ALTITUDE TRAINING - How can breathing reduced oxygen improve your health?

Oxygen is essential in human life but too much can cause unwanted damage to tissue. Spare oxygen molecules in the body are known as Oxidants, they are highly reactive and will steal any available molecule to make the neutral and stable again. This unwanted theft from healthy molecules causes unwanted cellular damage in many cases. Just like an aging peach, when exposed to excess oxygen the aging process speeds up, the skin starts to wrinkle and the fruit begins to rot. This happens to the human body too. When your antioxidant system is over-run by oxidants the balance is upset and illness and disease sets in.

By training your body with hypoxic air you stimulate the antioxidant system to work more efficiently at dealing with these oxidants.

How can breathing reduced Oxygen improve your metabolism?

Oxygen is used to convert food into energy. By improving your oxygen efficiency we improve the way you metabolise food. The expected benefits are listed below:

Burn more calories:                 Improved RMR:                                         Improved Aerobic Function:

When you are doing the         When your body is working                      Not all our energy is produced

training you will actually         efficiently the ratio of fat and                    aerobically. Healthy people

be burning more calories        carbohydrates converted into                   make  93% of their energy

just as you sit and breathe    energy through aerobic respiration           aerobically and the rest

the air mixtures. your body     is optimised. Aerobic respiration               anaerobically. Bad breathing

will be working hard (not        is the normal way your body uses            can decrease the amount of

muscular exercise but             oxygen to convert food into energy.         energy we make aerobically

cellular exercise).                    Fat is the only food source that can          to 84% (Buteyko 1986).

                                               be stored by the body, it contains             Anaerobic energy metabolism

                                               the most energy. When you are                is much less efficient and more

                                               working efficiently the body can                destabilising to homeostasis

                                               break down this food source. When          than aerobic metabolism.

                                               you work harder you burn                         (Homeostasis is the ability of

                                               carbohydrates and sugars as part             body to maintain a steady

                                               of aerobic respiration as these food          State despite the changes

                                               sources are easier to turn into                  going on within and around us)

                                               energy. By improving your aerobic             And lactic acid is made. Too

                                               efficiency (Banister et. al 1978)                much lactic acid can be

                                               (Stuke et. al 2004) you will have               damaging to our cells in the

                                               more energy as this source                       long term.

                                               of food is more abundant. your

                                               RMR (Resting Metabolic Rate) will

                                               improve towards that of a "fat burner".

           Physiological Effects:

• Increased Lung Function
• Improved Circulation
• Improved Energy Levels
• Heart Protecting Properties
• Improved Cell Function

Please refer to the Altitude Page for a full list of the benefits you can look forward to.

24 HOURS OF PAIN IN THE RAIN!

The question of why would you race off road and be active for 24hrs always intrigues me. Preparing for the 24hrs of adrenalin solo world champs in Canmore Canada was intense and I was feeling fit and strong until a week prior to flying overseas I collided with a car whilst training, breaking my thumb. Not letting this injury deter me and give up I just 'kept on keeping on'.
Endurance racing is such a mind game so leading up to my event I made many sacrifices in my normal living routine making sure I prioritised my training and keeping it separated from the rest of my duties. These sacrifices and the preparation that was organized by my Elite Sportz Specialist Andrew Ivey kept me focused and gave me confidence to continue.
Red Bull Energy had organized for me to arrive in Calgary a city 110km away from the race venue in Canmore. I was so nervous not knowing whether my injured thumb would withstand 24hrs of battering throughout the Canadian technical terrain. Arriving in Canmore and getting accustomed to my surroundings and hanging with my new friends from the Bicycle Cafe my nerves were calming and I was getting amped to endure pain in the weekend ahead.
With typical Canadian mountainous terrain the course was filled with plenty of steep climbing, technical descents and not much room for rest.

Saturday July 26 12 noon let the pain begin.
My race plan was not to chase other competitors but just to race my own race and keep on knocking out the laps throughout the duration of the 24hrs. Though once I was 8hrs into it I was feeling like I had nothing, the sky's had opened up soaking the course and making continuing to ride throughout the night not fun to say the least. The rain made the course un ride-able in some sections and the tree roots were like riding on ice. The people that were supporting me and keeping my Santa Cruz Blur bikes running smooth couldn't believe how determined I was and they could see how much pain I was in.
I was only able to finish in 15th place but with this result I was happy and satisfied because towards the end my body was so ruined that I just wanted to finish.
Canmore is a great place, great people and amazing scenery so to have this time I have after the event is a great time to relax and unwind. I do feel as though the pain was worth it because not much beats pushing yourself to limit to find out what your physically capable of doing.

Thanks to all the people and companies that were right behind me and making this adventure happen.

~ Johnny Waddell

FUELING YOUR BODY

Endurance athletes require all three forms of fuel the human body uses for energy: carbohydrate, protein, and fat. A major aspect for optimal performance is using the right fuel, at the right time, in the right amount. Like every aspect of success in endurance events, correct nutrition requires planning, practice, and training to obtain the benefits on race day.

As most athletes know, “carbs are king” when it comes to fueling the body for any
endurance exercise. That does not mean that any carbohydrate at any time will keep you going. Carbohydrates can either help or hinder performance, depending on what kind you use, how much you use, and when you use them. For example, far too many misinformed athletes continue to use energy products loaded with simple sugars, or they use complex carbs, a better choice, but at the wrong time and in the wrong amounts. These practices actually impair, not help, your performance.

Most dietary sugars are simple molecules known as monosaccharides and disaccharides. The shorter the chain length a carbohydrate, the higher it will raise a chemical measure known as osmolality when dissolved. In solution, simple sugars can only attain about 6-8% concentration or they will sit undigested in your stomach, as the osmolality is incompatible with the digestive juices. Products containing simple sugars (typically sucrose, fructose, glucose, and/or dextrose) must be extremely dilute to match body fluid osmolality. This weak of a concentration presents a problem to athletes because it cannot provide sufficient calories (perhaps only 100/hour) to working muscles. To obtain enough calories from a weak 6-8% solution, an athlete would have to consume excess fluid, which certainly increases the risk of fluid intoxication. So using simple sugar-based “energy drinks” is not the best approach.

So, can we just mix a stronger concentration? No, this approach also fails. Making a double or triple strength mixture from a simple sugar based carbohydrate fuel won’t work because the concentration of that mixture will exceed 6-8%, far too concentrated to match body fluid osmolality. It will remain in the stomach until adequately diluted, which may cause significant stomach distress. Drinking more water to dilute your over-concentrated mix puts you back in the original state of increased risk of over-hydration and all the problems that creates, so that’s not a good option.

On the flip side, if you don’t drink more, your body will draw fluids and electrolytes from other areas that critically need these fluids and electrolytes (like blood and muscle) and divert them to the digestive system to deal with your over-concentrated simple sugar drink. This also will result in a variety of stomach-related issues, not to mention increased cramping potential and other performance-limiting issues. The simple fact is that using simple sugar-based products are not the better option for an endurance athlete!

Johnny Waddell Guest Column in Australian MTB magazine

SYNDICATE'S HENDERSHOT AND WADDELL TO RACE 24-HR WORLD CHAMPS

Thursday Aug. 23, 2007

Santa Cruz Syndicate racers, Mark Hendershot and John Waddell prepare for the 9th annual World Solo 24 Hours of Adrenalin race that will take place just outside Monterey California at the Laguna Seca Raceway on September 1 & 2, 2007.  Just before noon Saturday, spectators will fill the expo area to cheer everyone on as the event begins with the famous LeMans start. Riders will complete as many laps as possible in the 24-hour time frame and Hendershot and Waddell are each racing solo!

Hendershot looks forward to the race and says, "This is my 7th year racing at the World Solo 24-Hour
Championships.  This race began in California, has been held in British Columbia, Georgia, and now back in California. I've been in the top 5 every year. Weird things always happen to me at the World's. One year in Whistler I had to get an emergency root canal the day before the race. I couldn't believe my luck to find a dentist willing to spend Friday evening ripping apart my mouth. I listened to the Cure throughout the procedure. Years later, it still hurts to listen to the Cure.

The competition is tougher at World Championships than at any other race. I'm hoping for a good finish.  I've done three 24-hour races this year, put up two wins, and a third at the National Championships.  I'm stoked to be racing with my team mate Johnny Waddell.  I've never had the chance to race with the Syndicate boys since I don't hurl myself down mountains at a million miles per hour."

Waddell says, "Physical exertion is what I crave, hands down.  After arriving home from the states
earlier this year my motivation wasn't at the highest it has been.   Then my coach, Andrew Ivey, said to me,"If your biggest race doesn't motivate you, I don't know what can". Since then I've been concentrating on specific training over the last 14 weeks, on top of my already strong 3-year physical fitness. After putting in so much time and effort into this race, I'm really looking forward to going back to Monterey just to enjoy the experience and appreciate how far I've actually had to come to get to this particular point. I say bring it on.  Love the pain.  Enjoy the ride!"

These two tough characters will send a race update and let us know all about their triumphs, weird
happenings, hallucinations and results from the World Solo 24-Hour Championships in just a few short weeks.