MAXIMISING OLYMPIC DISTANCE TRIATHLON PERFORMANCE ...

Results are summarised in Table 1.Performance improved by 2.9%,haemoglobin by 4.3%, haematocritby 5% and reticulocytes by 30.3%.Overall improvements for the groupare expressed in percentagescompared to the baseline. Only oneathlete did worse on theperformance test. The athlete whoimproved most (CP) also had themost marked haematologicalresponse. Of interest is that thisathlete did only I hour of IHT per daydue to time constraints. Thegeneral increase in haemoglobin,haematocrit and reticulocytes areknown to support improvements inendurance performance, making itless likely that the performanceresults are solely due to a placeboeffect. Haematological andperformance improvementsobserved with IHT are similar orsuperior to those observed in othermethods of altitude training.The findings suggest a significantstimulation in red blood cellproduction as indicated by a strongreticulocyte response. Theaccompanying performanceimprovement can be linked to thehaematological changes althoughother factors will play a role,including motivation, mood,conditions etc.No significant side effects wereexperienced by the athletes. Allexperienced transient lightheadedness during the first one ortwo sessions, to the extent that twoathletes had to remove their masktemporarily during the first hypoxicphase. All athletes reported asignificant improvement in subjectivewell being soon after starting IHT.Two of the athletes reportedexcessive fatigue during the secondhalf of the programme. Howeverthey were also in a high intensityphase of their training programme.One of the athletes reduced IHT toone session a day for a period offour days before returning to two.Not all athletes observed the rule tohave a minimum of one hour breakbetween sessions of IHT andphysical training sessions. Thiscould have resulted in anaccumulative effect of both types oftraining, contributing to excessivefatigue. Two athletes, who wereknown asthmatics, noticed that theydid not require to take their usualmedication during the three weeksof IHT.SummaryTen endurance athletes were testedwith the method of intermittenthypoxic training (IHT) in relation tohaematological factors andperformance over a period of threeweeks. Results show an overallimprovement in haematologicalfactors related to oxygen transportand performance. The resultsindicate that IHT is an effectivemethod to simulate altitude training.On the basis of the results it isrecommended that further researchand testing is done in the area ofmaximising outcome for individualathletes. However, in general themethod of IHT can be stronglyrecommended for any seriousathlete as part of their training andpreparation.Conclusions1. IHT is an effective alternativeto altitude training.2. Side effects are minimal orabsent.65