Anyone on here ever rent a altitude tent?
If so, where. And how was the experience?
Anyone on here ever rent a altitude tent?
If so, where. And how was the experience?
Higherpeak and Hypoxico both rent systems. I have had good experiences with both.
Do these things really work? It seems like more of a gimic.
you are better off spending your money on a training camp somewhere in the mountains.
I say this speaking from personal experience using tents and training at altitude and comparing the results.
Do these things really work? It seems like more of a gimic.
Yes, they absolutely work.
science says you are wrong about that.
you are better off spending your money on a training camp somewhere in the mountains.
I say this speaking from personal experience using tents and training at altitude and comparing the results.
Of course training and spending time in the mountains is better, however that is not realistic for a lot of people. I would guess most people can’t go spend 4-6 weeks in the mountains right before a race. Not to mention you are much better off sleeping high and training low which can really only be done with an altitude tent.
no, science is inconclusive about it.
Seems like IM Tahoe is going to be a windfall for these companies…
Not to mention you are much better off sleeping high and training low which can really only be done with an altitude tent.
Not from my experience.
You do much better if you exercise and sleep at altitude. You need to live high…not sleep high. 8-10 hours per day isn’t enough. Even if its over an 8 week period. Also, you don’t need to spend 4-6 weeks at altitude to get the performance increase. 10 days can be enough for certain people.
The adaptation to altitude is even more individualistic than training stimuli, which is why the research on altitude training is inconclusive.
For 99.9 percent of triathletes the struggle is endurance and muscle fiber damage, thicker blood won’t help you, if you are doing an Olympic or shorter and are FOP I could see this making a marginal difference. You need to use them for long periods, like 3 months or more so renting is just a waste of money, especially since you lose the effects rather quickly after you stop using the tent.
HXB: I find your posts interesting. At least two different times (different altitude questions) you mention thicker blood. Dude, you really have no idea what you are talking about do you? I realize you are just another internet hater of the altitude system because: A) you can’t afford one or B) you already have one and you don’t want anyone else to buy one so they beat you.
The benefit of the tent is not just a higher hemoglobin, which is turn carries more oxygen. The GREATEST benefit of the tent is that they allow you to recover faster. Normally when we sleep our heart rate drops really low. The tents keep your heart rate higher allowing nutrients to circulate faster. The result, enhanced recovery. The guys that are beating you, well they have a tent.
In regards to needing to use them for 3 months, well again, you are incorrect. I have seen great result in 6 weeks. Someone with prior altitude exposure, even faster. The peak effect of using the tent is 7 to 10 days after stopping (this allows your plasma volume to increase). Olympic’s are long enough to benefit from LHTL systems. Heck 1000 meter runners swear they rock.
The problem with renting is that you want to keep using it and if they don’t put your rental money towards the purchase price you lost out.
And the science proves they work. If you are bad mouthing them, I will say it again: A) you can’t afford one or B) you already have one and you don’t want anyone else to buy one so they beat you.
Do you want one to prepare for IMLT?
If that’s the case HTFU. It’s much cheaper. 
That being said, does one lose the advantage of training at altitude when they return to normal heights?
One would assume the body doesn’t have to do as much work when there is more Oxygen so does it ‘regress’?
Or do you bump up the workrate when you return to make it work harder?
Interesting as I am thinking of a little jaunt somewhere high.
No, I speak from experience, having done a lot of testing with them. I’m not sure if the other post you read was where I talked about using one in anticipation of writing a paper for it for an exercise science class in college. There is certainly a benefit to be had from using one but it is most pronounced in events where vo2 max is a serious contributor or limiting factor, for example, a 5k, and yes, probably olympics if you are fast enough. The tent results in the kidneys releasing EPO in order to stimulate red blood cell development, this will in turn raise your hematocrit and result in thicker blood, more red blood cells take the place of plasma, which is mostly just water. I felt the tent inhibited my ability to recover from the volume of training I was doing and would wake up looking like hell and started developing lines and wrinkles on my face at 21 years old. The altitude is another stressor, your heart beats faster as a result of its need to pump more blood to keep the same amount of oxygen flowing through your body, since your saturation level is usually under 90 where it would be 98 percent otherwise. Check out this link where TJ Tollakson talks about using one briefly, its under the “napping” section of the article. In terms of adaptation, it takes a good amount of time for your body to respond and produce more red blood cells, I would say at least 4 weeks. Then you need to leverage this increase to allow you to work harder and force the changes in mitochondria and capillaries which allow your muscles to work to the degree that they can request and utilize the increased oxygen supply. This is a long swing process which takes a good amount of time, I agree you can see results sooner, but I’m talking the more substantial measurable results manufacturers claim.
2 major things I disagree with though, I do not believe the tents in and of themselves improve recovery, once you adapt perhaps its the same if you’re sleeping at a reasonable altitude but individuals like Ritzenhein moved to Oregon because they could not train hard enough and recover at altitude in Boulder. Secondly, blood plasma volume is over 90 percent water and an increase does nothing for performance, it simply means you have more total blood volume.
Yes in a couple months you’ll be back to square 1. Every organism seeks to exist at its lowest energy state, since energy is always at a premium, unless there is a stimulus to change. At altitude you send this signal which your body must respond to, but having more red blood cells requires more energy on your body’s part to maintain, therefore your body is looking to dump them as soon as it can do so. Typically athletes who spend time at altitude are fit from a cardiovascular standpoint but not as much from a muscular one since they exercise at a slower rate given the thinner air, therefore typically a month before a peak event they will return to sea level to train at a faster pace and get there muscle fitness and strength to where it needs to be. If you return to sea level you may be able to train faster for a time but your body will still return to its baseline hematocrit, its written into your dna, when the stimulus is gone, so are the red blood cells.