Dr Mark Bailey - Duathlete
7 Time New Zealand National Duathlon Champion
Simulated Altitude Training (SAT) is now a well established method of enhancing the performance of athletes in a variety of events. It has featured in the training programs of world champions in running, cycling, triathlon, duathlon, and multisport.
Studies have demonstrated a performance improvement in the range of 1 to 3%. At first glance this may seem to be a small gain, but it becomes more impressive when it can be achieved by a total of just 15 hours of passive training. In addition it must be acknowledged that the performance boost gained by SAT may not necessarily be able to be gained by other forms of training. 1 to 3 % also takes on an incredible significance for elite athletes where it may translate to 10 or 20 places in a tightly contested event.
People sometimes express concern that a course of SAT may take up precious time at the expense of their training sessions. Indeed SAT is a supplementary training system that is not designed to replace usual training sessions. If it is being used as “the icing on the cake” for a particular event then a course of SAT will generally coincide with a period of reduced training volumes anyway making it easier to slot into the schedule. On the other hand if SAT is incorporated at another stage of the build-up e.g. to allow for a more intense period of training, then it is still usually possible to work this into most schedules. It may mean an earlier start to the day and fitting the sessions in before work. Alternatively lunch hours or time after work may be utilised.
SAT offers a simple system that has allowed the benefits of altitude training, once only available to full-time athletes and at considerable cost, to now be easily accessible and more affordable to everyone. When it comes to preparing for an event we must all make choices about training methods, nutrition, equipment and other factors. I make sure I’m in the best shape possible on race day and as such a course of SAT features in the build-up to all my key events.
Thanks to Gareth and his team at Perform0 (formerly Body02) Christchurch’s leading Altitude training outlet. They have helped both myself and the teams get to the start line in great shape and energy to burn.
Their proven system has helped in race/training recovery, injury recovery and an increase in endurance.With their help we have achieved some excellent results. For the best O2 training you cant go past them.