The High Altitude Myth

[NAB777]

1) "We would be better off buying oxygen tents for the team to sleep in, rather than spending the money going to Colorado".

2) "The only time 'altitude training' works (for 15 days max) is when you sleep at altitude & train at sea level."

3) "Unless we are playing in a grand final at altitude 2-3 weeks after we return from Colorado, we are wasting time & money".

Discuss.

 

[Pevers-Legend]

1) I don't care.

2) The club can do what it wants.

3) I don't care.

 

[fishardansin]

West Coast have invested in those tents. Other stuff I've read recently suggests that the rest high train low method is best because you get the increased hemoglobin yet reduce and negative effects like muscle waste.

In fact I've read that if done everyday 15-30min is enough, obviously one TV show's length, if the oxygen levels simulate 6000m.

Who knows that they players don't do this as well? Collingwood has an altitude room and I think Carlton does too. Having a three week session and then followed up with regular simulations of altitude may work wonders.

Finally there is nothing wrong with the club sending a few over to see if there is any benefit. Essendon is a wealthy sporting club and as a supporter I'm glad they are trialling things like this. Even if any benefits are purely placebo I will be glad to know there is just a 1% difference if the boys were playing in a final that came down to the last few minutes.

 

[Tommy08]

It's important to stipulate who it is you're quoting..

I'd say the psychological benefits are worth the trip even if the physiological benefits don't last.

 

[Ben the Gooner]

Last one is false. Even though there's a drop off after 6-8 weeks back at sea level, you're dropping back to a higher level than you would otherwise be at y that point.

 

[Kong]

Have said all along that it's a fad, like Brisbane's hyperbaric chambers.

Don't care, though; AFL clubs know a shit load more about it than I do.

 

[Bunk Moreland]

I think as well as the altitude training, the idea is to get the team away together to bond etc. It’s away from supporters and the media where nobody knows who they are, so they can get a bit of privacy and do their thing to kick off the pre-season.

It’s just follow the leader stuff – Collingwood started it because they literally have more money than they know what to do with. Others have followed.

 

[Jade]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the club has sent 10-ish players to TEST whether altitude training is appropriate for us.

Don't really care if it has benefits or not at the moment. We'll see.

 

[monty1104]

Hire Michele Ferrari and Eufemiano Fuentes as club doctors. That is sure to increase performance

On topic though, I'd go False, False, False

#1. Taking the team to Colorado has more benefits than just fitness, i.e. team building.
#2. This is not the only way altitude training works, however studies have shown it to be the most effective way it works
#3. If this is actually the case, then it inherently makes #1 false, as the grand final is not played in an oxygen tent.

 

[Bunk Moreland]

West Coast have invested in those tents.

Simpson Scandal Update: Homer sleeps nude in an oxygen tent, which he believes gives him "sexual powers".

 

[lemon chicken]

I think the myths as to whether its worthwhile or not apply to both sides of the argument. There is clearly a lot of athletes/coaches that believe in it and continue to do it as well plenty that dont. There is no conclusive right or wrong answer.

 

[Rack Watts]

Shiiiiiiiiiiet Placebo is a strong mental thang

 

[Super Gusto]

Not sure how much of a myth this is but I've always said we have to try it.

Dane Swan's performance after coming back from Arizona in 2011 and Norths run home this year after spending the preseason doing some high altitude training lead me to beleive there it something there worth checking out.

I'm glad we're starting to spend money on trialling things, It's better than sitting on our hands like we did for too long with upgrading our training facilities.

 

[Duckworth]

IMO it's all about shocking your body with a new/different stress. There is only so much running you can do before you get used to it.

 

[Grey Smith Bar]

I used to live in Colorado and Utah - altitudes between 6000' and 8000'.

I felt like Superman when I came back to sea level. Of course not being an athlete I just let it dissipate but I can definitely say that it makes a difference. It's like you only need to breathe once every few minutes.

 

[Blind Turn]

Shiiiiiiiiiiet Placebo is a strong mental thang

Nothing like a good old-fashioned myth-bust to destroy the efficacy of a perfectly legitimate placebo.

They can spend their football dep cash any way they like so long as we see our team back on top of the ladder where we should be... the only altitude with any real benefit.

 

[Runk]

Didn't Mork from Ork live in Boulder? He had mad skillz!!

 

[TheGreatBarryB]

Think the bonding is probably more beneficial. 3 weeks seems like an extravagant wank IMO. In fact I think this is the greatest wankfest AFL clubs have ever made up. There's a lot guesswork with coaches and administrators.

 

[cash]

Need more powerbands and low altitude training.

 

[Rack Watts]

Powerbands are science, rainbows, magnets etc.

 

[yaco55]

Why cant they go to Fall Creeks - Distance athletes use it during our summer - Doubt that you need to go overseas.

 

[Doss]

Why cant they go to Fall Creeks - Distance athletes use it during our summer - Doubt that you need to go overseas.

Falls Creek's maximum altitude is only around 1800 metres.

Pretty sure that, according to the boffins, you need to move above that (think it was circa 2500 metres ASL) for the effects of high altitude training (namely, increased production of haemoglobin) to really kick in.

Our highest mountain in Australia is only 2228 metres high! And we have nowhere at all where the altitude is over 2000 metres for a large, even area* (i.e an alpine plateau like the Bogong High Plains), which is critical as my understanding is that the subject needs to be consistently at or above 2500 for the desired effect to occur.

*in other words, no need to ascend (with the requisite descent to follow) peaks to attain the desired altitude.

 

[Doss]

ITT: Doss' (possibly incorrect) geography class 101.

 

[I Remember Bluey]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the club has sent 10-ish players to TEST whether altitude training is appropriate for us.

Maybe it's Hirdy's sneaky way of de-weaponizing these 10-ish and then comparing them to the weaponized ones around June/July.

 

[eth-dog]

Altitude training works. I cbf going into details