I realize that, this being my first post and all, this might sound like an advertisement. Trust me, it isn’t. I’m a long time lurker and of all the forums I visit this one seems to know the most about altitude systems.
That out of the way, a friend of mine showed me this new (to me) hypoxic generator. Higher peak- http://www.higherpeak.com/
It’s only $1,800 and looks pretty promising. They don’t sell tents and ‘‘tell’’ you not to use them mainly because it seems that Hypoxico has the patent on that. Anyways, the only problem I see is the airflow seems maybe too low for adequate sleeping. It can only supply 2500 Lpm as opposed to a whopping 7600 Lpm with hypoxico.
So any expirience with these? Any idea how that low airflow would effect sleeping? Any advise would be hugely appreciated!
Yea I understand that, thats why i havent bought one.
One thing to think about though is the Hypoxico sleep mask. They say that it-
Enables up to 3 people in different rooms or beds to sleep at altitude simultaneously with only 1 hypoxic generator.
With their generator doing 7,600 Lpm, that works to 2,533 Lpm each person. the same as the higher peak total output.
Also, would it be like riding in a car? You aren’t getting 100% fresh air there either.
FWIW, I have one of the original Hypoxico HYP100 generators, which puts out 5400 L/h. Even at that flow, the humidity in the tent (which other than the non-breathable clear vinyl windows is made of coated nylon or mesh) increases significantly - not to the point that I’d call it uncomfortable, but some might. I therefore view the lower flow of the Higher Peak generator as a disadvantage, although there might be ways around it (e.g., sleeping with a mask or hood…which I know I couldn’t do).
Everyone isn’t on the same page here. You’re quoting 5400 liters per hour, and the original post was saying 2500 liters per minute. I think I am going to have to go with AC on this one.
Why use while sleeping? Doesn’t “Intermittent Hypoxic Training” work just as well or not?
Let me put it this way: it’s hard enough to show certain effects (e.g., increased erythropoesis - which notably, is not the same as increased hematocrit) when the hypoxic exposure is continuous and lasts 8-10 h. Thus, IMO the notion that, e.g., 5 min on, 5 min off for only 2 h is going to do much is rather questionable.
AC-
I beleive that you once said that your 20 min max power on the bike did not improve whilst using an altitutde tent. Can you elaborate on this?
Thanks,
Brian
AC-
I beleive that you once said that your 20 min max power on the bike did not improve whilst using an altitutde tent. Can you elaborate on this?
What more is there to say? Between 1/1/03 and 7/31/03, I logged 1200 h in my tent, most of which was at the maximum simulated altitude achievable w/o the high altitude adapter. Neither my hematocrit (when controlling for plasma volume shifts) nor my sustainable power increased as a result. YM, of course, MV.
The above experiment was n=1 and anecdotal and effects on different people will vary no doubt.
It appears to me that actual or simulated atltitude increase does increase hematocrit values, and white cells too, whatever system you purchase, and for present is still a legal hematocrit enhancement method for sports, as opposed to EPO injections which are illegal for USAT.
Although if you have a renal disease or some other physical problem and cannot maintain a normal hematocrit level perhaps you can get a waiver for EPO injections which would require only a minmum of equipment.
In my case my medical friends suggested that I should not tamper with Mother Nature because of ‘unexpected consequences’ and that my old body needed all the oxygen it could get when sleeping for recovery from the previous days exercise.
(As consistently shown in the literature, I find that real or simulated altitude exposure results in a rapid increase in my anaerobic capacity. My 1 min power, for example, jumped by 7% after my trip to ACSM this year.)
So, if we extrapolate a little farther… 5 min?
That I haven’t tested on a regular basis (too painful). By interpolation, though, a 7% increase in power at 1 min and no change at 20 min should result in a 1.7% improvement at 5 min.
