Get High and Get On Down ! Part I
Posted By Richard Pullan on 7 February 2005
The human body is very complex and not everyone adapts the same way to a course of IHT. Some people do not see changes in their EPO or haemoglobin levels, but still produce incredible performance results. Double-blind placebo studies have been consistent with the hypothesis that is not a psychosomatic response, but one which is due to complex adaptation processes affecting all areas of the body, right down to the sub-cellular level.
A lot of research is still being conducted on Intermittent Hypoxic Training, and across an expanding range of issues. For example, it is now thought to play a major role in combating oxidative stress.
IHT does not deny the essential role of oxygen in human life. On the contrary, it has been proven that hypoxic training significantly improves oxygen metabolism in the body. Transient lack of oxygen stimulates the pro-oxidant system by producing essential enzymatic antioxidants. Latest findings indicate that an imbalance in the capacities of oxidants and antioxidants plays a key role in the development of such degenerative diseases as asthma, hypertension, allergy, retinopathy, ageing, chronic fatigue syndrome, and cancer. Increased formation of oxygen free radicals during strenuous exercise elicits muscular fatigue and ultimately limits performance. Correction of this imbalance can be achieved by means of repeated short-term exposures to a mild hypoxic environment. IHT has applications in prevention, treatment and rehabilitation of many diseases and is very effective for the improvement of athletic performance.
Some purists might argue that IHT is an "artificial" way of improving performance, not in keeping with the sporting spirit. It is worth pointing out that IHT is completely drug-free and uses your body’s own natural ability to improve itself. IHT is no more un-natural than using fins to dive, or lifting weights in a gym. The benefits of altitude training can be obtained by anyone living above sea level, IHT just makes it more accessible. It is very democratic: one need not own a private airplane to make the altitude transitions on a daily basis !
Physiology and Psychology of Freediving
The physiology and psychology of freediving are complex and the subjects of ongoing academic study. Bradycardia, Peripheral Vasoconstriction, and Blood Shift- all important factors for freediving- are all linked to what has been dubbed the Mammalian Diving Reflex . But the most important factor, the one that concerns all freedivers and all living mammals is oxygen. We use about 550 litres of pure oxygen every day during the normal process of respiration.
Oxygen enters the body through the pulmonary system and is transported within the body through the circulatory system. All body cells, estimated to total around 10 trillion, require oxygen to metabolize food material.
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