Hematocrit? Height tent? The theory behind the “top condition” of Campenaerts

Victor Campenaerts, the current World Hour record holder, says he feels “top”, thanks to a few nights in his height tent. "I want to start my last training block with an unseen high hematocrit." Can't follow anymore? Kris Van der Mieren, federal doctor at Belgian Cycling, explains it all.

The use of a height tent

"An altitude training stimulates the production of natural erythropoietin, epo for short," says Van der Mieren. "The body needs epo to produce red blood cells. The hormone is on the UCI's banned list, but altitude training is a natural form of epo use."

“Sleeping in a height tent creates the same effects. The oxygen content in the air decreases and the production of EPO is stimulated. ”

“You get very good effects from 2,000 meters. And the higher you go, the stronger the effect. ”

Epo is on the UCI's forbidden list, but an altitude training course is a natural form of epo use and allowed under anti-doping rules.

Boost in the epo production

Victor Campenaerts set his height tent at 4,700 meters, "extremely high". Is that still healthy? "The higher you go, the more disadvantages there are," warns Van der Mieren. "If you suddenly reach 4,000 meters, you become restless and you suffer from shortness of breath."

“So you have to build up slowly. Victor has a schedule, which occasionally peaks. So he will never sleep at 4,700 meters 10 days in a row. Such a peak causes an extra boost in the EPO production. It gives it an extra kick under the ass, as it were. ”

Higher hematocrit, then what?

Thanks to his altitude training, Campenaerts now has more red blood cells, but how does that translate into his athletic performance? "The more red blood cells you have in your body, the more oxygen can be transported to the muscle cells."

“That is the famous hematocrit value. A normal man has a 42 percent value: if you poured a liter of blood through a funnel, you would have 42 percent red blood cells. Some riders once reached values above 60 percent. Then the blood is also much thicker and there is a risk that it will clot in the thinner blood vessels. ”

“Victor can now use his higher hematocrit level in heavier workouts. The more red blood cells, the higher the VO2Max and the more oxygen you can use during exercise. So its internal engines have become more powerful. ”

“Epo also stimulates the micro blood vessels in the muscles. For example, riders who have been baptized for 5 years will benefit from it for the rest of their career. ”

The more red blood cells, the higher the VO2Max and the more oxygen you can use during exercise. So its internal engines have become more powerful.

Are there also dangers of a height tent?

Can non-athletes also crawl in a height tent of 4,700 meters? "That is not life-threatening for a healthy man or woman," says Van der Mieren. “But anyone will gasp for a moment.

“This is due to oxygen saturation. Normally, 95 to 100 percent of the red blood cells are filled with oxygen. But the higher you go, the less oxygen in the air and the fewer cells are filled with oxygen. At an altitude of 4,700 meters, oxygen saturation can drop below 90 percent. ”

“Oxygen saturation is one of the criteria in the triage posts for the fight against the coronavirus. If the red blood cells are less than 92 percent filled with oxygen, they are hospitalized. ”

Source: Sporza.be

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