Hypoxic training

Historically, altitude training emerged in the 1960s and was limited to the ‘Live High Train High’ method for endurance athletes looking to increase their haemoglobin mass and oxygen transport capacity. This ‘classical’ method was complemented in 1990s by the ‘Live High Train Low’ method where athletes benefit from the long hypoxic exposure and from the higher intensity of training at low altitude. Innovative methods were recently proposed, ‘resistance training in hypoxia’ and ‘repeated sprint training in hypoxia’ presumably with peripheral adaptations postponing muscle fatigue. Another point of interest is the potential physiological differences between ‘real altitude’ (hypobaric hypoxia) and ‘simulated altitude’ (normobaric hypoxia) and the clinical significance of this difference. The panorama of the hypoxic methods is now wider than in the past. Mountaineers are recommended to use the ‘traditional’ methods while climbers would benefit using the ‘innovative’ methods.