Interesting effects of living at altitude.

edited October 2010 in Life
So, I will admit I'm not the health conscious sort, I'm 60 lb overweight and smoke. For the last year I have been living at a fairly high altitude though, between 1330 m in Rogers Pass B.C. Canada, and 1120 m in Kimberley B.C. Canada. Now I am in my home town of Penticton, a mere 344 m above sea level.

Today I went for a kickass hike and really pushed it on some trails, and I felt, well not so much like superman, more like the energizer bunny. Where before I would have stopped every 30 or 40 steps to gasp and wheeze, today I just kept on going and going, breathing hard, legs burning, but going none the less. I was like a Jeep in low gear, slow, but steady, and damn near unstoppable.

I went until I had totally depleted my blood sugar reserve, and walked home with a headache on rubbery legs.

Point of thread;
Do you think this is a result of living at altitude? And if so, can I keep this advantage if I keep doing aerobic :mad: activity? I will soon be at sea level in Vancouver, and will be trying some nasty hikes, partly for proof of concept, partly because I think I might now be able to do them without suffering a cardiac event. How much activity do you think I would have to do to keep up and maybe even improve on my cardiovascular function?

It could be other things too, I have been generally more active for the last year, so if there is an altitude threshold for a persons body adapting to it, then I would be interested in hearing anyones experiences with this.
C/O
"I came all this way just to step on cactus?"

Comments

  • EppillusEppillus Acolyte
    edited October 2010
    I don't know much about fitness, but I do know that smokers are much better able to deal with altitude and its effects than non-smokers; due to their being used to breathing air with lower levels of oxygen.
  • MayberryMayberry Regular
    edited October 2010
    Quite possibly. I remember hearing about athletes who trained at higher altitudes having a clear advantage over those who didn't.
  • AlbinoEthiopianAlbinoEthiopian Regular
    edited October 2010
    Exactly if you train with less oxygen it is easier to do activities with more oxygen. Well that is what i believe.

    It is hard to get used to the altitude for the first couple of days at least in my experience.
  • edited October 2010
    I didn't have much problem adapting to the altitude at Rogers Pass, but a couple of people felt really tired for their first few days, the place was pretty high up, water boiled at 92c.
  • GallowsGallows Regular
    edited October 2010
    To quote wiki on altitude training:

    "Depending very much on the protocols used, the body may adapt to the relative lack of oxygen hypoxia in one or more ways such as increasing the mass of red blood cells and hemoglobin, or altering muscle metabolism. Proponents claim that when such athletes travel to competitions at lower altitudes they will still have a higher concentration of red blood cells for 10-14 days, and this gives them a competitive advantage. Some athletes live permanently at high altitude, only returning to sea level to compete, but their training may suffer due to less available oxygen for workouts."

    I definitely don't think your improved performance is entirely linked to living at a high altitude though. You've probably just been significantly more active and didn't realize it.
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