Altitude Chambers And Masks When Training For Mountaineering

In this podcast and article we explore altitude chambers and masks and discuss how a mountaineer can apply them to their training (if they already have access to them). 

​Today, we are talking a little bit more about simulated altitude training for mountaineers.

More specifically, we are diving into using an altitude chamber or an altitude mask when training for mountaineering.

Before we go any further, let me be very, very clear from the get-go.

I am not a massive advocate for altitude chambers for mountainers.

Most of the claimed benefits of using an altitude chamber or an altitude mask do not really stack up with the evidence. A lot of what people say and promote is marketing, not particularly evidence-based.

If a mountaineer wants to do simulated altitude training, they are generally much better served by using an altitude tent and sleeping in it for hundreds of hours. And even then, there are a lot of question marks around that.

That said, even though I am not a massive advocate for it, I know there are a lot of mountaineers out there who want to use these things anyway.

Maybe their gym has an altitude chamber, and they think, well, I want to use it, what should I be doing?

Maybe they already own a generator or mask setup and are curious about how to get the most out of it.

Or maybe they live at sea level and are well aware this is not magic, but they want some tiny improvements or little extra benefits.

So today, we are talking through this in that context.

Not because I love this type of training, but because if you are going to do it anyway, you may as well have some solid direction.

So today we will cover:

• What an altitude chamber or mask actually does
• What altitude chambers can be good for (and what they are not so good for)
• Four workout structures that can be very useful in an altitude chamber
• A few extra considerations if you are going to do this type of training
  
  

Simulated Altitude Training For Mountaineers

What Altitude Chambers Do

First, what does an altitude chamber or mask actually do?

A simulated altitude chamber is very simple.

You go into a sealed room. Nitrogen is pumped into the room. This changes the percentage of oxygen you breathe in.

When you breathe this reduced oxygen, your blood oxygen saturation decreases, similar to what happens at natural altitude.

The idea is that this hypoxic environment is meant to trigger adaptations that help performance.

Altitude masks do the same thing, except instead of a room, you have a generator and a mask attached to it.

To be clear, 'altitude masks' are NOT 'elevation masks', which are not attached to a generator (and just restrict your breathing). They are totally different things.

Now here is the key to understanding altitude training, which many mountaineers (and employees of altitude gyms) do not get right. 

Simulated altitude is not the same as natural altitude.

At natural altitude, the percentage of oxygen stays the same. Air pressure drops.

In simulated altitude (which we have commonly available through chambers and masks), air pressure stays the same and oxygen percentage in the air drops.

You may get a similar blood oxygen saturation number, but it cannot be considered the exact same thing.

There is a type of simulated altitude where air pressure changes called hypobaric altitude training, but that is not what is available at commercial gyms or consumer setups.

*This is an important distinction to understand, as this is where A LOT of the misinformation and misunderstandings about simulated altitude training come from.

What Are Altitude Chambers And Masks Good For? (And What Are They Not Good For?)

You will often hear claims that training in an altitude chamber will:

• Reduce altitude sickness
• 'Pre-acclimatises' you
• Increase red blood cells or hemoglobin
  
  

There is very little evidence to show that training in an altitude chamber or using a mask will do any of these things.

Altitude chambers will not:

• Reduce your risk of altitude sickness
• Meaningfully pre-acclimatise you
• Significantly increase red blood cells (unless you spend hundreds of hours in them)
  
  

Many people will often show research papers to 'prove' these things, but they are very misleading.

For example, when it comes to reduced rates of altitude sickness they will either:

• Quote studies on hypobaric chambers as evidence that normobaric chambers will be beneficial (though they are not the same thing)
• Quote studies that tested rates of altitude sickness in a normobaric altitude chamber (and not test it in natural altitude)

And while there is some evidence to show that normobaric altitude training can increase red blood cell count, most of the evidence suggests that to see consistent results you need hundreds of hours of exposure (which typically comes from sleeping in an altitude tent for weeks on end, not from training in a chamber a few times a week). 

It can be very misleading. 

So what can altitude chambers be useful for then?

Taking away the bombastic claims, there are some benefits a mountaineer can get from training in an altitude chamber.

These include:

• Some changes and improvements in ventilatory response (e.g. breathing)
• Mental exposure to the feeling of shortness of breath during exercise
• Some improvements in endurance performance
  
  

In my opinion, the biggest benefit to this type of training for a high altitude mountaineer is mental.

Many people go to high altitudes, and they go into this sequence:

• They start hiking/exercising at high altitude
• They get short of breath
• The shortness of breath leads them to feel uncomfortable and anxious
• That anxiety increases the rate of breathing
• Which makes them more anxious
• And the cycle repeats and keeps building​

Our breathing is significantly affected by our emotions. And this feedback loop can be very tricky for many high-altitude hikers and mountaineers.

Exposing the body and mind to this type of feeling in an altitude chamber lets you practice being uncomfortable and can teach your brain that this feeling is not an 'emergency'.

Which can help you feel more in control on the mountain. That alone can be very valuable.​

Is it so beneficial that every mountaineer should be training in an altitude chamber? Probably not. But it can be useful.

How To Train In A Simulated Altitude Chamber (For Mountaineers) ​

​Now, if you still want to use simulated altitude, how should a mountaineer do it?

First, one very important clarification.

Do not do strength training in altitude chambers.

If you are lifting, lift in a normal environment. Focus on following a structured program and progressing over time.

Altitude chambers are for cardio, not strength training (it won't 'harm' you, but it isn't worth your time).

With that being said, here are four workouts mountaineers can use in an altitude chamber:

Workout #1: Long, Steady State Cardio

This is the most basic session you can do in an altitude chamber. And it is where everyone should start.

You can do this walking on a treadmill, cycling, on the stepper or any type of cardio machine you have access to in the chamber. As long as it is 'easy' and you can sustain it for long periods without getting overly tired, it will do.

The goal here is to just accumulate minutes moving at a low intensity.

The general goal is to keep a track of your blood oxygen saturation with a pulse oximeter, aiming to keep between 80-85% oxygen saturation.

This is the 'sweet spot' for triggering adaptations (any higher and it won't be quite as beneficial. Any lower tends to increase the risk of getting dizzy or feeling nasty without extra benefit).

Some people will barely need to move at all to hit this, and can do this walking on the flat or just turning their legs over on a bike.

Others might need a bit more intensity and will need some incline on a treadmill or a bit of extra resistance/speed on a bike.

Just find what is right for you.

This is all a mountaineer needs to be doing for the first 4-6 weeks of using an altitude chamber.

Yes, it can be boring. But it is effective.

Workout #2: Breathing Control Intervals

Once you have accumulated some weeks in the chamber with steady, low-intensity work and are feeling a bit more comfortable in the environment, a nice progression leads into breathing control intervals.

Ideally, these will be done on an incline treadmill (walking) or on a stepper. Or you can also do this box stepping.

This is how you do it:

• Climb for three minutes at a slow, steady pace (Concentrate on keeping your breathing slow and controlled, and aim for diaphragmatic breathing)
• Climb for three minutes at a quicker pace (get the breathing a bit faster and sustain this for the interval)
• Pull the speed back significantly and climb for three minutes (aiming to bring the breathing back under control as quickly as possible)
• Repeat an alternate between the two paces.

This structure is great because it can:
​

• Help you practice efficient pacing while climbing (during the slower intervals)
• Expose your body and mind to extended periods of higher intensity and breathing discomfort (which can help you feel more comfortable physically and mentally when faced with tougher sections on the mountain)
• Teach you to recover and control your breathing if it gets out of control (while still moving and climbing)

Each of these is incredibly valuable for mountaineers.

Workout #3: Higher Intensity Intervals

In this workout, we add some extra intensity and practice sustaining a higher output for multiple minutes at a time.

This is best done on a stationary bike or elliptical (where you can just concentrate on pushing the speed, and not worrying about anything else).

This is how you do it:
​

• Go quick for three minutes*
• Go very slow (or have complete rest) for ninety seconds
• Repeat seven to ten times
  
  

*This doesn't have to be a 'maximal intensity' interval. But it should be significantly faster than your 'quick' intervals from the breathing control workout. You should get to the end of the three minutes feeling like you need a rest.

This workout isn't 100% necessary for every mountaineer who is training in an altitude chamber (and you can get good results from just sticking with workout #1 and workout #2). But it can be a nice progression.

*If you get dizzy during these intervals, or prefer to do your interval training at sea level, just skip this.

Workout #4: Repeated Sprints

This type of workout can have a lot of benefits for those doing higher intensity sports (or who are participating in races), but for mountaineers, it is rarely needed.

However, it can be useful in certain situations for mountaineers, so I want to share it.

The main time I would use this is if there is a mountaineer who has worked through each of the above progressions and is still mentally worried about their breathing at high altitude (not just a little bit of worry, but it is really stressing them out). In this context, exposing them to a situation where they are very, very uncomfortable in this type of environment (in a controlled way, which they can stop at any time) can be beneficial.

This workout involves doing some short, very hard efforts with incomplete rest in between.

So we are putting out a high output, getting our heart rate and breathing very high, for short periods of time. And then having incomplete rest, and repeating (so you rest enough that you can do another hard effort, but never feel like you get 'enough' rest to feel entirely recovered or comfortable).

There are a lot of variations on how you can approach this, but a simple example of this workout could be:

• Twenty-second sprint (as quick as possible)
• Ninety seconds rest
• Repeat five to ten times
  ​​

Important Points:

You do not have to do a full workout of this. I would recommend doing five to ten sets of sprints at the start or end of a workout, and the rest of the session focusing on lower-intensity work.

Only do this on equipment where you have no chance of falling over (e.g. a stationary bike) ​

If you get dizzy or panicky during this workout, stop, leave the chamber (or take the mask off). And just focus on the other workouts above (and avoid this super high intensity).

Best Practices When Training In An Altitude Chamber

​If you are doing workouts in an altitude chamber (or using a mask), here are a few simple best practices:

1) Enter Your Sessions Hydrated

This is important for any training session, but even more so in a simulated altitude environment.

Before training, go to the toilet and look at your urine colour. If it is clear to straw coloured, you are good to go. If it is darker, drink some water.

2) Enter Sessions Fuelled With Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are important for exercise performance. And in a simulated altitude environment, the body will use more than usual.

If having a meal in the hours before training, make sure it includes carbohydrates.

If training in the morning (or you have a big gap between meals), aim to have a snack of something high carbohydrate, low protein, low fat and low fibre in the hour before training.

3) Don't Do This When Sick

Training in an altitude gym will affect your immune system more than training at sea level.

This is not a big deal if you are healthy, but if you are sick (or fighting something off), you do not want to be training in this environment.

Save it for when you are healthy.

4) Don't Let This Compromise Your Other Training Or Recovery

One major drawback to this type of training is that for many people, it can significantly affect their energy levels and recovery throughout the week.

If you are doing simulated altitude training and you are struggling with fatigue or your recovery suffers (and this is affecting your other training) then you either need to reduce the intensity of your workouts in the altitude chamber or remove these workouts entirely.
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Wrapping Up

I am not a big advocate for altitude chambers or masks for mountaineers.

They do not live up to the marketing hype, and I don't believe the benefits they provide are usually worth the cost or effort of using them.

However, if you have access to these and want to incorporate them into your training, hopefully, this gives some simple direction on how to get more out of them.

If you were a mountaineer preparing for a high altitude expedition, and wanted to be confident you are doing the right things with your training to give yourself the best chance of a safe, successful and enjoyable adventure, you can check out the Online Summit Program here:

Online Personal Training For Mountaineers

Yours in adventure,

Rowan