Of altitude tents and such...
 

...So I might/will be involved in an 'effects of altitude tent' study this month and next. What I'm getting out of it is a free chance to try an altitude tent; not that I could ever afford/justify one in real life, but it'll be nice to try. At least that's my attitude now.

But I only get the tent for one week. My impression of live high/train low was that it took months to acclimate and see the benefit, and the benefit was only a couple of percent. That would be tough to prove one way or another without a huge sample size. But I digress.

My question: From a performance perspective, do you think this study is a waste of time?

Again, either way I get to try one out for free, so I'm planning on doing it just for that.

Might as well do it. Maybe they will want a more long term study later on. But honestly, I dont think a week would do anything.

I'm thinking of possibly buying a double tent and stick two twin beds in there. I'll rent out the other bed and charge a weekly rate. Just a thought if I can get the funds shuffled around

Aren't altitude tents essentially designed to trick your body into increasing your hematocrit count? I'm assuming this is through UofM? Are they planning on doing a blood count before and after and see if there is any improvement?

Since it takes several weeks to acclimate to living at altitude, I doubt just sleeping at altitude for 1 week would have that much effect. It would be very difficult to measure it through performance, but through hematocrit or other blood testing, maybe.

I saw significant acclimation in just three days in Colorado. Certainly not 100%, but I'd bet over 80%. On day one and two, I couldn't ride hard enough to tire my legs, but on day three I was feeling much more normal.

Cool, I'll be heading to OTC next week. Maybe I'll get a little performance boost so I can rock out on the trainer (yea like it really matters)

An acquaintence of mine is a pretty serious mountaineer, serious enough that he did Everest a few years ago...1997 and was part of a Dave Breashears project that was on PBS on altitude. He indicates that it takes a long time to acclimate, two months actually, but he's acclimating to very high altitudes. He's the "Dave Carter" mentioned in the article. Everest base camp is over 17,000 feet. David tried Everest in '91 and did not summit.

Here's some more on this. Look at "Too Much of a Good Thing".

BTW...Dave got an upper respiratory infection and was on his way from the summit to base 3 and basically got mucus caught in his throat (he could not talk on the way up or down) and they had to do remove it to save his life. The story is available in a NOVA show called, "Everest, the Death Zone"...done in 1998. David summited the year after the Everest disaster when eight climbers died in one day.

Bottom line...this expert would tell you that a week won't get you much. And the little bit you get goes away pretty quickly.

Dave owns a lumber company called "Carter Lee Lumber" and is from Indiana.

BTWII...the most amazing athlete ever is Ed Viesturs (who was also on this expedition. He's summited at least five times that I know of, and done it three times without supplemental oxygen. Big time cyclist, especially mountain biking.

Anyone know if this works:

http://altolab-usa.com/

$600. Supposed to work as well as a tent.

Maybe you're part of the 1 week group, but there's also 1 month and 2 month groups?

Yeah, I think there's a difference between acclimating and getting into an overstress/adaptation regimen. I was in Colorado for a week, got to where I could do intervals and climb effectively, but I felt no stronger when I got back in TX.

I think you'll have a lot of fun and get some good training at the OTC, but you'll have to stay a while to bring back any extra red blood cells :) I'd recommend going for a brisk walk as soon as you arrive to see how you feel, and if you're up to it, do something intense that day (I did sprints and some 1-flight stair climbing before dinner).

Yes, Yes, and I don't know. We'll find out.

*******s. I hate control groups.

the rate of acclimatization varies for different people. Some people can get almost completely adjusted in about a week, but it takes me almost 3 weeks before i really feel at full capacity in Colorado altitudes.

It wont hurt, but it might not help much in such a short period. Either way it would be fun to try.

Have you lived at altitude before? In the last year? ever?

Previous time at altitude has been shown to affect acclimatization rates.

Less scientifically, I come back and forth from Colorado to the east coast pretty regularly. When I first moved to CO I hurt bad for two weeks just riding with no intensity. Now, it takes maybe 5 days and I'm all set to ride (based on feelings, not measurements) after months at sea level.