Has anyone already trained with the IHT method using hypoxia?
I have tried blood flow restriction (BFR) with indoor training. I was not consistent enough with it to be sure it had much effect but a friend (coach/scientist) that did longer testing felt it produced decent results with very minimal durations. But I know nothing about hypoxia training. I could ask him as he is a top pro cycling scientist.
So I talked to Andrea. He has one of the best sports/cycling labs in the world. He said for him he doesnât see any clear proof that tents do much although they seem to be used consistently in pro cycling. Now he believes if you are going to race at altitude spending a month their first is important and if you can live at altitude and race at lower elevations this has a noticeable benefit. He said it seems like no large groups of cyclists are living at sea level and training in high elevations or even the opposite, they really are using tents. I see on another forum that someone said they sleep terrible in a tent and so even if they had any benefits it was not worth it.
Itâs interesting. I like to try to understand this stuff.
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Whatâs funny is he even wrote an article on it recently in Italian and here is a translation.
HYPOBARIC TENT = ALTITUDE TRAINING? NOT EXACTLY
From this year, Italian athletes can also use hypoxic or hypobaric tents, which until last season were considered equivalent to doping practices.
A historic ban included in the anti-doping penal law 376/2000 has been lifted. In a communication sent by the Ministry of Health to the Medical Sports Federation and all sports federations at the end of November, it read: âIn reference to the latest ministerial decree containing the list of active principles and doping methods dated October 23, 2023, which states âThe use of the hypobaric chamber is not prohibited; the athlete who resorts to this practice must remain under the strict control of a sports doctor both before and after using the hypobaric chamber,â it is stated that this indication arises from a scientific-bibliographic review carried out by the Superior Health Council, which expressed itself at the request of the Section for Doping Vigilance and Control of the Technical Health Committee to provide a technical scientific opinion on the possibility of using the hypobaric chamber for sports use. This method was prohibited, contrary to what was already provided by WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency). In order to align the treatment of Italian athletes with those from other countries, the Section for Doping Control has decided to proceed with the aforementioned request.â
Now that Italian athletes can prepare like their international competitors using this tool, it is important to understand its purpose and how to use it. âEven though the investment is not insignificant, there has been a boom in requests regarding the purchase of hypobaric or hypoxic tents, which allow athletes to simulate altitude in the comfort of their own homes. There are numerous models available (even portable), which, connected to a compressor, progressively reduce the amount of oxygen available, as if the athlete were sleeping at high altitude: in this way, the body is naturally forced to produce more red blood cells, and therefore, there will be a greater percentage of oxygen available to the muscles for sports effort,â explains Andrea Morelli, head of the Movement Analysis Laboratory at the Mapei Sport Research Center in Olgiate Olona (Varese).
âSimulating altitude or being at altitude, however, is not the same thing. At altitude, the percentage of oxygen in the air is the same as at sea level; what changes is the partial pressure of oxygen, which affects the lungsâ ability to exchange oxygen and bind it with hemoglobin to then be transported in the bloodstream. In a hypoxic tent, instead, there is a dilution, a decrease in the percentage of oxygen to try to reproduce what happens at altitude,â continues the coach, a reference point for cycling at the Varese center, which many professionals, both individually and as scientific and technical consultants of some teams, rely on, such as Lidl-Trek with Elisa Longo Borghini, Jonathan Milan, Elisa Balsamo, and Giulio Ciccone.
âThe first studies conducted in the mid-to-late 1990s by Swedish and Finnish researchers in the early 1990s seemed very promising, showing high gains in terms of serum erythropoietin, red blood cells, and hemoglobin. However, these results were downsized by further research carried out by Australian colleagues in the early 2000s, which demonstrated the efficacy of this technique with only small gains and only with a stay of at least 8-18 hours a day for a period of at least 3-4 weeks simulating an altitude of about 3,000 meters.â
Andrea, [5/31/24 10:48 AM]
For Morelli, the investment is not worth it; a training camp in a beautiful mountain location with teammates is better, especially because during a retreat, the volume of training (hours) and the total ascent work make the difference. In any case, if opting to use a hypobaric hypoxic tent, one must take the right precautions. âFor a professional athlete, I personally prefer altitude training. For amateurs, I recommend focusing on other aspects, primarily training. Often, the distribution of weekly work and the periodization followed are incorrect; addressing bike fitting, following a personalized diet both in and out of races, before considering these âmarginal gains.â Following the scientific guidelines of the âliving high and training lowâ protocol, we can try to maintain the training intensity at home as if we were at sea level, but we need to adjust the training volume because sleeping âat altitudeâ with less oxygen available prolongs recovery times,â concludes the expert.
I agree with Andrea here. There is no hard scientific evidence that these tents deliver solid results. The best way is to sleep high, train low for several weeks. I have also read a lot of books about cycling and all the people who wrote about their experience sleeping in tents said it was a lot of hassle for no real benefits.
I would recommend to check if your training and nutrition is developed to the max, before you try anything that is a lot more effort.
I have had the tent for many years but I donât like sleeping in it because I donât consider it a good sleep. Looking at the English site Altitudecentre.com I wanted to use it again with IHT training.
I contacted them but and they asked me for an interview. I do not speak English . Then everything stopped.
Sorry to hear that. You are serious. I donât know anyone on our platform as serious as you are 
I am sure some are but I donât know any that want to go to this level of discomfort for their training.
I had asked my triathlon and cycling trainers if they knew about this training practice but it is something for a few so they never inquired about it.
Itâs definitely a tough workout both mentally and physically.
I found a company called HEPOXtech.com which makes a patented hypoxia exposure device. Not using an tent or something you sleep in, it looks like itâs supposed to be used twice a day for 10-15 minutes to stimulate a higher EPO response. I think itâs worth looking into if youâre still looking for something along these lines.
Hi Kabanez2,
The thing about altitude training that most people donât realize is that the training doesnât really take place at altitude. It is actually the recovery.
Most pro teams hire a hotel high up at altitude, but there is no space on top of the mountain to properly train a cyclist. So, they go down and train for five hours, then come back up again and sleep at altitude. While their body needs to recover, they spend time in thin air.
A lot of companys try to sell us stuff to mimic these results, without a solid scientific foundation. It has already been researched that training under low oxygen circumstances does not deliver the same results as being at high altitude. Again, you only have to be at high altitude to get a bigger blood volume.
The reason is that a lack of oxygen simply shortens the effort you can do and therefor makes a training less effective.
Wearing a device like hepoxtech when you are not training makes more sense, but you would have to wear it for most of the day and during sleep.
That brings us back to the same downsides as the tent: sleeping with a device like that is probably not comfortable. It will likely get you less sleep quality and therefore less recovery.
Iâm a simple guy, and while I donât mind to suffer really hard, I also think that cycling should be fun. So, I would choose a trip to the mountains any day above sleeping in a tent or with a device on my face.
Besides that, this is not a sustainable approach. You can do this for a couple of weeks after which the effects remain for a couple of weeks.
Have fun, Coach Robert
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