They will be producing daily articles on their Darwin trip, the first is here. A reasonably light hearted read by Matt Burgan, definitely piqued my interest on what's to come, there's also a video on the site.
In reality it's probably a financial decision, but it's interesting that they've gone for humidity over altitude.
I believe the main benefit of heat & humidity training is that it causes the body to acclimatise better. The average body temperature is approx. 37 degrees and your body will attempt to maintain it at this temperature, when too hot the body will shed excess heat through your skin. In temperatures above 35 degrees you lose little to no heat through your skin, rather you lose it through the evaporation of sweat. In humidity it is harder for your body to produce sweat as the air is so high in moisture (even if you think you're drenched in sweat a portion of it would be moisture drawn from the air). I guess the benefit is that you would sweat less as your body is conditioned to maintaining the average body temp in tougher temperatures, it would also make training in cooler weather seem comparatively easier. A quick google search found this article:
I'm not overly sure of the benefits of altitude training. I believe it changes the red cell count and blood oxygen levels, with the theory that more oxygen increases performance.
In reality it's probably a financial decision, but it's interesting that they've gone for humidity over altitude.
I believe the main benefit of heat & humidity training is that it causes the body to acclimatise better. The average body temperature is approx. 37 degrees and your body will attempt to maintain it at this temperature, when too hot the body will shed excess heat through your skin. In temperatures above 35 degrees you lose little to no heat through your skin, rather you lose it through the evaporation of sweat. In humidity it is harder for your body to produce sweat as the air is so high in moisture (even if you think you're drenched in sweat a portion of it would be moisture drawn from the air). I guess the benefit is that you would sweat less as your body is conditioned to maintaining the average body temp in tougher temperatures, it would also make training in cooler weather seem comparatively easier. A quick google search found this article:
Many scientific studies have demonstrated that heat acclimation (or heat acclimatization) enhances the athlete's capacity to dissipate heat during intense exercise in the heat and, in doing so, increases endurance performance
I'm not overly sure of the benefits of altitude training. I believe it changes the red cell count and blood oxygen levels, with the theory that more oxygen increases performance.