Saturday, July 15, 2017

Training for High-Altitude Hiking


Douglas "Doug" Grant served as a public school teacher in San Antonio, Texas, from 1987 through 2013. An avid hiker as well, teacher Douglas Grant has climbed to the top of Mt. Princeton, a Colorado peak of more than 14,000 feet.

As a hiker climbs to altitudes higher than 8,000 feet, air pressure decreases and the concentration of oxygen in the atmosphere is lower. Decreased oxygen supply makes the muscles work harder, while also necessitating deeper and more frequent breaths to make up the difference. If the hiker is moving too fast or if the body cannot make up for the lower oxygen availability, he or she can develop headaches, nausea, and other symptoms of altitude sickness.

Avoidance of these symptoms requires the hiker to prepare for reduced oxygen by improving his or her maximum oxygen consumption, or VO2 max. Experts suggest regularly hiking and biking up steep hills three to five times per week, preferably with a hiking backpack attached. These training sessions provide a hiker with the opportunity to practice deep breathing, particularly when the person begins to feel out of breath.

Hikers can also prepare for high altitudes by participating in interval training, which alternates periods of elevated heart rate with times of recovery. This conditions the body to respond to limited oxygen levels. A hiker may undertake these sessions once per week and can choose among hills, flat sprints, or cardio equipment with interval settings.