VO2 max

[rhendrix]

So ever year our fire department does a fitness test at Texas A&M, I volunteered this year to have them test my VO2 max as part of a study being done. According to the print out my VO2 max at 191 bpm was 42%, which is average according to the MD. After doing a but of research on VO2 max I'm curious...will training to increase my VO2 max help me acclimate faster at altitude? I tried finding research papers to support my hypothesis, but I can't find anything substantial. Anyone have any experience with this?

Thanks,
Ron

 

[Poser]

I used to be a rock climber and into alpine climbing and mountaineering as well back in my younger days. In the Alpine arena, there is a lot of research on Vo2 max.

The higher your max, the better, though it does appear that your genetics play the most significant role in your Vo2 max. It can be improved noticeably by training an unfit person, but further training of an already fit athlete will have little to no effect on your Vo2 max. That being said, training increases the percentage of Vo2 max your can perform at for long periods of time. So, it appears that your hypothesis is incorrect since, assuming you are in training form, you will unlikely be able to increase your Vo2 max. However, training to perform at your Vo2 max for extended periods of time should help your performance at higher altitudes.

Source: Extreme Alpinism: Climbing Light, Fast & High by Mark Twight.
http://www.amazon.com/Extreme-Alpinism-Climbing-Light-Fast/dp/0898866545

 

[rhendrix]

I used to be a rock climber and into alpine climbing and mountaineering as well back in my younger days. In the Alpine arena, there is a lot of research on Vo2 max.

The higher your max, the better, though it does appear that your genetics play the most significant role in your Vo2 max. It can be improved noticeably by training an unfit person, but further training of an already fit athlete will have little to no effect on your Vo2 max. That being said, training increases the percentage of Vo2 max your can perform at for long periods of time. So, it appears that your hypothesis is incorrect since, assuming you are in training form, you will unlikely be able to increase your Vo2 max. However, training to perform at your Vo2 max for extended periods of time should help your performance at higher altitudes.

Source: Extreme Alpinism: Climbing Light, Fast & High by Mark Twight.
http://www.amazon.com/Extreme-Alpinism-Climbing-Light-Fast/dp/0898866545

Poser, what's the definition of an "extended period of time" per the source you paraphrased? Are they talking about training duration (i.e. per session) or training time (weeks, months, years)?

 

[Jason Snyder]

Ron,

I also had mine tested several years ago, while some new technicians were being trained and they needed warm bodies that would do the test. It was fun. I don't remember my number, but I do remember the doc telling me that it was largely genetic and at the fitness level I was at I had little chance to change it very much (more than 5%).

There are two components that I think you are looking to change. The first is your lactate threshold, which is essentially the point at which your system goes anaerobic. Once you go anaerobic you are on borrowed time. Therefore, the higher you can run your HR without going anaerobic, the better off you are.

http://sportsmedicine.about.com/od/anatomyandphysiology/a/LT_training.htm

You can also increase your level of anaerobic fitness, so that even though you are on borrowed time, you will perform better and longer while you are in an anaerobic state. This is through High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), which never had a fancy name when we did this in high school wrestling. Not only does this increase your level of anaerobic fitness, but it also substantially reduces the amount of time your body takes to recover from an anaerobic state to an aerobic state.

Maybe this is stuff you already knew. Trail runners that do high altitude races use HIIT to help them overcome the effects of the elevation change. Both lactate threshold training and HIIT training will greatly improve your hunting performance at high altitude. They won't necessarily negate the effects of altitude sickness, but they will certainly mitigate it and make it easier to manage.

 

[Poser]

Poser, what's the definition of an "extended period of time" per the source you paraphrased? Are they talking about training duration (i.e. per session) or training time (weeks, months, years)?

I am interpreting "extended period of time" as in training duration. Like Jason mentioned in his response, using HIIT workouts to extend the amount of time you can operate at your Vo2 max, say from 5 minutes initially to 30 minutes. When I get some time, I'll dig into the training aspect of the book a little deeper and see if there is more information on that. After retiring from alpinism, the author of that book went on to open Gym Jones in SLC, which is a exclusive gym for professional athletes and also is where the cast of the 300 films were sent to get in shape before filming. He takes a "Henry Rollins" philosophical approach to training -pretty interesting guy.

 

[MissHighcountry_Hellrazor]

So ever year our fire department does a fitness test at Texas A&M, I volunteered this year to have them test my VO2 max as part of a study being done. According to the print out my VO2 max at 191 bpm was 42%, which is average according to the MD. After doing a but of research on VO2 max I'm curious...will training to increase my VO2 max help me acclimate faster at altitude? I tried finding research papers to support my hypothesis, but I can't find anything substantial. Anyone have any experience with this?

Thanks,
Ron

Go look at what I said under the "strength training" thread (at the bottom). I reference VO2 max and how to improve it. Being fully hydrated + increasing your endurance lvl through exercise will increase your max output. Genetics will play a role tho.

 

[MissHighcountry_Hellrazor]

"Strength times" not training sry