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Tuesday 8 January 2019

High Altitude Training on Aruba

Who does High Altitude Training?
- Craig Alexander (World Champion Ironman)
- Michael Phelps (World Champion swimmer Olympics)
- Conor McGregor (UFC nr2 of the World)
- Lebron James (NBA star)
- Killian Jornet (six-time world champion long distance runner)

Just a few examples of athletes worldwide. A lot of well-known athletes
sleep and/or train on High Altitude because they know the benefits of it.

Aruba Today’s athlete
Fellow runner and editor at Aruba Today, Jeancarlo Trinidad has his per-
sonal experience training on high altitude. “For me personally training
at Sporty Lifestyle Aruba on a high altitude has brought many positive
changes to my running and most importantly to my breathing. When I
started running I had a lot of trouble keeping a steady breathing rhythm
and this slowed me from time to time and had me taking stops during
my runs to catch my breath.” After just one month training on a higher
altitude Jeancarlo already started to feel the changes in his breathing
and he could easily get into a nice breathing rhythm and do his runs
completely. “I also like the fact that after each high altitude run I stay
super focused and energized for day’s and this has helped me in all
aspects of life.”

High Altitude Training is done by clients from all walks of life and all with
different goals. “We have athletes that want to finish in a faster time or
use this method to recover faster, also businessman who just want to feel
more energetic, others that are preparing to climb Mount Kilimanjaro or
just others that are planning on making a trip to Machu Picchu and take
advantage of this high altitude training.”, says owner Lars Stolk.

Oranjestad — Sporty Lifestyle Aruba is the only place on Aruba where you For more information contact them at (=297) 592-7256 or send them an
can train on High Altitude. The company invested in a Hypoxico genera- e-mail at sheryllars@sportylifestylearuba.comq
tor which gives them the possibility to train their clients on altitudes be-
tween 500m and 6.400m. It seems strange to train on high altitude in the
Caribbean, but after reading the below you will understand why this is an
essential part of the athlete’s preparation.

What is High Altitude Training?
The number one champion runner, Eliud Kipchoge, who just set a new
WR in Berlin “used” High Altitude Training to win his race. Now you will ask
yourself the question; Why did he “used” High Altitude Training? All the
best runners in the world live, sleep and train in Kenia, on High Altitude.
Those athletes produce 24 hours per day more red blood cells and have
more oxygen available than those who live on sea level.

What does High Altitude Training do with your body?
As soon as the body reaches altitudes above 2.500m the kidneys will re-
act and produce the hormone EPO. Everyone knows the story about
Lance Armstrong, Tour de France and the EPO issue, which is illegal. How-
ever the kidneys create EPO in a legal way because it is a hormone.
Because of the EPO, the body will produce more red blood cells. The
main function of red blood cells is transporting O2 (oxygen), so basically
the more red blood cells your body produces, the more oxygen will be
available.

Benefits of High Altitude Training
- Improve VO2 max
- Improve faster recovery
- Creates more energy
- Higher red blood cells concentration, which means more oxygen
- Healthier respiratory system
- Level of comfort for athletes
- Loose weight faster