INTRODUCTION:
It is no secret that that is above sea level, which is approximately 5000 feet and above are considered high elevation places. The higher the elevation the lower oxygen levels will be. Oxygen, as we know sustains life. The function of oxygen is to fuel one’s body, so essentially people who are more active require more oxygen to keep going. The question is how does a higher altitude effect athlete’s training and performance? It is a question that has been asked by trainers, coaches and athletes for many years and it was not until mid-1960 when Olympic distant teams from Africa and Mexico dominated events because they were fully adjusted before the 1968 Mexico City Games; soon after, altitude simulators popped-up everywhere (Amanda,
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High elevation training not only appeals to the elite athletes, but also the amateur and recreational competitors. In order to attain a higher elevation level training many countries, cities, companies, and people have attempted to build or create elevation simulators, which started in the mid 1970’s after the Mexico City Olympics. The first simulator was built by Russia for their piolets adjusted for athletes. “These simulators were big huts or houses where participants wore gas like masks. Although they increased aerobic capacity, they had poor muscle recovery, fatigue an expensive” (AltoLab). Soon there was the Hypobaric Chamber, a vacuum like chamber, an Electric Hypoxicator, which was an electric oxygen scrubber that was not very portable or convenient, and the Altitude Tent which caused claustrophobia, noisy, heavy, and not vey portable because it took up an entire room. In 2005, AltoLab was founded and invented a hand held altitude simulator which ranges from 2500 – 30,000 feet. This simulator may be used during an athlete’s season. However, it was a professional Mixed Martial Arts athlete who introduced the artificial elevation training mask which is most commonly used to date. Sean Sherk and Casey Danford came together to redesign the mask so it forces the lungs to work harder. In the same Cadillac article Sean Sherk says, “You’re fighting to get air in-and-out. Within two-weeks you start to feel comfortable …show more content…
It is because many have seen the positive outcome of those elite athletes who have both trained in and competed at a higher atmosphere and have been successful in their sport. Being the best competitors they can be. Along with trying to be the most dominant or the best competitor has brought on the responsibility of finding out what side effects these work outs will bring and if these side effects will do more damage than good. It has been acknowledged that training at a high elevation is not just for professional competitors, but is realistic type of training for all
...roduces more blood lactate that it can reabsorb. At this point ventilation increases exponentially. The goal with lactate threshold training is to raise your threshold point to as close as possible to your maximum heart rate, and improve your ability to withstand that discomfort” (Messonnier, 2013). This concept was depicted by the trained participant. As stated in the introduction and discussion sections and depicted throughout the graphs one can conclude that the trained participant was in fact more fit and could consume more oxygen than the untrained participant.
In “Into Thin Air” written by Jon Krakauer, Krakauer goes on to explain how climbing the Everest is so popular, people often neglect how difficult and life threatening the whole experience actually is. As mentioned, Krakauer’s
Jews were placed in low-pressure chambers to determine the maximum altitude from which the crews of damaged aircraft could parachute safely. These chambers imitated conditions at altitudes of up to 20,000 meters (about 66,000 feet). In this, scientists found that high-altitude sickness was a result of small air bubbles developing in the blood vessels of the subarachnoid part of the brain.
In the article “Responds to Krakauer”, by Anatoli Boukreev he argues against the topic of Krakauer's accusations, Krakauer argues that Boukreev wasn’t well prepared to climb Mt. Everest. He mentions that boukreev wasn’t making his best decisions on May 10, 1996. Boukreev argues that his experience has been for over twenty years and that climbing in a high altitude. Boukreev explains how he’s been on top of Mt. Everest and most of his time up there he requires no oxygen. He mentions how it’s not as necessary to him when climbing. Krakauer not only only mentions the oxygen but he also mentions how he wasn’t well dressed for climbing the top of Everest. That if he would’ve been well prepared the tragedy wouldn’t of had happened. Boukreev also
Overall, those are the benefits that a career in athletic training can be beneficial to society as well as one who pursues this career.
Altitude sickness is an illness you can get from ascending too high above sea level too quickly without acclimatizing to the decrease in oxygen levels. Altitude sickness, also called acute mountain sickness, is caused by exposure to low partial pressure of oxygen at high altitude. At high altitude atmospheric pressure is lower than at sea level. Because of the lower pressure the air expands as it rises which causes it to cool, thus high altitude air is cold. Normally the human body can adapt to high altitude by breathing faster, having a higher heart rate, and adjusting blood chemistry. However above 8,000 meters (26,000 feet) altitude acclimatization becomes almost impossible.
Many runners have had the opportunity to experience a state of euphoria while running. While the actual state that they feel varies immensely for each individual there is a common feeling associated with the term "runner's high". When a person is asked about runner's high they typically will say that it a pleasant state that a runner might experience after a certain distance. This in fact may not be true for only runners though. Skiers, surfers, football players and wrestlers all have "highs" or moments when they feel they are working to their maximum potential and feeling on top of the world. Runner's are not the only types of athletes that experience intense emotional feelings. One must question exactly what is included in this feeling. Defining a "high" may not be all that easy, if there even is such a thing.
Individuals take pride in the positive traits derived from the sport. Krakauer expands,“During my thirty-four-year tenure as a climber, I’d found that the most rewarding aspects of mountaineering derive from the sport’s emphasis on self-reliance, on making critical decisions and dealing with the consequences, on personal responsibility” (176). Despite the danger, success in mountain climbing results in a number of disciplined qualities. Regarding the aforementioned psychological effects of risky behavior, adventure can be invigorating as it is rewarding. Bass recounts, “There has to be a spirit of adventure to it, too, and an element of uncertainty and risk. Then when I persevere and prevail, when I overcome and make it, I come back down to the lowlands, back to the bankers and the regulatory officials, and by golly I’m recharged and ready to take them all on” (Bass et al 2). Climbing is an escape from the normalcy of endless routine. Mountain scaling adds an addictive element to perilous activities. Krakauer
The overall commonness of exercise induced asthma seems to be increasing. It is being diagnosed similarly in children as well as adults at rates that are as low as 4% and as high as 20% of the general population.3,4,5 Added to that is the fact that it is being observed that athletes, especially elite athletes, have a much higher rate of exercise induced asthma occurrences. These numbers show that this group of people who experience exercise induced asthma is between 11% and 50% of the general population.5 And in addition to these findings, the number of people who are diagnosed with asthma who also experience exercise induced asthma are reported to be between 50% and 100% in some studies.3,4
Training Mask is a company that promotes and produces the Training Mask 2.0. They market this as a hands-free Respiratory Muscle Trainer (RMT) that mimics altitude training. The video advertisement started with athletes, of different sports, training while using the Training Mask, then one female athlete stated that “they want more from their work out” (Training Mask, 2016). Based on this advertisement, the main intended consumer of the training masks are athletes and people who train and exercise at a high intensity, although at the end of the commercial, the narrator said that this mask is for everyone who wants to improve their workout, as well as gain an edge against their competition. This kind of statement could help entice an average individual into buying their
Epstein really thought through his evidence and his work reflects off in the editorial as it is very convincing. But to make it exceptional, Epstein can include the advantages of sport specialization to show the readers both sides of the argument. When an author presents both sides of an argument and presents their side, it will more over reflect author's maturity and increase the article's reliability. Especially when talking to a wide range of audience that can disagree with your standing, it is more advantageous to ease into the argument by recognizing both sides of the argument. Adding on, he can also use personal accounts of kids who either hyperspecialized and caused detrimental effects or how kids who diversified and had much success in their lives. These stories and counterarguments make Epstein's claim that sport specialization leads to many health injuries and no real benefit in skills or technique more connected and
2. Decompression illness affects people who change altitudes frequently, such as aviators, astronauts and scuba divers. Nitrogen makes up 70% of the air around us but at lower levels, the air pressure is higher so our body tissues absorb larger amount of hydrogen at these levels. While ascending, the pressure decreases and the nitrogen is breathed out of our bodies but if the ascend happens too quickly for the hydrogen to be breathed out, if forms bubbles (like opening a soda fast) that can attach to blood and tissues. The main factor affecting it is the reduction in ambient pressure for example having rapid ascents or deep/long dives. Age is closely related to this as older people tend to have a higher risk of sickness because older people tend to have less efficient circulatory and respiratory systems. Another risk factor is the amount of body fat a person has as body fat tends to absorb nitrogen e...
Certainly, something with so many benefits can’t be a bad thing? However, we may overlook the fact that it is like any good thing; in excess it can become dangerous very quickly. In society, there are increasingly more athletes that are pushing themselves so hard to the point they are making themselves sick. Whatever happened to exercising for simple joy, or competing because of a love for sport?
The Everest group simulation was an exercise that required five students to immerse themselves into a team of hikers. Each role is unique and vital to the survival of the team in the attempt to reach the summit of Mount Everest. The simulation effectively encapsulated the concepts and theories learnt in the course.
Mount Everest, the world’s highest point at 29,035 feet, is a special trophy among high altitude mountaineers. Standing atop the world’s highest point a hypoxic climber clad in a fluorescent down suit is above everything else on the planet, for a moment that individual can reach farther into the sky than any other. Arms raised in a victorious salute, a climber feels like they have conquered something that few others ever have, and justifiably so. The summit is usually the final fruition of months, sometimes years of planning, weeks of travel and acclimatization, and days of endless plodding at a feeble, learning-to-walk pace.