Gareth Turner

Hypoxic exposure to optimise altitude training adaptations in elite endurance athletes

Elite endurance athletes regularly attend multiple altitude training camps at venues such as Iten, Kenya (2,300m) and Font Romeu, France (1,800m) during the season. The primary aim of traditional live-high, train-high (LHTH) altitude training is to enhance oxygen carrying capacity, through an increase in haemoglobin mass and ultimately improve competitive endurance performance. The optimal ‘hypoxic dose’ for a LHTH altitude training camp has been established in various research studies over the last 20 years, however it appears that the dose is not optimal for all endurance athletes. Individual differences in physiological and haematological response to altitude mean that not all athletes benefit from the same ‘hypoxic dose’. The PhD thesis utilised short-term simulated hypoxic exposures to understand how individuals responded to hypoxia and introduced a pre-screening tool to optimise the current altitude training strategies of elite endurance athletes. The experimental studies found that hypoxic sensitivity (changes in EPO response, changes in hypoxic ventilatory response and changes in arterial oxygen saturation) played a role in predicting which athletes would increase haemoglobin mass and improve maximal oxygen uptake, after a four week LHTH altitude training camp at 2,300m. As a result, a hypoxic sensitivity test could be used by athletes and coaches to individualise the ‘hypoxic dose’ of a training camp and also individualise the training that takes place during a camp.

University of Brighton and English Institute of Sport

Dr Neil Maxwell

Dr Alan Richardson

Dr Jamie Pringle

Job title: Physiologist
Organisation: English Institute of Sport and GB Rowing Team

My role as a physiologist with the GB Rowing Team involves providing physiological support to the Olympic, Paralympic and Development Squads building towards Tokyo 2020. My role involves working closely with coaches and other multi-disciplinary support staff to monitor training load, physiological development, and athlete wellbeing. I assist coaches in maximising training adaptation, enhancing recovery, and implementing performance interventions. The applied nature of my PhD helped me translate laboratory findings into real-life situations. Altitude training forms a part of an endurance athletes training programme and the knowledge acquired during my PhD has helped me to understand how to maximise this element of training.