O.I. Pavlova, Honored trainer of Russia, Dr.Hab.
Executive directorate of the XXVII World Summer Student Games 2013, Kazan

Key words: hypoxic training, midland, highland, technique.

The constantly growing competition on the international arena, high level of sports achievements and toughening of international anti-doping rules have made me as a trainer search for new forms and methods of training while getting ready for the Olympics in London capable of realizing athlete’s body reserves and achieving maximum results. The present paper contains one of such approaches.

It is common knowledge that foreign athletes effectively combine the model of training in midland conditions and subtropical highland originally not seen together. Moreover, the quoted method is more economically sound since it presupposes the combination of two training camps in different climatic conditions. The achievements of athletes training in accordance with the quoted scientific technique, subjected by Spanish and Portuguese colleagues, draw my attention by their results in cycling and athletics. The introduction of non-drug means and methods of keeping fit and training of athletes’ endurance is effective whilst using special artificial gas mixtures, containing oxygen and various types of indifferent gas. Indifferent gas and oxygen are pluripotential. These effects can be used directly for training, recreation and treatment of human body by changing gas tension and its composition in the breathing medium. The essence of such a hypoxic training is increase of human body reserves by breathing in artificial gas mixtures with low oxygen content at air pressure.

In many sports effectiveness associated with manifestations of endurance is determined by the state arising at insufficient body tissue oxygen supply and efficiency of the processes of adaptation to this state. Representatives of cyclic sports, performing in middle, long and ultra-long distances along with 400-meter run, are the first to face the problem of hypoxia. The lack of finish acceleration in many athletes in these sports can be explained by the state of hypoxia in working muscles and CNS depression. Therefore the hypoxic training mode is meant mainly to create a precisely functioning oxygen supply system in an athlete’s body and train hypoxia body resistance.

The research results and discussion. The serious studies of the problems of using hypoxia aimed at improvement of athletes’ exercise performance have been started since the Olympics 1968 (Mexico, Mexico city). The city is situated 2200 meters above sea level. Athletes living in the mountains were shown to have a strong advantage over those living and training in conditions of standard atmospheric pressure in sports associated with endurance. By now several variants of hypoxic training widely used by the Russian national team have been scientifically substantiated and introduced into practice.

Most frequently such training is held 2000-2700 meters above sea level during over 2-3 weeks and in the end of training, promoting high achievements of the athletes in competitions held on lowland. The key principle of this type of training is the technique reflecting the concept of “living on highland – training on lowland”. Whilst using it athletes are in constant highland conditions and train 1000 or less meters below sea level.

While training for the Olympics-2008 athletes of the Russian national team have been widely using one more method of normobaric hypoxia training presupposing the course of hypoxic gas mixture breathing at standard atmospheric pressure using various technical means. This kind of training can be realized technically using different ways.

Thus, inactive gas (usually, nitrogen, comprising the core of the atmosphere) can be fed in an isolated room. Nitrogen displaces oxygen, decreasing its partial pressure in the inhaled air. Decrease of the oxygen contents to 15,5% by complementing air with nitrogen corresponds to the composition of the air 2400 meters above sea level. The composition of the breathing gas on any height can be imitated by decreasing the level of oxygen content.

In sports practice the use of the highland alternative – “sky rooms” was originally used in Finland in the 90s of the XX century and then spread all over the world. In Australia a special two-storey house was built in the Institute of sport (Canberra) with isolated rooms for athletes to be in conditions of decreased partial oxygen pressure. Such rooms promote the conditions similar to those 2000-3000 meters above sea level. Nowadays there exist special devices providing achievement of some hypoxia level while athletes are sleeping. Italian and Spanish researchers have worked special hypoxic tents providing the conditions similar to the ones on the height of over 4000 meters above sea level. Moreover, physical exercises in a hypoxic tent or the use of special mask at veloergometric, treadbahn, rowing trainings or using other specialized facilities are being in practice.

Another variant – the use of special breathing apparatus (e.g. rebreathing devices and hypoxicators). An athlete inhales various breathing mixtures in a certain period within a training day with set regular changing of reduced oxygen content usually from 16-14% to 12-9%.

The athlete needs a certain term (of approximately 1 week) to reach the level of optimal results after a highland training with further return to the sea level due to required muscular adaptation, namely muscle training for work in new (with higher atmospheric pressure) conditions. The use of the hypoxic training method provides for immediate realization of adaptive features into sports practice and the ability of training up to the last day prior competitions.

Using the method of adaptation to hypoxia one should take into account that the newly generated red cells circulate during one or two months with further disappearance of the effect of acquired adaptation. The possible negative consequences can be prevented by the athletes’ individual hypoxia sensitivity test (10-minute breathing 10% oxygen-nitrogen mixture with registration of the number of indices) made prior the hypoxic training course. In the anoxia resistant individual intensification of the functions of blood circulation and respiratory systems is registered adequate to effecting irritant. The hypoxic test is stopped if the testee feels short of breath, has increased headache and 10% heart-rate fall, extra systole, asequence signs, heart rate increased to over 40 a minute. Special attention at hypoxic training is to be paid to load scheduling – its direction, volume, intensity and alternation with hypoxic stimulus. In case of correctly chosen regime the 15-day anti-hypoxic training course along with sports loads results in the remarkably more effective work of respiratory, blood circulation and power supply systems. Athletes have better exercise performance and mental capacity both during training process and competitions.

While training Honored Master of Sport Elena Migunova for the summer season 2012 in the training camp in Portugal, we have nearly realized the hypoxic training technique, subjected by the laboratory of the IAAF certified Portuguese sports center in Monte Gordo (140 meters above the Atlantic ocean). In collaboration with the colleague Carlos Afonze a series of hypoxic trainings had been carried out for two weeks by the following combined technique:

Training technique. The training system consists of 11 routines, alternating running exercises and load with the use of mask and treadbahn along with static loads using oxygen mixtures. The first camp week included 6 routines (4 one-hour trainings in hypoxia conditions over 3600 meters above sea level and 2 anaerobic treadbahn trainings on maximum speed 2000 meters above sea level). The second camp week consisted of 3 one-hour breathing routines in hypoxia conditions over 4000 m, and 2 anaerobic routines on maximum speed over 2000 meters above sea level.

The scheme of anaerobic training was the following: An athlete made 3 15-second series of accelerations on maximum speed 6 reps in each series. Herewith, the rest pause decreased from series to series: 45 sec – for series 1, 30 sec – for series 2, 15 sec – for series 3. The rest between the series was standard equal to 3 minutes. The set treadbahn speed increased from the first training by the following scheme:  14 km/h, 15 km/h, 16 km/h, 17 km/h -18 km/h with the allowable maximum heart rate increase during accelerations of up to 190-200 strokes a min. Even at maximum loads Elena Migunova’s pulse was under 168 strokes a minute, testifying to her unique body resistance.

The training schedule was the following:

March 5: overall training time - 1 hour 15 minutes, alternation of 5-minute gas mixture breathing, 5-minute rest with the mask off. Gradual climb from the height of 1600-3600m. The height is not increased in the course of adaptation (first 15 minutes).

March 6: overall training time - 1 hour 10 minutes, 5-minute alternation. Gas mixture breathing, 5-minute rest with the mask off. Gradual climb from the height of 1800-3800 m. The height is the same in the period of adaptation (first 10 minutes).

March 7: warm-up – run at the 1000-m height, treadmill, 3 series of accelerations at the height under 2200 m.

March 8: overall training time – 1 hour 10 minutes, 5-minute alternation. Gas mixture breathing, 5-minute rest with the mask off. Gradual climb from the height of 2200-4200 m. The height is the same in the period of adaptation (first 10 minutes).

March 9: warm-up – run at the height of 1100 m, treadmill, 3 series of accelerations at the height under 2500 m.

March 10: overall training time – 1 hour 10 minutes, 5-minute alternation. Gas mixture breathing, 5-minute rest with the mask off. Gradual climb from the height of 2200-4500 m. The height is the same in the period of adaptation (first 10 minutes).

March 11: day of rest.

March 12: warm-up – run at the height of 1100m, treadmill, 3 series of accelerations at the height under 2700 m.

March 13: overall training time – 1 hour 10 minutes, 5-minute alternation. Gas mixture breathing, 5-minute rest with the mask off. Gradual climb from the height of 2200-4500 m. The height is the same in the period of adaptation (first 10 minutes).

March 14: warm-up – run at the height of 1100m, treadmill, 3 series of accelerations at the height under 2900 m.

March 15: overall training time – 1 hour 10 minutes, 5-minute alternation. Gas mixture breathing, 5-minute rest with the mask off. Gradual climb from the height of 2200-4500 m. The height is the same in the period of adaptation (first 10 minutes).

March 16: overall training time – 1 hour 10 minutes. Alternation of 5-minute breathing with the mask on and off during the first 30 minutes and further 30 minutes of training with the mask on with no rest. Gradual climb from the height of 2200-3900-4000 m. The height is the same in the period of adaptation (first 10 minutes).

Conclusions. Using the training series the effect of maximum increase of VO2 has been achieved, along with effectiveness of blood oxygen saturation (red cell count) and decrease of blood lactate level by improving energy resources of mitochondrial regulation.

After the series of trainings by the given technique the athlete has achieved good results in power training and 200 m run, considerably improving personal records, revealing the high level of individual physiological reserves.

Bibliography:

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Author’s contacts: o-pavl-kzn@mail.ru