Imani Carr

October 31, 2016

Article Review
Living High and Training Low
Before this class, it never occurred to me that altitude could play a major role in ones
ability to compete. In the 90s, doctors by the name of Benjamin D. Levine and James Stray
-Gunderson set out to see if altitude made a difference in performance. They wanted to see if
acclimation to a moderate altitude along with training at a low altitude improved ones ability to
perform at sea level. They had 3 groups; living high and training low, living low and training
low, and living high and training high. The test was a 5,000 meter time trail ran by 27 men and
12 women. After a 2 week lead in phase at sea level, the runners trained for 4 weeks in their
altitude and had their red blood cells and Vo2 max evaluated. The results from living in a high
altitude and training in low altitude was an increase in red cell mass, an increase in the oxygen
carrying compacity of the blood, as well as an increase in Vo2 max. The increase of Vo2 max
increased the runner performance.
This article was posted to the Journal of Applied Physiology back in 1996. In our exercise
physiology class in October of 2016 we briefly went over the live high and train low effects on
an athlete. When an athlete acclimates to a high altitude and trains at a lower altitude, the energy
production increases, the transportation of oxygen increases, and the Vo2 max increases. Some
people try to create an artificial altitude by sleeping in hypobaric chamber in hopes to achieve a
Vo2 max increase. We learned that the live high, train low method increases your oxygen
production which in return increases your Vo2 max.
I believe that this article was one of many that showed early studies that proved it was
much better to live in a high altitude and to train in a low altitude. This method of training can be
very costly but can take you from Jake who? to a house hold name because you won the race.
The information that was given in the article positively correlated with the information that we
learned in class. The public might not completely understand the article due to the scientific
terms but the information was written in a way so that it can be followed. The information was
not over simplified but it was meant to be understood. I like that they gave everyone a 2-week
base line of training in the same place at the same altitude. This was done to show a true
acclimation and change when moved to the different altitudes. I was also happy that they used
athletes who were on collegiate cross country teams as well as track clubs. They made sure to
use pro/elite athletes for training because their results would give the study accuracy. In
conclusion, living in a higher altitude and training in a lower altitude does increase ones
performance.

http://jap.physiology.org/content/83/1/102.full.pdf+html#sec-1