advantage from the altitude programme. Each training camp should be 3 weeks in duration.
It is desirable to include two basic periods of training at altitude in the year plan:
(pre-season). ii) Final preparation prior to the major championships of the season from the end of the first period to commencement of the second " there there must be a period of 7 weeks." weeks."
Dates for training at altitude should then be set
(Atlas Mountains)
Date D For northern hemisphere athletes, this means that when when prepreparing for a summer season championship, the first period of training at altitude ahitude will require the athlete athlete to to travel travel aa long long way way to find site with the sort of weather that will allow him or her to train in relative comfort.
Explanation
1. Three weeks work at altitude is sufficient to gain performance advantage whilst keeping most athletes within a reasonable budget. 2. Seven weeks of sea level training, between periods of training at altitude, are believed to be optimal.
3. On descent, time is needed for the athlete to reach a stage where performance shows clear sign of benefit beyond that which might be expected following a similar period of training at sea level. This varies substantially from athlete to athlete, as does the period over which such benefit will be maintained. The usual "ranges" are: —
descent:
—
poor performance: performance: normal normal performance: maximum performance:
—
—
i) End of winter training/commencement of spring training
2,200 2,200 m 2,000 m 1900 1,900 m 1,700 m 2,200 m 2000 2,000 m 1,900 m 1,900 1,700 m 1,700 m
— Work back 10 weeks from date C for commencement of i)
When and How to Apply Altitude Training?
ered for inclusion in an athletes programme, the athlete must have opportunity for a "dry-run". The purposes of the "dryrun" are:
Ethiopia Romania Morocco Tsakadzor Algiers Algiers
day day00 day 1 today8—+11 to day 8 —+ 11 dayl day8— lito day8—. iltoday day14—÷ l4— 17 day 15—+today24--÷28 15—.today24--÷28
Athletes begin to be quite fatigued towards the end of the third week — and the initial performance on descent
is depressed. Three to four days after returning to sea-level there can be a brief return return to to "normal" "normal" performance, performance, but butthen then things return to a relatively depressed state until days 8—11.
as follows:
Consensus of opinion amongst top coaches is that, that, for for those those athletes athletes who who use use altitude altitude training training regularly regularly over over a period of years, the peak performance period starts 14 days tion (i.e. first round) Date A following descent. Both Skah and Aouita produced their bests over days l2to 14. Work back from that date the number of days known to be optimum for the athletes between coming down from altiIt should be stressed again that individual retude and 3—4 days after maximum performance advantage sponse is very varied even even amongst amongst athletes athletes who who work workwith withthe the Date B
— Start with the first day of the major championship competi-
—
same coach and who perform very similar training pro-
—
Work back 3 weeks from commencement of ii) = Date C
grammes.
Downloaded by: Universite Laval. Copyrighted material.
Year-round only
mt. J. Sports Med. 13(1992) S205 5205
Training atAltitude in Practice What Practice Taught us to do and not to do
minimal loading can push up the heart rate and leave the athlete quite breathless. Therefore, heart rate is only a
General points:
loose relative guide to recovery, at altitude.
1) Thetraining UThe trainingvenue venue and and its its facilities facilities must be well researched prior to arrival, so so that that the the programme programme can can be be planned according to the training environment.
2) A doctor/physiotherapist should accompany the squad of
athletes to the altitude camp. If not, then there must be
access to a locally arranged doctor/physiotherapist. Medical insurance and relevant innoculations should be obtained. 3) To assure an appropriate nutrient intake, especially of the
micro-nutrients, the athlete should take with him/her a multi-vitamin-iron preparation, which should be taken
10) Recovery periods may have to be extended by x 4 to ensure sufficient numbers of quality repetitions in a programme. 11) neither high volume/high intensity, nor high lactate tolerance sessions should be attempted at altitude.
12) First/second time "users" of altitude should restrict the length of repetition and interval work to 100 m and 600 m to learn how their bodies are coping with the problems of altitude. 13) Continuous aerobic units at sea level pace — 10% and nor-
4) The athlete should also drink at least 1 litre of water extra each day at altitude, as the air is dry, sweat losses are profound, and dehydration can be a problem. In this respect, the ingestion of carbohydrate "mineral solutions during and after training sessions," has shown to be effective and is believed to reduce the occurrence of muscle cramps. 5)The first few nights at altitude can be very restless affairs. This is quite normal. However, because athletes fatigue quicker and take longer to recover, when training at altitude, it's important to get adequate rest. An after-lunch nap is worth building into the daily routine. 6) 6) Although Although itit does does not not happen happen in in every every case, case, athletes athletes can can get get headaches, experience nose bleeds or feel quite sick over the first few days. Training and recovery should be scheduled according to athletes well being. A fixed altitude train-
mal strength units are a sound platform for development during early visits. Hill running running is is also also acceptable, acceptabk, but distances should be kept to to 100 100 rn—i m— 150 50 mmwith with aa gradient gradient of of 5— 5—
10%. In the first week 2—3 long walks up hill are acceptable, e.g. 36—40 minutes — 4km — climbing600m. 36—40minutes
14) As a guide to progress in adaptation, the athlete should note: — —Resting heartrate rate (i.e. (i.e. basic basic value value on on waking waking up in the Resting heart morning). This should get back down to sea level values after5 --7 days. after5—7days.
15) 15) Because altitude training camps are usually fairly fairly remote remote places, thought should be given to establishing a recreation programme, e.g. videos, games, music, books, etc. programme, etc. 16)To 16) To help help with with training training and and for for companionship companionship to to enrich enrich the the recreation programme, it is best to go with a squad of ath-
ing programme prepared on forehand may therefore be
letes.
useless.
Specific Points on Periodization
7) Changeableweather weathersuggests suggests aa few few changes changes of of clothing clothing 7) Changeable
Table 2 is offered as explanation.
"for hot, wet or cold conditions."
)
sun'sray ray are are less less well well filtered filtered than those at sea level, ) The level, so so Thesun's more protective sun creams are required (i.e. a higher sun protection factor factor number). number). Sunglasses Sunglasses are are also also worth worth conconprotection sidering, even if the athlete doesn't normally use them.
The three weeks of training at altitude are broken down into phases with the main training emphasis
9) Sea level heart rate values, as an indication of the intensity of the training load, are not valid at altitude. Resting heart
The final phase (regeneration) at altitude leads into into the the first first of of three three phases phases at at sea sea level level as as the the athlete athlete recovers recovers from the work of phase II and readjusts to sea level. Final preparation for competition then follows in phase V — and the results are delivered in phase VI.
rate can be 10% up for the first week, whilst maximum heart rate can be as much as 10% down on sea level. Again,
coming in the 11 11—14 —14 days. days. Phase Phase II II comes after the athlete has made initial adjustment to altitude.
Table 2
Sea level Iev&
Altitude
7—l2days
5—Tdays 5—7days
11—l4days
2—4days
3—4days
Adaptation
Application
Regeneration
Application Regeneration Appcation Regeneration
(Initial
(Increase in training load)
(Recovery)
(Recovery)
Adjustments) Adjustments( Phase I
(Normal train ing training
1O—l2days
Competition (Maintain
status)
increase) Phase II
Phase III Ill
Phase IV
Phase V
Phase VI
Downloaded by: Universite Laval. Copyrighted material.
daily during the training programme at altitude.
_______
___________________________
F. W. Dick
As with any programme, it is specific to the in-
This said, it is of immense value to all en-
dividual concerned but may serve as a guide for those who
durance athletes and, although not the subject of this paper, athletes who require to learn technique coordination at speed.
wish to use this valuable training tool.
Who should use Altitude Training? Only top athletes who have several seasons of experience behind them should attempt training at altitude. it is hard and, because of the remote locations, it requires a certam level of maturity to overcome what can easily become extreme boredom. It is not recommended, then, for even the best juniors. Athletes should be 21/22 years and over.
Unless the purpose of the training period is to rehabilitate after injury or illness via an aerobic recuperation programme, neither injured nor ill athletes should go to altitude training camps.
Acknowledgement
I am indebted to Norman Poole, GBR National Middle Distance Coach for diagram materials and supporting data, and to Petar Bonov and Kari Sinkonnen for technical advice.
Frank W.Dick _____________________ British Athletic Federation 3 Duchess Place, Hagley Road Edgbaston B16 8NM Birmingham Great Britain
Downloaded by: Universite Laval. Copyrighted material.
S206 mt. J. Sports Med. 13 (1992)
Training at Altitude in Practice F. W. Dick British Athletic Federation, Birmingham, United Kingdom
F. W. Dick, Training at Altitude. mt j Sports 13,Suppl 1,S203—S205, 1992. Med,Vol 13,Suppll,S203—S205, Med,Vol 1992.
canbebelittle little doubt doubtthat thattraining trainingatataltialtiThere can There tude is fundamental to preparing an athlete for competition
at altitude. However the value of training at altitude for competition at sea level appears on the one hand to lack total acceptance amongst sports scientists; and on the other to hold some cloak of mystery for coaches who have yet to enjoy first hand experience. The fact is that very few endurance athletes will ignore the critical edge which altitude training affords. Each fraction of a percentage of performance advantage gained through methods which are within the rules of fair play in sport, may shift the balance between failure and achievement. Moreover, there is growing support for application of training at altitude for speed-related
disciplines. This paper aims to demystify the subject by dealing with practical aspects of training at altitude. Such aspects aspects include include aa checklist checklist of of what what should should and and should should not not be be done at altitude, when to use altitude relative to target competitions, and specific training examples. Key words
High altitude training, planning, effectivity, pitfalls
for the achievements of their athletes in endurance events. It should be said, however, that their female athletes' accomplishments far outweighs those of the males! Likely, in this case, is that the explanation is to be found in a social climate which advanced women's women's sport sport more more positively positively than than was wasthe the case in other contemporary cultures. In Great Britain, our only period of intense experience preceded the 1968 Mexico City Olympics. Of course, this was followed by the preolympic programme in 1972 — but
already economic constraints and an "unconvinced" sports science community were were drawing drawing this this form form of of training trainingtowards towards the periphery of the British endurance coach's work.
New interest followed the European Athletics Coaches Association Endurance Congress in Vierumaki, Finland in 1991. Petar Bonov of Bulgaria afforded coaches the
benefit of his extensive experience "and the mood of our coaches shifted to a determination to pursue training at altitude:" despite financial problems and the doubts of many of our physiologists.
The following commentary of "Training at Altitude in Practice" is based on the practical experiences of British coaches Norman Poole, Harry Wilson and the late Ron Holman; information from other nations who have generously made their advice available "Alexander Polunin (former USSR), Petar Bonov (Bulgaria), Walter Gladrow (formerly GDR), Kari Sinkonnen (Finland); and my own personal experience. These experiences deal with "evidence from practice", i.e. how well athletes perform, recover and feel rather than with "controlled scientific evidence".
Introduction
Why Altitude Training?
Although there continues to be debate amongst sports scientists as to the value of training at altitude, as preparation for competitions at sea level, there is no doubt amongst athletes and coaches. "Training at altitude works for
everybody" according to Alexander Polunin, Chief Endurance Coach of the former USSR. This said, it must be specific to the needs of the athlete — otherwise the athlete will not gain the intended training benefit.
The more experience the coach has of training athletes at altitude, the more likely he or she is to apply the prin-
ciples of training, through correct practice, to meet the individual's needs. Without doubt, the collective experience of coaches from Bulgaria, Romania and the former Soviet Union
and German Democratic Republic provided the foundation Med.13(1992) 13(1992) S203 S203 —S205 —S205 Int.J. Sports Med. mU. Sports
GeorgThieme Verlag Stuttgart New York StuttgartNew
most important important reasons reasons why why coaches coaches The most The
choose to include altitude training in the year programme of choose elite athletes are the following: 1. For aerobic boost prior to high intensity training.
advantage in in endurance endurance events at sea 2. For For performance performance advantage level. level.
3. For speed/coordination improvement. 4. For Foraerobic fitness during andpost postinjury. injury. aerobic fitness during and quicker recovery recovery between between rounds competition and 5. For For quicker rounds of of competition and 5. between competitions at sea level. between 6. For performance at altitude. We are considering here the objectives 1., 2. and 5.
Downloaded by: Universite Laval. Copyrighted material.
Abstract
S204mt. S204 mt.J.J.Sports (1992) SportsMed. Med. 13 13(1992)
Dick F. W. W.Dick
Table 1
Mexico City Johannesburg Nairobi
Thompson Falls Colombia Stelenbosch
Local athletes only
May—October
2200 m 1,800 m 1,500 m 2,800 m 2,000 m 2,000 m
South Lake Tahoe Los Alamos Belmekan
St. Moritz Font Romeu Sestrière Sestrière Davos Davos
Cortina Del Paso Alamosa Crater Lake Boulder A'buquerque Albuquerque
Where to Go? Consensus among top coaches is that athletes should train above 2,000 m, with 2,200 m appearing to suit most.
Venues used by international athletic groups are shown in Table 1.
2200 2,200 m 2,200 m 2,100 m 2,100 m 1800 m m 1,800 m 1,800 1,750 m 1,750 1,700 m 1,700 1,500 m 1,500 1,500 m 1,500 1,500 m 1,500 1,500 m 1,500
First of all, if training at altitude is to be consid-
a) To become familiar with the various problems, routines and procedures which come with altitude. b) To learn what does or does not suit the athlete in terms of training training methods. c) To establish how many days are required on return to sealevel to gain maximum performance advantage from the altitude programme. Each training camp should be 3 weeks in duration.
It is desirable to include two basic periods of training at altitude in the year plan:
(pre-season). ii) Final preparation prior to the major championships of the season from the end of the first period to commencement of the second " there there must be a period of 7 weeks." weeks."
Dates for training at altitude should then be set
(Atlas Mountains)
Date D For northern hemisphere athletes, this means that when when prepreparing for a summer season championship, the first period of training at altitude ahitude will require the athlete athlete to to travel travel aa long long way way to find site with the sort of weather that will allow him or her to train in relative comfort.
Explanation
1. Three weeks work at altitude is sufficient to gain performance advantage whilst keeping most athletes within a reasonable budget. 2. Seven weeks of sea level training, between periods of training at altitude, are believed to be optimal.
3. On descent, time is needed for the athlete to reach a stage where performance shows clear sign of benefit beyond that which might be expected following a similar period of training at sea level. This varies substantially from athlete to athlete, as does the period over which such benefit will be maintained. The usual "ranges" are: —
descent:
—
poor performance: performance: normal normal performance: maximum performance:
—
—
i) End of winter training/commencement of spring training
2,200 2,200 m 2,000 m 1900 1,900 m 1,700 m 2,200 m 2000 2,000 m 1,900 m 1,900 1,700 m 1,700 m
— Work back 10 weeks from date C for commencement of i)
When and How to Apply Altitude Training?
ered for inclusion in an athletes programme, the athlete must have opportunity for a "dry-run". The purposes of the "dryrun" are:
Ethiopia Romania Morocco Tsakadzor Algiers Algiers
day day00 day 1 today8—+11 to day 8 —+ 11 dayl day8— lito day8—. iltoday day14—÷ l4— 17 day 15—+today24--÷28 15—.today24--÷28
Athletes begin to be quite fatigued towards the end of the third week — and the initial performance on descent
is depressed. Three to four days after returning to sea-level there can be a brief return return to to "normal" "normal" performance, performance, but butthen then things return to a relatively depressed state until days 8—11.
as follows:
Consensus of opinion amongst top coaches is that, that, for for those those athletes athletes who who use use altitude altitude training training regularly regularly over over a period of years, the peak performance period starts 14 days tion (i.e. first round) Date A following descent. Both Skah and Aouita produced their bests over days l2to 14. Work back from that date the number of days known to be optimum for the athletes between coming down from altiIt should be stressed again that individual retude and 3—4 days after maximum performance advantage sponse is very varied even even amongst amongst athletes athletes who who work workwith withthe the Date B
— Start with the first day of the major championship competi-
—
same coach and who perform very similar training pro-
—
Work back 3 weeks from commencement of ii) = Date C
grammes.
Downloaded by: Universite Laval. Copyrighted material.
Year-round only
mt. J. Sports Med. 13(1992) S205 5205
Training atAltitude in Practice What Practice Taught us to do and not to do
minimal loading can push up the heart rate and leave the athlete quite breathless. Therefore, heart rate is only a
General points:
loose relative guide to recovery, at altitude.
1) Thetraining UThe trainingvenue venue and and its its facilities facilities must be well researched prior to arrival, so so that that the the programme programme can can be be planned according to the training environment.
2) A doctor/physiotherapist should accompany the squad of
athletes to the altitude camp. If not, then there must be
access to a locally arranged doctor/physiotherapist. Medical insurance and relevant innoculations should be obtained. 3) To assure an appropriate nutrient intake, especially of the
micro-nutrients, the athlete should take with him/her a multi-vitamin-iron preparation, which should be taken
10) Recovery periods may have to be extended by x 4 to ensure sufficient numbers of quality repetitions in a programme. 11) neither high volume/high intensity, nor high lactate tolerance sessions should be attempted at altitude.
12) First/second time "users" of altitude should restrict the length of repetition and interval work to 100 m and 600 m to learn how their bodies are coping with the problems of altitude. 13) Continuous aerobic units at sea level pace — 10% and nor-
4) The athlete should also drink at least 1 litre of water extra each day at altitude, as the air is dry, sweat losses are profound, and dehydration can be a problem. In this respect, the ingestion of carbohydrate "mineral solutions during and after training sessions," has shown to be effective and is believed to reduce the occurrence of muscle cramps. 5)The first few nights at altitude can be very restless affairs. This is quite normal. However, because athletes fatigue quicker and take longer to recover, when training at altitude, it's important to get adequate rest. An after-lunch nap is worth building into the daily routine. 6) 6) Although Although itit does does not not happen happen in in every every case, case, athletes athletes can can get get headaches, experience nose bleeds or feel quite sick over the first few days. Training and recovery should be scheduled according to athletes well being. A fixed altitude train-
mal strength units are a sound platform for development during early visits. Hill running running is is also also acceptable, acceptabk, but distances should be kept to to 100 100 rn—i m— 150 50 mmwith with aa gradient gradient of of 5— 5—
10%. In the first week 2—3 long walks up hill are acceptable, e.g. 36—40 minutes — 4km — climbing600m. 36—40minutes
14) As a guide to progress in adaptation, the athlete should note: — —Resting heartrate rate (i.e. (i.e. basic basic value value on on waking waking up in the Resting heart morning). This should get back down to sea level values after5 --7 days. after5—7days.
15) 15) Because altitude training camps are usually fairly fairly remote remote places, thought should be given to establishing a recreation programme, e.g. videos, games, music, books, etc. programme, etc. 16)To 16) To help help with with training training and and for for companionship companionship to to enrich enrich the the recreation programme, it is best to go with a squad of ath-
ing programme prepared on forehand may therefore be
letes.
useless.
Specific Points on Periodization
7) Changeableweather weathersuggests suggests aa few few changes changes of of clothing clothing 7) Changeable
Table 2 is offered as explanation.
"for hot, wet or cold conditions."
)
sun'sray ray are are less less well well filtered filtered than those at sea level, ) The level, so so Thesun's more protective sun creams are required (i.e. a higher sun protection factor factor number). number). Sunglasses Sunglasses are are also also worth worth conconprotection sidering, even if the athlete doesn't normally use them.
The three weeks of training at altitude are broken down into phases with the main training emphasis
9) Sea level heart rate values, as an indication of the intensity of the training load, are not valid at altitude. Resting heart
The final phase (regeneration) at altitude leads into into the the first first of of three three phases phases at at sea sea level level as as the the athlete athlete recovers recovers from the work of phase II and readjusts to sea level. Final preparation for competition then follows in phase V — and the results are delivered in phase VI.
rate can be 10% up for the first week, whilst maximum heart rate can be as much as 10% down on sea level. Again,
coming in the 11 11—14 —14 days. days. Phase Phase II II comes after the athlete has made initial adjustment to altitude.
Table 2
Sea level Iev&
Altitude
7—l2days
5—Tdays 5—7days
11—l4days
2—4days
3—4days
Adaptation
Application
Regeneration
Application Regeneration Appcation Regeneration
(Initial
(Increase in training load)
(Recovery)
(Recovery)
Adjustments) Adjustments( Phase I
(Normal train ing training
1O—l2days
Competition (Maintain
status)
increase) Phase II
Phase III Ill
Phase IV
Phase V
Phase VI
Downloaded by: Universite Laval. Copyrighted material.
daily during the training programme at altitude.
_______
___________________________
F. W. Dick
As with any programme, it is specific to the in-
This said, it is of immense value to all en-
dividual concerned but may serve as a guide for those who
durance athletes and, although not the subject of this paper, athletes who require to learn technique coordination at speed.
wish to use this valuable training tool.
Who should use Altitude Training? Only top athletes who have several seasons of experience behind them should attempt training at altitude. it is hard and, because of the remote locations, it requires a certam level of maturity to overcome what can easily become extreme boredom. It is not recommended, then, for even the best juniors. Athletes should be 21/22 years and over.
Unless the purpose of the training period is to rehabilitate after injury or illness via an aerobic recuperation programme, neither injured nor ill athletes should go to altitude training camps.
Acknowledgement
I am indebted to Norman Poole, GBR National Middle Distance Coach for diagram materials and supporting data, and to Petar Bonov and Kari Sinkonnen for technical advice.
Frank W.Dick _____________________ British Athletic Federation 3 Duchess Place, Hagley Road Edgbaston B16 8NM Birmingham Great Britain
Downloaded by: Universite Laval. Copyrighted material.
S206 mt. J. Sports Med. 13 (1992)
