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Feature
! H G I H L A NATUR e c n a rm o rf e p g in ft li is g in in a How altitude tr
Pre-season training on mountains … players sleeping in altitude tents … it’s all part of new training methods giving footballers an edge, writes DR JODI RICHARDSON.
T
HESE days you would be forgiven for mistaking the physical preparation departments of many AFL clubs for miniature versions of the Institute of Sport. Sports science supports almost every aspect of player development, with clubs using every means possible to keep their elite athletes functioning like highly tuned machines. Clubs are always looking for an edge because at the elite level of sport, even a small improvement in any aspect of player fitness has the potential to have a large impact on performance and can ultimately be the difference between premiership glory and agonising defeat. While by athletes competing in individual sports like running have used altitude training for decades, it is a recent addition to Australian football. Now AFL clubs are training at altitude, or using a simulated hypoxic (reduced oxygen) environment at sea level, in an effort to gain an advantage over opposing teams. Collingwood has travelled during preseason to altitude camps in Arizona, at an altitude of around 2100 metres, and to Potchefstroom in South Africa at considerably lower average elevation of around 1320 metres. Reports are that the Magpies will be heading back to Arizona in preparation for 2010. x Collingwood also has the advantage of
a purpose built altitude training room at the Lexus Centre designed to maintain the physiological improvements created by the pre-season altitude work. Originally, travel to altitude was done to help athletes acclimatise for high altitude competition but the benefits are now known to extend to improved performance at sea level. Altitude exposes players to a reduced oxygen environment. The higher above sea level, the lower the air pressure which reduces the amount of oxygen inhaled per breath. Over time, the body adapts to this reduced oxygen environment, changing the athletes physiology in ways that improves endurance, a key fitness component in Aussie rules. Western Bulldogs sports scientist Dr Rob Aughey, a lecturer in Sports Physiology at Victoria University, said there was no specific research exploring the benefits of altitude training for team performance, but the performance effects seen in research with athletes were almost certainly going to translate to football. “Two of the things we most definitely get is an improvement in running economy, and quite a large effect – somewhere between 3 and 10 per cent – so any of the real gut running where you are doing sustained high intensity but not maximal running in games, you are definitely going to get a benefit
there,” he said. “And you also get an increase in hemoglobin mass which means you should get more oxygen delivery to the muscles. “Those two things alone should be good for sustained performance in Australian football matches.” In terms of what altitude is best, Dr Aughey says the higher the better – to a point, as there is a trade-off risk of altitude sickness. Recent research suggests 3000 metres puts athletes on the cusp of altitude sickness. Symptoms include headaches, dizziness, nausea, fainting, shortness of breath and difficulty sleeping. “You have to be really careful that you are not inducing any of those symptoms in your athletes because you are certainly going to impair performance in the short term and possibly the long term,” he said. “It’s a trade-off between the greatest amount of hypoxia a person can handle without the potential risk.” Dr Aughey said there were numerous problems with travelling to altitude. These include a decrease in training intensity, as athletes are physically unable to train as hard at altitude, so there is a possibility of a de-training effect; the usual problems of international flights and fatigue; as well as taking athletes away from home which can also have detrimental effects on performance. Inside Football
AUGHEY: Seeing gains in running economy of up to 10 per cent.
He added that team travel had the benefits of player bonding and team coherence. There are easier and more cost effective alternatives to travelling to altitude. One option is termed “live high, train low” where athletes experience simulated hypoxia overnight while sleeping, yet train at sea level without the constraints of reduced oxygen. “It’s quite different between training under hypoxic conditions and sleeping under those conditions and being able to maintain your training intensity at sea level,” Dr Aughey said. “I think that ‘live high, train low’ is the way to go. It is a lot more cost effective, can be done at home and to me seems
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
to be the best option.” Dr Aughey said the time under hypoxic conditions was very important – somewhere between 12 and 14 hours a day for around three to four weeks. The 12 to 14 hours is done during sleep. This is achieved with altitude tents, which are used by a number of footballers. “It is good in terms of being able to sleep in your own home,” he said. “The tent goes above the mattress on the bed. It’s not normal behavior to have a tent with a generator going in the background which does emit a fair bit of noise, not unlike a fan or a quiet vacuum cleaner, so there are trade-offs there. “There is no easy way of doing it unless you set up a bedroom for yourself at home that is effectively your very own altitude house. “But your partner may not want to sleep under hypoxic conditions. They can become expensive to run as well.” Altitude rooms such as those installed by Collingwood and Carlton also simulate altitude by reducing the amount of oxygen available in the enclosure. This is achieved by introducing nitrogen into the environment while the room or tent is at normal atmospheric pressure. One of the important optional features of the altitude rooms is remote video monitoring of the occupants over the internet by club staff. Rob Shugg, co-director of Kinetic Performance Technology which designed and installed these facilities,
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‘If someone were to tell me they were getting a 1.5% increase in performance from altitude and asked do you think it’s worth it, then the answer is absolutely every time, no question at all.’ explained that the downside to using the tents was that athletes were unsupervised. More is not better when it comes to hypoxic exposure, and players need to adhere closely to an appropriate protocol of exposure to ensure maximal performance gain and to minimise negative side effects. Dr Aughey described the Bulldogs’ protocol for the use of an altitude simulation tent where a player is advised to spend four weeks sleeping under the tent, gradually stepping up the amount of hypoxia and sleeping five nights on and two nights off, attempting to stay in the tent for 12 to 14 hours each night. He adds that the timing of exposure to altitude needs to be carefully planned. “In the first week and maybe even two weeks, the players are likely to actually feel quite fatigued from it,” he said. “It is an extra stimulus the body is getting and over many years we have seen that in that first week, athletes can really feel quite flat. “It’s when you’re getting the majority of the physiological changes occurring. It’s important in terms of the scheduling of when we start it and the coach needs to be made aware of this. “We tell the coaches that the players
are going to get benefit from this but not this week and maybe not next week, so if the player tells you he’s tired he probably really is. “A player is likely to have the best performance benefits in one to two weeks time. Within about one to two weeks of finishing ‘live high, train low’ is when you are getting maximal gains.” A recent study led by AIS senior physiologist Dr Philo Saunders explored a combination of “live high, train low” simulated altitude exposure with a series of training camps at natural moderate altitude in elite middle-distance runners. He found that the combination of exposures improved competitive performance by 2 per cent. Though a small amount, this type of improvement can have significant effects on an athlete’s competitive edge. Collingwood combines travel to natural altitude with simulated altitude in its purpose-built room. “Small changes are really worthwhile,” Dr Aughey said. “If someone were to tell me they were getting about a 1.5 per cent increase in performance from altitude and asks do you think it’s worth it, then the answer is absolutely every time, no question at all.” Dr Aughey highly recommends the
HIGHER, FASTER, STRONGER: THe Bulldogs on the training track.
use of structured altitude training for all players. Tents cost up to $10,000, which he sees as a small investment in a player’s performance. He encourages players to buy their own but players do need to adhere to an appropriate protocol of exposure. Victoria University has a new building under construction including an altitude
Inside Football
“hotel” that will be available for up to 16 athletes to come and sleep under hypoxic conditions. The close relationship the Bulldogs have with the university means the club will be able to use the facility. “My current plan of course is that maybe we could have the Bulldogs’ midfielders in residence for a month during pre-season but it will certainly
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
be open to more than just the Bulldogs, it will be a commercial facility,” Dr Aughey said. “We will also have a separate room for about 10 people to be able to exercise under hypoxic conditions – in fact we will be able to manipulate heat, humidity and hypoxia in that room, which I think will be the only facility of its kind in the world.”