How Altitude Effects Athletic Training - Research Proposal Example

Introduction Topic Overview In preparation for minor and major leagues and competitions, individual athletes and national teams use different approaches to training, to enhance their performance, endurance and agility among other traits of good sportsmanship. For instance, just before the June 2010 FIFA World Cup, most of the participating countries took their teams to different regions to train for acclimatization purposes. The notable countries that trained for acclimatization were the English and USA teams. Whereas the English team decided to train at the Australian Alps, the US team opted not to adjust their bodies to the higher altitudes of South Africa, which hosted the tournament. Although neither of the teams won the World Cup and both were eliminated at the same level, research has shown that moderate high-altitude training is the best for optimal performance by athletes and other sportsmen. Most of the researches done on the effects of altitude training on the performance of athletes cite several reasons to support the stance that high altitude training improves performance. The main reason cited for the positive effects of high altitude training on athletes’ performance is that of thinner air at high altitude areas. That is, there are fewer oxygen molecules in high altitudes, which imply that the volume of oxygen inhaled at such heights is less than that required by muscles (Bigard et al., 1991). Notably, this effect of high altitude training is most impressive at altitudes greater than 8,000 feet (2,438 meters) above sea level. However, the effects are observed even at an altitude of 5,000 feet (1,524 meters) above sea level (Ward-Smith, 1983). The body then initiates mechanisms by which the decrease in oxygen supply to the muscles is compensated. This mechanism involves the functioning of hormone erythropoietin (EPO). EPO activates the production of more red blood cells to help in the delivery of oxygen to body muscles (Brugniaux et al., 2006). It is due to this use of EPO that sportsmen and organisations use it as a performance-enhancing substance, in a synthetic form (Prchal & Pastore, 2004). Basically, the synthetic form of EPO emulates the natural process of red blood creation used by the natural erythropoietin (Ward-Smith, 1983). Regrettably, instead of training in high-altitude areas such as mountains, most sports organisations and individual athletes have resolved to focus more on the artificial EPO instead of triggering the natural synthesis of red blood cell by the natural EPO. To reap the benefits of high altitude training, athletes should take a few days training at high-altitude areas for the body to produce extra red blood cells before competing at lower elevation levels (Muza et al., 2004). The changed physiology should last about 10-20 days during which the competition should have taken place. Whereas quite a lot of studies on the benefits of high-altitude training to athletes have been conducted, information on how to best carry out this type of training is not exhaustive and eludes many studies. In other words, although it is accepted that the increased capacity to deliver oxygen to muscles is a benefit of high-altitude training, it is not yet sufficiently clear the duration athletes should take training at altitude and how high up athletes need to be so that they reap the optimal benefits (Muza et al., 2004). Problem Statement High altitude has several implications and effects on athletes’ training given the changes in the volume of oxygen in the air, compared to that of low altitudes (Levine & Stray-Gundersen, 2005). Hence, the training that athletes undergo under these different conditions have to differ. Whenever athletes change their training environment from a low altitude to a high altitude area, they are faced with quite a number challenges and problems (West, 1996). Individual athletes, their coaches, managers and other sporting professionals and organisations must apprehend and prevent, manage and control these challenges if athletes have to attain the right levels of endurance, agility, reliability and consistency in their performance (West, 1996). The main problem arising from high-altitude that affects athletes’ training is the reduced levels of oxygen compared to low or normal altitude areas (Levine & Stray-Gundersen, 200). Although these drops in the quantity of oxygen molecules in the atmosphere may not have serious implications for people at rest, the effects are rather profound on the training and the performance of athletes (Chapman & Levine, 2007). While adaptation is not important for athletes undertaking pure anaerobic exercises, endurance, training and competition calls for adaptation to the environment for optimal performance. Generally, higher altitudes correspond to longer adaptation periods (Ponsot et al., 2006). For smooth and healthy transition, it is of the essence that athletes and their coaches understand the process of adaptation to high altitude during training and the methods by which adaptation can be made less strenuous. High altitude causes several physiologic changes through which athletes acclimatize at high altitude, thus affecting their training. These physiological changes are broadly categorised as immediate or long term. While the former physiological changes occur over several days, the latter category of changes require several weeks to a few months to occur. One of these physiological effects of high altitude on athletes’ training regards the respiratory rate, which is characterised by sped up heart rates (Rodríguez et al., 2007). This increased heart rate is not only observed when an athlete is at rest but also during sub-max exercise. The consequence of this increased heart rate is the offsetting of the partial pressure of oxygen. An athlete would also not be in a position to attain the maximum oxygen volume because the increased breathing rate changes the acid-base balance, a process that takes a little longer time to correct (Rodríguez et al., 2007). Among the core long-term physiological changes occasioned by high altitude training is decrease in maximum cardiac output, a decreased maximum heart rate, a rise in the population of red blood cells, excretion of base through the kidneys to restore acid-base balance. However, the net consequence of this excretion of base via the kidney is a reduced tolerance for lactic acid (Rodríguez et al., 2007). Importantly, high altitude training results in chemical changes in the red blood cells, which make them more efficient in carrying and unloading oxygen to the tissues. Finally, there is an increase in the number of mitochondria and oxidative enzymes (Rodríguez et al., 2007). Read More