Acute normobaric hypoxia - legal?

Lumen

I haven't come across many references to this in all the coverage about blood passports, CERA/EPO, apart from the reported use of hypobaric chambers as a substitute for the inconvenience of altitude training.

I'm not proposing to do this myself, just curious about whether it is legal and/or used by the pros.

What's the story?

edit: found this and this:

Although hypoxic devices are not prohibited under UCI or WADA rules, they are illegal under Italian law 376, an arcane rule that prohibits use of any method to increase blood values for sport competition. When asked about the Alti Trainer at the post-race press conference today in Rossano Veneto, McEwen said, "I don't know anything about this...I don't use it, but some of my teammates do. It's a machine that simulates the effect of altitude."

Jawgap

The OneEscape Gym in Smithfield has a Colorado Altitude Training room, that simulates 2438metres (8000 feet) altitude, which apparently is the ideal height for training at.

There's a spinning bike in there - not sure how much they charge.

Lumen

Thanks Jawgap. That's a bit mad.

Seems a bit cheaty to me. I wonder why there are no pictures of cyclists on their website?

Jawgap

there's a triathlete there - does that count? He doesn't have a man-bra on, but he has some kind of strange half-cap on his head. Maybe if he didn't waste money on strange training rooms he could afford a proper cap:)

As for the more serious issue as to whether it's fair or not? If it's acceptable to go somehwere that's at altitude to train, shoudn't it be ok to bring the altitude to you if you can't afford to decamp to the Us or the Alps?

I take it any gain you get is transient and unless you keep training at "altitude" your body reverts?

Lumen

The issue is that you don't have to train in a hypoxic tent or whatever - you can just sleep in one and wake up with more EPO in your veins.

That's not right. We may as well just get everyone to 50% and be done with it

el tel

It's well known that haematocrit can be increased by restricting in oxygen intake, for example using hypoxia and slightly more excitingly, by asphyxiation. Tests have been done on rats in Dublin to that efect ( ep.physoc.org/content/89/1/44.full ) however it is reported that musce fatigue increases though I'm not sure if that is during he hypoxia/asphyxiation episode or a long-term outcome.

Perhaps Stephen Milligan, Michael Hutchence and David Carradine were trying to achieve extreme fitness this way?

I can see it now, pro cyclists training in g1mp masks with snooker balls in their gobs.

morana

el tel wrote: »

It's well known that haematocrit can be increased by restricting in oxygen intake, for example using hypoxia and slightly more excitingly, by asphyxiation. Tests have been done on rats in Dublin to that efect ( ep.physoc.org/content/89/1/44.full ) however it is reported that musce fatigue increases though I'm not sure if that is during he hypoxia/asphyxiation episode or a long-term outcome.

Perhaps Stephen Milligan, Michael Hutchence and David Carradine were trying to achieve extreme fitness this way?

I can see it now, pro cyclists training in g1mp masks with snooker balls in their gobs.

and dont forget the viagra to help with the altitude...

tunney

Jawgap wrote: »

The OneEscape Gym in Smithfield has a Colorado Altitude Training room, that simulates 2438metres (8000 feet) altitude, which apparently is the ideal height for training at.

There's a spinning bike in there - not sure how much they charge.

Sleep high, train low.

Lumen

tunney wrote: »

Sleep high, train low.

I'm imagining a version of this involving the line "I'd love to sleep with you, but it'll have to be in my hypoxic tent".

leftism

Lumen wrote: »

The issue is that you don't have to train in a hypoxic tent or whatever - you can just sleep in one and wake up with more EPO in your veins.

That's not right. We may as well just get everyone to 50% and be done with it

Many top level coaches in Europe would agree with you on that and some (including my own coach) have called for WADA to adopt a fixed level of 50% Haematocrit which can be attained through whatever means necessary... The problem then arises that there are individuals outside the normal physiological range. I've personally tested about 4 or 5 athletes that have had natural haematocrit levels higher than 50%. Some things are "God given" and thats what sport is all about.

Normobaric hypoxia tents such as the CAT or Mickinlie range are not illegal, but certainly frowned upon by many. Used by a huge number of top athletes in Europe. Theres a company in Belgium that rents them out to top level athletes all year round. Noisy things though.. You'd need a good set of earplugs to sleep in them. I've heard anecdotal reports of these tents increasing haematocrit by as much as 8% (in one athlete i know well his haematocrit hit 52% following a 3 week intervention).

Is it the equivalent of doping? In my opinion, no.

Not all athletes will respond the same way to prolonged exposure to hypoxic conditions. Some will not show much of a change in their blood at all. This is often due to genetics and/or pre-intervention hormonal levels. Pumping EPO into your veins will ALWAYS result in heamatological changes (unless you have rare anaemic conditions etc). I would say this type of training/conditioning, is as illegal as forking out 2 or 3 grand to train in Sierra Nevada for a month. You cannot ban the Kenyans and Etheopians just coz they live at high altitudes so you cannot ban athletes who are just trying to mimic the same atmospheric conditions, through the use of these tents...

ROK ON

Lumen wrote: »

The issue is that you don't have to train in a hypoxic tent or whatever - you can just sleep in one and wake up with more EPO in your veins.

That's not right. We may as well just get everyone to 50% and be done with it

Speak for yourself, I'm there already.
In medical tests in past year I have had HCT of 49.8, 50.3, 51.2.

Strangely enough, while I struggle often out cycling - I do tend to recover from hard effort (for me) reasonably quickly:).

paddyduc

I sleep in a water bed.Is that ok or should i hand myself over?:D

ROK ON

paddyduc wrote: »

I sleep in a water bed.Is that ok or should i hand myself over?:D

How do you not drown?

leftism

I actually toyed with the idea of buying an hypoxic generator 3 years ago. They could be imported from the US for about 2000 euro. At the time we were training for Olympic qualifiers and felt that a 1 or 2% improvement due to haematological changes could mean the difference between going to Beijing and not (ended up not going anyways, and no amount of supermans blood was gonna change that!)...

One of the deciding factors was that i figured the missus would not stand for an electrical generator running constantly beside the bed. :rolleyes:

paddyduc

ROK ON wrote: »

How do you not drown?

I never said there was water in it!!

I'll get my coat

Jawgap

if you want to sleep in an hypoxic state, can you not just get the missus (or partner) to put a pillow on your face for 4 of your 8 hours sleep:)

leftism

ROK ON wrote: »

Speak for yourself, I'm there already.
In medical tests in past year I have had HCT of 49.8, 50.3, 51.2.

Strangely enough, while I struggle often out cycling - I do tend to recover from hard effort (for me) reasonably quickly:).

Another case of "God given"...

ROK ON

leftism wrote: »

Another case of "God given"...

Yes, but without fitness and speed its not a whole lot of use. It just means that I can cycle for a long time slowly, and repeat the following day and day after.

Lumen

ROK ON wrote: »

Yes, but without fitness and speed its not a whole lot of use. It just means that I can cycle for a long time slowly, and repeat the following day and day after.

I don't think so. HCT is one indicator of oxygen transport capacity. Cycling slowly puts no great demands on your oxygen transport system.

Mine is 40.5. I doubt that mediocre number has any bearing on my slowness, laziness, or the irritability of my IT band.

Lumen

leftism wrote: »

I actually toyed with the idea of buying an hypoxic generator...a 1 or 2% improvement due to haematological changes

Is that all? Pah, hardly worth it.

Maybe the pro strategy is to buy the gear, microdose with EPO, then claim the equipment was responsible for the spike on the bio passport.

rubadub

they are illegal under Italian law 376, an arcane rule that prohibits use of any method to increase blood values for sport competition

Has anybody a link to this actual law? what exactly does "blood values" mean?

Look at the comments on this performance enhancing drug.

some experts, including Dr Deitrick (Dr Ronald Deitrick,of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM)), claim that its effects are so powerful that it shouldn't have a place in competitive sport. “It comes down to whether or not the athlete has a competitive advantage by taking an aid,” he says. “And in the case of *****, I believe the answer is yes. It violates the spirit of fair play by artificially enhancing performance.”

their use may be considered a violation of the IOC Doping Rule, which states that athletes shall not use any physiological substance in an attempt to artificially enhance performance.

What is this drug in question? you probably have all taken it and might have a half kilo in your kitchen stashed away

baking soda!

http://www.sportsci.org/traintech/buffer/lrm.htm
http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/body_and_soul/article4539000.ece

Jawgap wrote: »

if you want to sleep in an hypoxic state, can you not just get the missus (or partner) to put a pillow on your face for 4 of your 8 hours sleep:)

Actually some bodybuilders use a workout protocol where they hold their breath. There is also a method popular in Japan called Kaatsu where people restrict bloodflow to their muscles using tight wraps which increases strength. Some theorise the benefits come from a lack of oxygen, also the restricted blood might lead to pooling of growth hormones etc in the muscles.

Here is a study done on cyclists
http://jssm.org/vol9/n3/14/v9n3-14pdf.pdf

Conclusion
In conclusion, low-intensity (40% VO2max) cycle training
of short duration (15 min) combined with blood flow
restriction can produce a significant increase in thigh
muscle volume and aerobic capacity in young men.

leftism

Lumen wrote: »

Is that all? Pah, hardly worth it.

In a race thats 200 seconds long a 1-2% improvement would give you 2-4 seconds. Thats the difference between gold medal and not even making the final... Yeah would definitely be worth it.

Listening to the missus complaining about the noise for 6 months DEFINITELY wasn't worth it!

Jawgap

If hyperbaric chambers with 100% oxygen promote rehabilitation, will exercising in a reduced oxygen environment increase the potential for injury

and

will living / sleeping in a reduced oxygen environment slow the recovery from training and injury?