Innovations in hypoxic training

Abstract

Altitude training is persistently of high interest among athletes, coaches and sport scientists trying to optimize performance at sea level or at altitude.

The effects of hypoxic conditions have been investigated for more than 150 years after the initial experiments on simulated altitude by Paul Bert. From a sporting perspective, the requirement to perform at altitude in the challenging context of the 1968 Mexico Olympics triggered numerous research initiatives back then.

A first symposium on sport at moderate altitude was held in 1965 in Magglingen before a Swiss delegation headed by Dr. Kaspar Wolf sojourned in Mexico in November 1966 to explore the strong discrepancies in the athletes’ individual responses to altitude during their prolonged stay at 2300 m.

60 years later in Magglingen, the knowledge around physiological mechanisms underpinning responses to exercise and training in various low (or high) oxygen environments has increased tremendously with a wide range of recommendations available for altitude training camps or the use of hyperoxia to stimulate specific adaptations. However, numerous questions remain open or under debate to date.

This symposium proposes to explore a few recent scientific findings to further our understanding on hypoxic/hypertoxic training for sporting performance.