Training for Altitude and the Heat with Lindsay Golich | KoopCast Episode 178 (2020)
Episode overview:
Lindsay is an exercise physiologist at the Olympic and Paralympic Training Center’s Athlete Performance Lab, and the High Altitude & Environmental Training Center (HATC). She works with USA Triathlon, USA Cycling and other Team USA Athletes in Sport Sciences and Data Analytics towards Olympic success. This episode of the podcast is all about how to train in the heat and at altitude.
Episode highlights:
(24:00) Impact of cooling interventions: 6% delay in critical core temperature, athletes make better decisions when cool, changing strategy rather than training, recap of interventions, simple is best
(44:00) How to prepare for altitude: one of the most common questions, fitness and hydration, come to altitude right before your event or 2-3 weeks prior, Pikes Peak example
(52:50) Pacing at altitude: prepare your biomechanics, practice hiking, be comfortable slowing down, Pikes Peak Marathon example, be prepared
Our conversation:
(0:00) Introduction: Lindsay’s role at the Olympic Training Center
(1:28) The High Altitude Training Center: HATC acronym, evolution of live high-train low, banter
(2:45) Equipment at the HATC: collaborating departments, changing altitude, temperature, and humidity to match any competition environment, Rio Olympics example, diversity of cooperating sports, Tokyo Olympics
(6:37) Heat stress testing: testing athletes at environmental extremes, marathon example, developing individualized race strategies
(7:51) Heat stress protocol: internal core temperature limit, time duration limit, volitional exhaustion limit, examples, competing across time zones
(10:14) General tips for heat stress: fitness is top priority, hydration and sweat rate, deliberate dehydration strategy in cycling
(13:18) Heat tolerance requires preventative measures: this has been consistent in research, technology helps coaches to understand athlete experiences, it can be hard to visually tell when professional athletes tire
(15:19) Balancing coaching and testing: counseling coaches and athletes using objective data, translational physiology
(17:28) Predictions for the Tokyo Olympics: heat challenges, test events, preparing athletes for competition, ice vests, ice slushies, cooling tents
(20:50) Everyday application of cooling vests: when a cooling vest is necessary, lower your core temperature pre-race, run with water, DIY cooling vests, ice and misters
(24:00) Impact of cooling interventions: 6% delay in critical core temperature, athletes make better decisions when cool, changing strategy rather than training, recap of interventions, simple is best
(27:49) Individual heat tolerance: sport type is non-correlative, too many factors to predict, example, preparation is key, fitness trumps all
(30:14) Training at altitude: most events take place near sea level, training at extra high altitude hinders rather than enhances performance, at high altitude you have decreased training capacity
(33:23) When to use high altitude training: training camps themselves are key, endurance athletes train up to 8500 feet, red blood cells and iron are prerequisites to benefit from altitude training, blood testing, testing for total hemoglobin mass to assess acclimatization
(36:54) Blood testing for live high-train low athletes: red blood cell count, hematocrit, hemoglobin, ferritin levels, when to avoid altitude, using camps to minimize life stresses
(39:23) Blood testing outcomes: commercial examples, health, dietary, and performance outcomes, athlete-specific blood marker ranges, hemoglobin example, problems with reference ranges
(43:04) Frequency of blood testing: ideally 4x/year, more for altitude training interventions
(44:00) How to prepare for altitude: one of the most common questions, fitness and hydration, come to altitude right before your event or 2-3 weeks prior, Pikes Peak example
(47:43) The 3-2-1 workout: Pikes Peak Marathon, first woman to run a marathon, workout structure, this workout is dumb, the benefit is psychological not physiological
(51:00) Aconcagua example: training at 20,000 feet for pacing and nutritional strategy
(52:50) Pacing at altitude: prepare your biomechanics, practice hiking, be comfortable slowing down, Pikes Peak Marathon example, be prepared
(56:30) Altitude training equipment: if you can gain 5% from better training, special altitude tools are not necessary, practice using altitude tents before applying to competitions, know how to use your equipment
(59:05) Dean Golich: Koop’s coaching education, win two world championships before using altitude tents, look for the low hanging fruit
(1:01:28) Athletes want altitude kit: fancy equipment is a tangible, fast-acting reward, knowing when not to use altitude equipment
(1:03:23) Fewer competitions means better training: constant racing gets in the way of training, examples, breaking world records in 2022
(1:05:42) Covid and the Olympics: restructuring training, positive physiological benefits for endurance sports, competition and motivation
(1:09:09) Covid and testing at the HATC: regulations and policies, lactate and VO2max testing, the velodrome
(1:11:34) Wrap-up: giving thanks, translational physiologists, use only the tools you need
(1:13:25) Outro: tour the Olympic Training Center, review the KoopCast
Additional resources:
KoopCast #31 with Stavros Kavouras- Hydration
KoopCast #29 with Shawn Arent- Performance Testing
Buy Training Essentials for Ultrarunning on Amazon or Audible
Information on coaching-
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Twitter/Instagram- @jasonkoop