BLOG.HILDEBRANDFITNESS.COM: Preparing Your Body for Altitude

Preparing Your Body for Altitude

Michael Hildebrand on the summit of Mt. Rainier, 14.410 ft

After bagging the summits of Kilimanjaro and Rainier in the last few months, I thought a post on getting ready for the rigors of exercise at altitude was in order. Physical endeavors in the high environments have been some of the most rewarding physical experiences of my life. Between the incredible views, the sunrises, the satisfaction of accomplishment, it is hrad to beat up there. There a few things that may help in easing your transition into those high altitudes if you are coming from a lower elevation like most of us.

Michael and Krista HIldebrand on Uhuru peak, the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro, 19,340 ft.

If you're heading to the hills and planning on doing some mountaineering, or just planning on doing some aerobic activity at altitude like say, Denver, or Mexico City, or La Paz, some preparation may be in order. The best way to prepare for exercise at altitude is to train and sleep up there. The only way your body will acclimatize to the altitude is to be at altitude. That is the reason while Team USA trains at Colorado Springs at 6035 feet above sea level. During the process of acclimatization, your body will begin to manufacture more red blood cells and hemoglobin to carry more oxygen from an environment that is harder to extract that O2. If your agenda is mountaineering in a very high environment, 10,000 ft and above, you may notice shortness of breath and fatigue doing activity that was easy at a lower elevation. If activity is prolonged it may develop into a headache or nausea because of a lack of oxygen getting to the tissues. This can eventually progress to a condition known as Acute Mountain Sickness and can be very serious, leading to Pulmonary Edema, Cerebral Edema, and can be fatal. Treatment requires an immediate decent to a lower elevation where the symptoms will almost always alleviate. You should always have a planned schedule for acclimatizing involving rest days, and days where you ascend a few thousand feet and then returning to a slightly lower elevation to sleep. This helps your body manufacture those much needed extra red blood cells.

So in preparation for your arrival at high altitude and to assist your structured acclimatization schedule and process, there are some things you will want to do. Improving your endurance and your cardiovascular strength, or your VO2 max. VO2 max is how well your body delivers oxygen to your tissues. The higher your VO2, the better you will be at altitude, as the more efficient you will be at utilizing the fewer O2 molecules you will be pulling from the atmosphere. To improve your endurance, start training your cardiovascular system at 75-80% of your maximum heart rate, three times a week for at least an hour. To improve your VO2 max, interval training is the way to go. For example, after a five minute warm up, you would do a 1 minute interval at 90-95% of max heart rate, followed by a 2 minute interval at 65%, then a 2 minute recovery at 50% or so. Repeat that interval for a total of 45 minutes. Do this two days a week. Recovering on the sixth day, and going for a long low intensity walk on the seventh day. The more efficiently you can deliver those O2 molecules to your muscles, the better you will perform when there will be fewer of those molecules to use!

The high alpine environment is some of the most incredible terrain on the planet offering countless unforgettable experiences. Prepare your body for the rigors of the high atmosphere and you will excel!