Sprint Training at Altitude
by Doug Stewart
The potential benefits of training at altitude have been researched at length, but when it comes to certain training types, such as repeated sprint training, there is no consensus as to the optimal altitude.
A recently published paper set out to explore if such an optimal altitude existed for this type of training.
The ability to complete multiple intense efforts with incomplete recovery (known as repeated sprint ability) is a key factor in performance, whether that be in team sports or certain individual endurance events. Repeated sprint training can be used to create a variety of physiological benefits for athletes, such as increasing maximal oxygen uptake and lactate clearance.
When training is conducted at altitude, it has been seen to induce even greater developments within athletes. Therefore, the researchers of the current paper set out to investigate what elevation was optimal for this type of training.
24 male students participated in the research. However, 3 dropped out, 2 due to injury and one due to restrictions as a result of Covid-19. The 21 remaining participants had an average age of 21 years and had not spent time above 1,500m in the two months preceding the research.
The subjects were split randomly into 3 groups, based on the simulated altitude they would train at (1,500m, 2,100m or 3,200m).
The training consisted of six sessions of repeated sprint training carried out over 2 weeks on an indoor bike. Tests were completed prior to and after the 2 weeks of training.
As for the training itself, this involved a 7-minute warm-up with 2 x 10 seconds progressive accelerations within it. This was followed by a minute of passive rest and then the athletes completed 3 x 8 sets of 6-second sprints with 24 seconds of passive recovery between. The participants across all groups were informed that the simulated altitude they were training at was 3,000m.
The results showed that the rating of perceived exertion (RPE) was the same across all three groups. RPE steadily increased from the warm-up and then across the 3 sets of sprints.
The study showed no significant differences between the three groups in terms of improved anaerobic power of capacity assessed in the test, suggesting that 1,500m altitude is sufficient to elicit gains, and that higher altitudes did not lead to a better result.
Analysis of heart rate variability across the three groups did show that the higher altitude induced greater disturbances, suggesting that the simulated altitude did impact the autonomic nervous system activity.
This is looking at a very specific scenario in terms of training and it is worth noting that the subjects were not sleeping at altitude, they were just at simulated altitude for their training sessions over the 2 weeks. Despite the limitations of this study, it provides some interesting insights into simulated altitude training.
References:
Gutknecht, A. P., Gonzalez-Figueres, M., Brioche, T., Maurelli, O., Perrey, S., & Favier, F. B. (2022). Maximizing anaerobic performance with repeated-sprint training in hypoxia: In search of an optimal altitude based on pulse oxygen saturation monitoring. Frontiers in Physiology, 2185.