"Living high and training low" can improve sea level performance in endurance athletes.

Stray-Gundersen, J.; Levine, B. D.

doi:10.1136/bjsm.33.3.150

Cited by 16 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…We recently investigated the effects of hypoxia on muscle Na + , K + ATPase , using the live high, train low (LHTL) model commonly employed by elite athletes (Levine and Stray-Gundersen 1997;. It is now well established that LHTL improves subsequent sea-level performance Stray-Gundersen 1992, 1997;Levine et al 1996;Stray-Gundersen and Levine 1999;Nummela and Rusko 2000;Stray-Gundersen et al 2001;Saunders et al 2004;Brugniaux et al 2006). In contrast to previous large reductions with hypoxia, we found surprisingly that Na + , K + ATPase content was unchanged, with only a small but significant reduction (~3%) in maximal Na + , K + ATPase activity after 23 consecutive nights (n) of LHTL .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Interspersed normoxia during live high, train low interventions reverses an early reduction in muscle Na+, K+ATPase activity in well-trained athletes

Aughey

Clark²,

Gore³

et al. 2006

Eur J Appl Physiol

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Hypoxia and exercise each modulate muscle Na(+), K(+)ATPase activity. We investigated the effects on muscle Na(+), K(+)ATPase activity of only 5 nights of live high, train low hypoxia (LHTL), 20 nights consecutive (LHTLc) versus intermittent LHTL (LHTLi), and acute sprint exercise. Thirty-three athletes were assigned to control (CON, n = 11), 20-nights LHTLc (n = 12) or 20-nights LHTLi (4 x 5-nights LHTL interspersed with 2-nights CON, n = 10) groups. LHTLc and LHTLi slept at a simulated altitude of 2,650 m (F(I)O(2) 0.1627) and lived and trained by day under normoxic conditions; CON lived, trained, and slept in normoxia. A quadriceps muscle biopsy was taken at rest and immediately after standardised sprint exercise, before (Pre) and after 5-nights (d5) and 20-nights (Post) LHTL interventions and analysed for Na(+), K(+)ATPase maximal activity (3-O-MFPase) and content ([(3)H]-ouabain binding). After only 5-nights LHTLc, muscle 3-O-MFPase activity declined by 2% (P < 0.05). In LHTLc, 3-O-MFPase activity remained below Pre after 20 nights. In contrast, in LHTLi, this small initial decrease was reversed after 20 nights, with restoration of 3-O-MFPase activity to Pre-intervention levels. Plasma [K(+)] was unaltered by any LHTL. After acute sprint exercise 3-O-MFPase activity was reduced (12.9 +/- 4.0%, P < 0.05), but [(3)H]-ouabain binding was unchanged. In conclusion, maximal Na(+), K(+)ATPase activity declined after only 5-nights LHTL, but the inclusion of additional interspersed normoxic nights reversed this effect, despite athletes receiving the same amount of hypoxic exposure. There were no effects of consecutive or intermittent nightly LHTL on the acute decrease in Na(+), K(+)ATPase activity with sprint exercise effects or on plasma [K(+)] during exercise.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Interspersed normoxia during live high, train low interventions reverses an early reduction in muscle Na+, K+ATPase activity in well-trained athletes

Aughey

Clark²,

Gore³

et al. 2006

Eur J Appl Physiol

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“…However, training for athletes at high altitude has been applied, and has been shown to eventually improve performance in the lowlands (Bailey and Davies, 1997;Stray-Gundersen and Levine, 1999;Stray-Gundersen et al, 2001), due to stimulated erythropoietin (EPO) formation, which regulates erythropoiesis and circulating hemoglobin (HGB), providing more oxygen and energy supply. In previous studies, we demonstrated that hypoxia activated the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis, triggering corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) release, CRF, and its receptor mRNA expression in adult rats (Chen and Du, 1996;Wang et al, 2004) as well as improved HGB production during developing stages.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neonatal exposure to intermittent hypoxia enhances mice performance in water maze and 8-arm radial maze tasks

Zhang

Chen

et al. 2005

J. Neurobiol.

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Hypoxia has generally been reported to impair learning and memory. Here we established a hypoxia-enhanced model. Intermittent hypoxia (IH) was simulated at 2 km (16.0% O2) or 5 km (10.8% O2) in a hypobaric chamber for 4 h/day from birth to 1, 2, 3, or 4 week(s), respectively. Spatial learning and memory ability was tested in the Morris water maze (MWM) task at ages of postnatal day 36 (P36)-P40 and P85-89, respectively, and in the 8-arm maze task at P60-68. The long-term potentiation (LTP), synaptic density, and phosphorylated cAMP-responsive element-binding protein (p-CREB) level in the hippocampus were measured in mice at P36 under the IH for 4 weeks (IH-4w). The results showed that IH for 3 weeks (IH-3w) and IH-4w at 2 km significantly reduced the escape latencies of mice at P36-40 in the MWM task with significantly enhanced retention, and this spatial enhancement was further confirmed by the 8-arm maze test in mice at P60-68. The improvement in MWM induced by IH-4w at 2 km was still maintained in mice at P85-89. IH-4w at 2 or 5 km significantly increased amplitude of LTP, the number of synapse, and the p-CREB level in the hippocampus of P36 mice. These results indicated that IH (4 h/day) exposure to neonatal mice at 2 km for 3 or 4 weeks enhanced mice spatial learning and memory, which was related to the increased p-CREB, LTP, and synapses of hippocampus in this model.

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confidence: 98%

“…The ideal approach to altitude training would enable athletes to optimize the stimuli necessary to achieve central and peripheral changes that improve oxygen delivery and utilization while avoiding the detraining effects associated with chronic hypobaric hypoxia (32). This strategy, in which the altitude exposure is combined with intermittent normoxia for training purposes, the so-called "living high-training low" model, has been demonstrated to be particularly effective and is becoming widespread among endurance athletes (9,10,31,38,46,47).In an attempt to make this type of altitude training more efficient and more accessible to a larger number of athletes who do not live in mountainous regions, many investigators have used models of artificial environments, such as hypoxic breathing devices or hypobaric chambers, to examine progressively shorter exposures to simulated high altitude. In these models, the hypoxic exposure may be as short as a few minutes to a few weeks (33,40,54).…”

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confidence: 99%

Intermittent hypobaric hypoxia exposure does not cause sustained alterations in autonomic control of blood pressure in young athletes

Fu¹,

Townsend²,

Shiller³

et al. 2007

American Journal of Physiology-Regulatory, Integrative and Comp

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Intermittent hypoxia (IH), which refers to the discontinuous use of hypoxia to reproduce some key features of altitude acclimatization, is commonly used in athletes to improve their performance. However, variations of IH are also used as a model for sleep apnea, causing sustained sympathoexcitation and hypertension in animals and, thus, raising concerns over the safety of this model. We tested the hypothesis that chronic IH at rest alters autonomic control of arterial pressure in healthy trained individuals. Twenty-two young athletes (11 men and 11 women) were randomly assigned to hypobaric hypoxia (simulated altitude of 4,000-5,500 m) or normoxia (500 m) in a double-blind and placebo-controlled design. Both groups rested in a hypobaric chamber for 3 h/day, 5 days/wk for 4 wk. In the sitting position, resting hemodynamics, including heart rate (HR), blood pressure (BP), cardiac output (Q(c), C(2)H(2) rebreathing), stroke volume (SV = Q(c)/HR), and total peripheral resistance (TPR = mean BP/Q(c)), were measured, dynamic cardiovascular regulation was assessed by spectral and transfer function analysis of cardiovascular variability, and cardiac-vagal baroreflex function was evaluated by a Valsalva maneuver, twice before and 3 days after the last chamber exposure. We found no significant differences in HR, BP, Q(c), SV, TPR, cardiovascular variability, or cardiac-vagal baroreflex function between the groups at any time. These results suggest that exposure to intermittent hypobaric hypoxia for 4 wk does not cause sustained alterations in autonomic control of BP in young athletes. In contrast to animal studies, we found no secondary evidence for sustained physiologically significant sympathoexcitation in this model.

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"Living high and training low" can improve sea level performance in endurance athletes.

Cited by 16 publications

References 15 publications

Interspersed normoxia during live high, train low interventions reverses an early reduction in muscle Na+, K+ATPase activity in well-trained athletes

Interspersed normoxia during live high, train low interventions reverses an early reduction in muscle Na+, K+ATPase activity in well-trained athletes

Neonatal exposure to intermittent hypoxia enhances mice performance in water maze and 8-arm radial maze tasks

Intermittent hypobaric hypoxia exposure does not cause sustained alterations in autonomic control of blood pressure in young athletes

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