Exercise at Altitude Flashcards
altitude
little change in exercise capacity
Moderate altitude
2000-3000m
- Effects on well-being in unacclimated people
- Performance and aerobic capacity decrease
- Performance may or may not be restored by acclimation
- Wind resistant exercises may be improved
composition of air ?? while density of air ??
stays the same; changes
Air temperature at altitude
dont really need to know
- temperature decreases1 degree per 150m ascent
- contributes to risk of cold-related disorders
Humidity at altitude
- Cold air holds very little water
- Air at altitude very cold and very dry
- Dry air -> quick dehydration via skin and lungs
Upon immediate exposure to altitude ??
pulmonary ventilation immediately increases
Plasma volume falls within a few hours
- Respiratory (breathing frequently) water loss, increase in urine production
- Lose up to 25% plasma volume
- Short-term increase in hematocrit (concentration, proportional change), O2 density
Red blood cell count will only increase after weeks/months
- hypoxemia triggers EPO release from kidneys
- increased red blood cell production in bone marrow
- low term increase in hematocrit
- increased red blood cell goes up to meet oxygen demands
- it takes 3 months for red blood cell mass to significantly increase
Cardiac output increases upon ??
immediate exposure to altitude
- this is due to increased sympathetic nervous system activity - there is a stress response that seas increased circulating concentrations of adrenalin and noradrenalin
greater reliance on glycogen or fat during exercise?
glycogen
dehydration occurs faster
- Water loss through skin, kidneys/urine
- Exacerbated by sweating with exercise
appetite declines at altitude
- paired with increase metabolism -> 500kcal/day deficit
- athletes/climbers must be educated about eating at altitude
maintain ?? to support increase in hematocrit
iron intake
Most things are because
catecholamines and environment
higher altitude = ??
lower vo2max
Aerobic exercise performance is affected most by ?? at altitude
hypoxic conditions
Anaerobic performance unaffected
- For example, 100 to 400 m track sprints
- ATP-PCr and anaerobic glycolytic metabolism
- Minimal O2 requirements
Thinner air -> less air resistance
- improved swim and run times (up to 800m)
- improved jump distance
- throwing events, varied effects
Prolonged exposure to altitude
- Acclimation improves performance, but performance may never match that at sea level
- Possible reason: reduced atmospheric PO2 inhibited training intensity at high altitude
LIVE HIGH
TRAIN LOW
Optimizing training
Must include progressive overload
- Progressively increase stimulus as body continually adapts
- Stimulates continuous improvements
Undertraining: insufficient stimulus
- Adaptations not fully realized
- Optimal performance not achieved
Overtraining: loss of benefits
- No additional improvements
- Performance decrements, injury
- unexplained decreased in performance, function for weeks, months or years
- can occur with all forms of training
- not all fatigue is a product of overtraining
acute overload
- one intense training session
- positive physiological adaptation and minor improvements in performance
Overreaching
- can be deliberate to encourage body adaptation (to stronger stimulus) for short period of training
- risk to overtraining
- optimal physiological adaptations and performance
Excessive training
volume and/or intensity to an extreme
Volume of training
the time it takes (endurance is high)
Intensity of training
the intensity (sprinting is high)
Volume high; intensity usually low
Intensity high; volume usually low
- rare occasion in which both high but with risks (injury, reduce recovery, overtrained)
Symptoms of overtraining syndrom
- decrease performance
- Fatigue
- Change in appetite, weight loss
- Sleep and mood disturbances
- Lack of motivation, vigor, and/or concentration
- Depression
psychological factors of overtraining
- emotional pressure of competition -> stress
- parallels with clinical depression
physiological factors of overtraining
- autonomic, endocrine, and immune factors
- not a clear cause-and effect relationship significant parallels
Overtraining Syndrome: Sympathetic Nervous System Responses
- Increased BP
- Loss of appetite
- Weight loss
- Sleep and emotional disturbances
- Increased basal metabolic rate
Overtraining Syndrome: PNS Responses (don’t really need to know)
- More common with endurance athletes
- Early fatigue
- Decreased resting HR
- Decreased resting BP
- Rapid heart rate recovery
Overtraining Syndrome: Endocrine Responses
- Resting thyroxine, testosterone (builds) decreases
- Resting cortisol (breaks down) increase
- Testosterone:cortisol ratio
- Indicator of anabolic recovery processes
- Altered ratio may indicate protein catabolism
- Possible cause of overtraining syndrome
- Volume-related overtraining appears more likely to affect hormones
Overtraining Syndrome: Immune Responses
immune response weakened with overtraining (colds, coughs etc)
- Abnormally decreases lymphocytes, antibodies
- increased Incidence of illness after exhaustive exercise
- Exercise during illness -> immune complications (exercise generally strengthens immune function until overtrained)
Predicting Overtraining Syndrome
- no preliminary warning symptoms (don’t realise until too late)
- recovery takes long time
- well being better source than blood tests
Overtraining treatment
- Reduced intensity or rest (weeks, months)
- Counseling to deal with stress
Prevention
- Periodization training
- Adequate caloric (especially carbohydrate) intake
Tapering
reduced training period prior to competition
- 4-28 days
Variables engaged in training
- intensity (must be maintained during tapering)
- frequency
- volume
Tapering results;
- results in increased muscular strength
- improved performance (3% improved race time, 18-25% improved arm strength, power)
