Abstract
The concept of altitude or hypoxic training is a common practice in cycling. However, several strategies for training regimens have been proposed, like “live high, train high” (LH-TH), “live high, train low” (LH-TL) or “intermittent hypoxic training” (IHT). Each of them combines the effect of acclimatization and different training protocols that require specific nutrition. An appropriate nutrition strategy and adequate hydration can help athletes achieve their fitness and performance goals in this unfriendly environment. In this review, the physiological stress of altitude exposure and training will be discussed, with specific nutrition recommendations for athletes training under such conditions. However, there is little research about the nutrition demands of athletes who train at moderate altitude. Our review considers energetic demands and body mass or body composition changes due to altitude training, including respiratory and urinary water loss under these conditions. Carbohydrate intake recommendations and hydration status are discussed in detail, while iron storage and metabolism is also considered. Last, but not least the risk of increased oxidative stress under hypoxic conditions and antioxidant supplementation suggestions are presented.
Highlights
The concept of altitude or hypoxic training is a common practice in cycling for improving sport performance at sea level and at moderate altitude [1,2,3]
Cyclists often compete in races (e.g., Tour de France, Giro d ’Italia and Vuelta a España) at moderate altitudes; what requires a specific adaptation to a hypoxia environment
The maximal aerobic workload that can be sustained during exercise involving large muscle groups is considerably lower in hypoxia compared with normoxia
Summary
Cycling is an endurance sport discipline in which the athlete encounters significant training and competition loads and is often exposed to extreme environmental conditions. The mechanism responsible for the decreased energy cost of exercise at sea level after altitude training is related to the increase of ATP production per molecule of O2 utilized [15], and/or a decreased ATP breakdown during muscular contractions [16] These adaptive changes can be seen already after 3 to 4 weeks of exposure to moderate altitudes, but the main factor limiting the effectiveness of the LH-TH concept is that many athletes cannot maintain the required training intensity while staying at an altitude for a longer period of time, and decrease their level of endurance and technical abilities [11]. The data and nutrition recommendations in this review relate primarily to cycling, but they can be applied to other aerobic endurance sport disciplines such as the triathlon, Nordic skiing or the biathlon
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