Coach Hugo has 24 years of experience with training at high altitude (plus a Masters degree in Human Movement Science, to back this up with sientific knowledge), and here is his advice for anyone who wants to train at altitude:
Just like Iten in Kenya, many of the best and most famous training spots for runners are situated at an elevation of 1800 - 2500 meters. There's Sankt Moritz in Switzerland (I trained there before the 2006 European Championships), Font Romeu (France), Flagstaff (USA), Ooty (India) and many other great places where runners like to stay and prepare for their major races.
Does training at high altitude work? Yes, it does. Although there are still some scientists who doubt the effect of altitude training, the majority of exercise physiologists agree that altitude can boost your performance. And simply look at the sheer number of elite runners who choose to prepare for a World Championships or Olympic Games at high altitude. The overwhelming majority of elites do a significant portion of their training at altitude. This is because they have experienced the amazing effects.
Sea level training can also contribute to a good performance in its own way - for example, because at sea level it's easier to run longer at race pace. But it can't really boost your performance the same way high altitude training does.
However, the success of a training camp at altitude depends on the training approach.
Simply speaking: if you just go to altitude and do the same training you would have done at home, be ready for a bad experience. Thankfully, it's not so difficult to make sure you approach your altitude training camp in the right way. You have to make sure you check some blood levels (a few weeks) before you go. And you have to take certain things into account, especially in the first 7-10 days at altitude.
Together with Trustmephysiotherapy.com I organise a running camp for physiotherapists from all over the world. For their website, I have written a blog post with my 10 top tips for altitude training, which you can read here.
If you find this interesting, and want to experience high altitude training yourself, you can either join www.kenya-camp.com for one of our organised camps, or contact www.itenaccommodation.com, book your accommodation in the Home of Champions (Iten) and do your own training.
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