An even ice rink

[billhoward]

The athletes don't have to search hard or long to see the impact of performance. You'd think they'd notice it as soon as they lace on skates, sneakers or cross-country ski boots. A non-athlete (me) can feel winded climbing a flight or two of stairs. One resource says, above 1,500M / 4900 ft, performance falls by 10% per 1,000M/3300ft. https://blog.mapmyrun.com/high-altitude-affects-performance/

[osorojo]

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

"General consensus is that athletes should arrive at moderate altitude AT LEAST TWO WEEKS before a given event."

[ice]

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

"General consensus is that athletes should arrive at moderate altitude AT LEAST TWO WEEKS before a given event."

Alternatively, athletes could train at their home rink with some type of mask on that reduced the availability of oxygen.  For student athletes, this would be much more practical.  

The partial pressure of oxygen in Denver is ~135 mmHg, which is ~15% lower than it is at sea level (160 mmHg).

[Robb]

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

"General consensus is that athletes should arrive at moderate altitude AT LEAST TWO WEEKS before a given event."

Alternatively, athletes could train at their home rink with some type of mask on that reduced the availability of oxygen.  For student athletes, this would be much more practical.  

The partial pressure of oxygen in Denver is ~135 mmHg, which is ~15% lower than it is at sea level (160 mmHg).

No, that doesn't work at all.  Your body needs to be in the reduced density atmosphere 24/7 so its metabolism can adjust.  Restricting oxygen just during workouts is not at all the same thing.

[ice]

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

"General consensus is that athletes should arrive at moderate altitude AT LEAST TWO WEEKS before a given event."

Alternatively, athletes could train at their home rink with some type of mask on that reduced the availability of oxygen.  For student athletes, this would be much more practical.  

The partial pressure of oxygen in Denver is ~135 mmHg, which is ~15% lower than it is at sea level (160 mmHg).

No, that doesn't work at all.  Your body needs to be in the reduced density atmosphere 24/7 so its metabolism can adjust.  Restricting oxygen just during workouts is not at all the same thing.

Well, I based my comment on information from an exercise physiology text book (Powers and Howley), which attributes much of the adaptation to hypoxia-induced increases in hematocrit (red blood cells).  Hematocrit increases by ~5% for people who move from sea level to altitudes of ~5,000 feet.  For altitude changes of ~15,000 feet, hematocrit increases by ~33%.  

Just now though, I have also read that there are acute pressure effects on the brain.  Sea-level dwellers who travel to high altitudes can experience cerebral edema and consequently headache.  It was unclear to me whether or not this would be important at 5,000 feet.

Here is a reference: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0033062010000307?via%3Dihub

[osorojo]

I don't think you can train an athletes for a sudden four or five thousand foot increase in altitude by holding their breath at sea level.

[Jim Hyla]

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

"General consensus is that athletes should arrive at moderate altitude AT LEAST TWO WEEKS before a given event."

Alternatively, athletes could train at their home rink with some type of mask on that reduced the availability of oxygen.  For student athletes, this would be much more practical.  

The partial pressure of oxygen in Denver is ~135 mmHg, which is ~15% lower than it is at sea level (160 mmHg).

No, that doesn't work at all.  Your body needs to be in the reduced density atmosphere 24/7 so its metabolism can adjust.  Restricting oxygen just during workouts is not at all the same thing.

Well, I based my comment on information from an exercise physiology text book (Powers and Howley), which attributes much of the adaptation to hypoxia-induced increases in hematocrit (red blood cells).  Hematocrit increases by ~5% for people who move from sea level to altitudes of ~5,000 feet.  For altitude changes of ~15,000 feet, hematocrit increases by ~33%.  

Just now though, I have also read that there are acute pressure effects on the brain.  Sea-level dwellers who travel to high altitudes can experience cerebral edema and consequently headache.  It was unclear to me whether or not this would be important at 5,000 feet.

Here is a reference: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0033062010000307?via%3Dihub

The point is that you can't just reduce O₂ during exercise. To really adapt you're doing it 24 hours/day.

[ursusminor]

Ned Harkness solved the problem in 1954 when the tourney was in Colorado Springs by getting oxygen tanks for his players to use. The problem was the tanks were empty.