Science News

Athletes Can Train at Altitude Without Leaving the Comfort of Their Beds

A new gadget to help athletes get the full advantage of altitude training from the comfort of their bed at home has recently been unveiled by New York company Hypoxico. Athletes train at high altitude because the lower-levels of oxygen in the air stimulates the numbers of red blood cells in the blood to increase. Afterwards, when they return to sea level (or shortly Sydney) where there is more oxygen, the increased numbers of red blood cells enable them to deliver much more oxygen to their muscles so they can run faster. The new invention is a self-standing sealed ‘hypoxic tent’ which reduces the amount of oxygen inside to simulate high altitude. Recent studies have shown that athletes need only to sleep at high altitude in order to increase their numbers of red blood cells so this invention (which will fit on top of a double bed) should enable British Athletes to spend a bit more time at home and a bit less money on trips to high places ! You can check out the invention for yourself on the web at www.hypoxico.com.

10th Sep 2000