Topic on a page - high altitude training

Question 1

what are there fewer of at altitude and what does this mean

Answer 1

air molecules - meaning there is less oxygen available to take into our body, meaning there is less oxygen available to get to the working muscles which causes the body’s oxygen carrying capacity to be reduced at high altitudes

Question 2

what happens to the body’s oxygen carrying capacity at high altitudes

Answer 2

it is reduced

Question 3

what will happen to an athlete’s performance when they first begin altitude training

Answer 3

it will be worse

Question 4

what will happen to an athlete’s body after several weeks of training at a high altitude

Answer 4

their body will adapt - increasing red blood cells and increasing haemoglobin

Question 5

what will happen to an athlete when they have returned to sea level after altitude training

Answer 5

they will have an advantage because their oxygen carrying capacity will have increased

Question 6

what are the benefits of high-altitude training

Answer 6

• increased red blood cell production
• increased oxygen carrying capacity
• a greater amount of oxygen being transported to the working muscles once athletes return to sea level

Question 7

what type of athlete do the benefits of high-altitude training help

Answer 7

endurance athletes who rely on aerobic energy production - such as marathon runners and triathletes

Question 8

what are the limitations of high-altitude training

Answer 8

• adaptations take time
• expensive to live away from home
• timing of training for competition needs careful planning
• altitude sickness - hypoxia (nausea caused by training at altitude)
• limited to aerobic activities (no effect on anaerobic events)
  -can make it harder to train at high intensities needed for anaerobic activities