Elevation Masks

B3rnieMac

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B004GZ4MEU/r ... B004GZ4MEU

Only just come across these, it's supposed to create pulmonary resistance, whatever that may be, simulating training at altitude. Popular with mma types, anyone here ever used one, and do you think it would be worthwhile getting one for guys who race?

ut_och_cykla

How about holding your breath or breathing through a straw? Bit of a flippant answer to your question but I think its just kiddum as my old dad would say.

Alex_Simmons/RST

B3rnieMac wrote:

do you think it would be worthwhile getting one for guys who race?

No. Unless they have to enter a race requiring them to wear one.

While the device you've linked is not actually hypoxic training, here's a summary item covering that topic I put together when I found out a local purveyor of hypoxicator devices was using them on 11 year old kids on the turbo.
http://www.turbostudio.com.au/faq_altitude_training.pdf

B3rnieMac

So...what I'm taking from this is that they have little to no effect. But is this because LLTH type exercise has little effect itself? If you were to wear one of these guys for hours at a time (maybe even while sleeping) for weeks, would an positive effect be seen?

cougie

Without following the links - it all seems bollox to me.

I don't believe that they'd help you for cycling at all. We all get plenty of breathing practice all day long. I don't see how making it a little bit harder to do would make much difference.

bompington

And while you're at it get one of these

shockedsoshocked

B3rnieMac wrote:

So...what I'm taking from this is that they have little to no effect. But is this because LLTH type exercise has little effect itself? If you were to wear one of these guys for hours at a time (maybe even while sleeping) for weeks, would an positive effect be seen?

LLTH itself is better than LHTH, but not as good as LHTL. There is literature out there but personally I'd never recommend training high unless you were competing at that altitude as training intensity/velocity is reduced (simply can't work as hard) plus I think the prolonged exposure if you live at altitude (literature suggesting up to 22 hours a day) is much more beneficial.

These masks seem to be good if you want to suck a ping pong ball through a straw though!

B3rnieMac

Having a think about it, I've realised the error of my ways - these things just make it harder to breathe the regular volume of oxygen. Whereas altitude training is all about a lower percentage of O2. By their logic it would be great to have long bouts of asthma, because it would boost your hematocrit!

Alex_Simmons/RST

B3rnieMac wrote:

Whereas altitude training is all about a lower percentage of O2.

The percentage of O2 doesn't doesn't change at altitude. It's the partial pressure of O2 (and other gases) that changes. The only time percentage of O2 changes significantly when doing "altitude" training is through artificial means (increasing Nitrogen levels) in an environment controlled altitude room for instance.