CAN-DO ALTITUDE
Canyourecreatethebenefitsofaltitudetraininginthe mountainstomakeyoufaster? CyclingPlus investigates
BikeRadar.com’s Joe Norledge aims to find out if you can recreate the benefits of altitude training at home to make you faster.
Being based in Bristol, which the internet informs us is a whopping 11m above sea level, the idea of altitude training had never occurred to us. But that was all set to change when the invitation came from The Altitude Centre, London ( altitudecentre.com), to try out its equipment and see what difference it makes.
The conventional wisdom around altitude training is that you sleep/live high and train low. Sleeping high means that you reap the red blood cell-boosting benefits of altitude, while training low (at sea level) allows you to push your body and muscles to the max. That’s why pro teams like Sky go to Tenerife for training camps, where they live/sleep at 3200m on Mt Teide, then descend further down for their hard training.
The Altitude Centre flips this method on its head, using shorter periods of training high at a simulated 2750m combined with your regular riding at sea level. There is scientific data to back up this style of training, but The Altitude Centre claims this method could improve oxygen efficiency both at the lungs, and within the muscles, thus making us a more efficient rider.
Getting high
For any cyclist passionate about their training and performance, this presents a tantalising proposition. Exercising at altitude with reduced oxygen saturation (SpO ) in the blood means that the muscles have to become more efficient with what limited oxygen is available to them. An increase in mitochondrial density, and capillarisation of the muscle help to produce more energy, and deliver more oxygenated blood to the deeper muscle, enabling you to work aerobically for longer, and at higher intensities.
To achieve the desired altitude, we would be using a hypoxic generator, which restricts the levels of oxygen in the air you breathe. It’s a big grey box on wheels with a mask coming out of it. Strap on the mask, fire up the generator, jump on the turbo, and, hey presto, you’re riding at 2750m.
Before the real (painful) fun started we needed some baseline numbers. Initial testing took place at The Altitude Centre, where a chamber can simulate altitudes of up to 6500m. Fortunately we’d be going a lot lower at 2750m.
The protocol would be relatively simple. We’d do a series of physiological tests at The Altitude Centre, then repeat those tests at sea level in Bristol two days later. Each test would be conducted on a Wattbike to ensure that the data was as reliable as possible. We’d then use the hypoxic generator for six weeks and follow a training plan set by cross-country world cup racer and experienced cycling coach Tom Bell ( tombell.co). After the six weeks tests would be carried out again at The Altitude Centre and back in Bristol.
The key metric we were looking at would be our averaged power for 20 minutes riding at full gas, both at 2750m and sea level. It’s a classic test and a good indicator of improvements in fitness. We were expecting our watts to go up, just due
Joe Norledge Exercising at altitude with reduced oxygen in the blood means muscles have to become more efficient with what limited O is available to them
to the training that we’d be doing, but we’re keen to see if the altitude training could give that extra boost.
Master of pain
Before the baseline test we were told by Altitude Centre guru Nick Hart that we’d have to go deep, and it would hurt, a lot. Having completed many a 20-minute threshold test, we can safely say that doing it at altitude was easily the toughest.
Despite being warned not to set off too hard, that’s exactly what we did, and paid for it, hitting 198bpm in the final few minutes. With less oxygen available we couldn’t get air in quick enough. Once recovered from our oxygen-deprived state, the numbers read 286 watts for 20mins at 64kg. Not bad, but much less than we’d usually expect to see at sea level. Turns out that lack of oxygen really makes a difference.
The test at sea level in Bristol two days later felt much easier to pace, finishing with 324 watts for 20mins at 64kg. A significant jump from the test at altitude, again showing how much difference altitude makes.
The Altitude Centre team stressed that we should be pushing ourselves hard when using the hypoxic generator, so it was no surprise that Tom had set a demanding plan, with plenty of tough intervals. We trained between eight and 10 hours per week, with three one-hour sessions on a turbo trainer at a simulated 2750m. The rest of the time was spent on the roads doing more regular training set by Tom.
Just like the initial test in London, the first couple of weeks at home were tough, as we got familiar with the physiological limits of training high. With less oxygen to work with, we had to be careful not to go into the red, as there’s no turning back once there. This happened a few times, leaving us in a breathless mess.
After a few weeks, there was a definite shift in perceived exertion and our ability to control our pace during efforts. It was still tough and afternoons at work were often spent dreading what training was in store that night, but we felt we could stay on top of the wattage targets and even ramp it up in the final few minutes of the intervals. Gradually it felt like we were adapting to the demands of the training.
The six weeks passed smoothly. Having a full-time job and living in the real world meant we missed a couple of the sessions, but on the whole our training was consistent.
Back to the pain cave
Given how hard we’d gone previously, we were nervous on the day of the retest. Thankfully Nick was on hand to shout encouragement. From the start we felt strong, controlling our pace throughout the first half, then ramping it up towards the end. For 20mins we managed 310 watts at 65kg. A significant improvement. The sea level test revealed similar improvement with 354 watts for 20mins at 65kg.
It’s clear we made a real improvement over the six-week period, our watts for 20 minutes increased both at sea level and altitude. The sea level score of 354 watts for 20mins being a personal best on a Wattbike over that duration.
Joe Norledge Once recovered from our oxygen-deprived state, the numbers read 286 watts for 20mins at 64kg
From the start, we realised this test would never provide a definitive answer to the question, ‘does altitude training make you faster?’ With just one rider, the results were always going to err more towards the subjective than the objective. Hypoxic training didn’t make us any slower, and the record numbers at sea level show we were on great form after a combination of the hypoxic generator and Tom’s training plan. However, a couple of observations made us think the hypoxic training might have had some real benefit.
Although training was demanding, the hours and intervals we were putting in were often less than we’d usually do around the time of year the testing took place (December– February). Seeing a decent improvement in watts over such a short period of time and on a relatively modest amount of training suggests the hypoxic training could have helped.
The sea level training set by Tom included plenty of hill reps and intervals. For the time of year, we were consistently hitting the wattage targets and numbers, even at the end of tough sessions. This could have been down to our body becoming more efficient from the altitude training, but we can’t say for sure.
We’ve been training with power since 2010, so have an insight into what style of training works and the numbers we see when we’re riding well. These days hitting record numbers is a rarity, yet that’s what we did on the final sea level test. Without true scientific data and measurements, we can never say for sure what caused the improvement.
A huge thanks to The Altitude Centre and Tom Bell. Both parties were generous with their knowledge without forcing any personal bias on our results. With the time and resources available the test was as fair as we could possibly make it.