What exactly does on do on top of a mountain, alone for half a year that makes you a better fighter??
I don’t really know. But I do know that Mas Oyama did it and Ueshiba did it for a while.
“what happens on the mountain, stays on the mountain”
but more to the point, I know that High altitude training will give you much more endurance. Here is something I took from a site.
The longer term changes are
- a decrease in maximum cardiac output a decreased maximum heart rate
- an increased number of red blood cells
- excretion of base via the kidneys to restore acid-base balance. (Unfortunately, the net result is that you have less tolerance for lactic acid.)
- a chemical change within red blood cells that makes them more efficient at unloading oxygen to the tissues.
- an increase in the number of mitochondria and oxidative enzymes.
PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS FOR ATHLETES
- Diet - A high carbohydrate, low salt diet allows for better adaptation and less risk of “mountain sickness”. Some people experience significant decline in appetite and the resulting loss of muscle mass may hinder performance. Iron is used to make hemoglobin and the demand for making more red blood cells may require iron supplementation – especially in women and vegetarians. Megadoses of vitamins are not helpful and are potentially dangerous.
- Fluids - Because mountain air is cool and dry you can lose a lot of water so be sure to maintain adequate hydration.
- Alcohol - It is best to avoid alcohol consumption during the acclimatization period since it appears to increase the risk of “mountain sickness”.
WORKOUT INTENSITY - This will necessarily be lower until adaptation can occur. Pushing your workouts too hard may increase your risk of overtraining or injury. Additionally some people just do not adapt as well as others. There is not one workout program that is appropriate for everyone – just like at sea level. It is best to keep a log in which you rate fatigue during workout and at rest, morning resting heart rate, weight, and mood. Correlate this with the intensity of your workouts and this will help mold a flexible routine that is right for you.
It’s really popular in fiction too.
I love that movie, especially that part(the training montage and the subsequent fight scenes).
Why would training at altitude decrease your tolerance for lactic acid?
As far as I can tell, there is a split in thinking about this: some people think that it will have benefits due to the body’s adaptation to high altitude,
(“The body adapts to the relative lack of oxygen by increasing the concentration of red blood cells and hemoglobin.”)
Others, however, believe that these benefits are lost after time spent back down on the ground…“Scientific studies have been performed but have yielded apparently conflicting results, as some tests appear to show that altitude training has no effect whatsoever, while other tests seem to demonstrate an improvement in athletic abilities”
Quotes taken from Wikipedia,… and it may be interesting to note that Fedor Emelianenko is a proponent of High Altitude Training, and goes to Kislovodsk, Russia a few times a year.
Aside from all that though, it’s still pretty cool, you have scenery, and solitude…
There are two main viewpoints regarding High Altitude Training, from what I gather…
One, is that going up and training will force the body to adapt to the new conditions, and increase red blood cells / haemoglobin due to lack of oxygen at high altitudes.
The other is that once back down on the ground, this benefit will disappear as the body re-adapts to normal conditions…
Wikipedia: “The benefits of altitude training are debated in the sports community. Scientific studies have been performed but have yielded apparently conflicting results, as some tests appear to show that altitude training has no effect whatsoever, while other tests seem to demonstrate an improvement in athletic abilities.”
Also, it might be interesting to note Fedor Emelianenko is a proponent of High Altitude Training, and goes to Kislovodsk in Russia several times a year… whether or not that proves anything, is debatable though…
Actually, seeing as how Wikipedia seems to be getting less reputable by the minute, especially now due to the editing of the Bullshido.net article, here’s another link that goes into quite a bit of detail:
http://www-rohan.sdsu.edu/dept/coachsci/csa/vol84/rushall2.htm
Outside Wikipedia backup for Fedor’s H.A.T :-
http://www.pridefc.com/pride2004/news/news_05/news_05_0817_a.htm
Since Wikipedia seems to be getting less reputable by the minute, especially with the whole Bullshido.net Article change, I figured i’d show some outside sources.
In-Depth Altitude Training: http://www-rohan.sdsu.edu/dept/coachsci/csa/vol84/rushall2.htm
Fedor Altitude Training:
http://www.pridefc.com/pride2004/news/news_05/news_05_0817_a.htm
It’s probably because there ain’t much else to do up there than just train a lot. They did have some people along too, there was a guy with Mas Oyama for several months the first time he went into the mountains as I recall.
Here’s an aside of mountain life I read in a history of the Gurka’s book. They spend their life gaining superior fitness walking up the slopes and steps, but cannot run in a straight line on flat ground when taken to England!
I can vouch for Gurkha and Sherpa fitness, our Sherpas in Nepal were awesomely fit, carrying about 70kilos (150 pounds) from one strap on their heads, at 4000/5000m in flipflops.
how is that not impressive?
I didn’t get much time to train, as I was walking all day most days. but despite taking several months off training, I came back much better, simply due to being acclimated to high altitudes.