Welcome to our open thread. Charles dives right in with a question about the “training mask.”

Hey Kap,

Is there any training tools you like to use? Ever heard of the “Training Mask”/ thoughts, opinion?

Big fan of your blog!

-Charles

Charles,

You may be less of a fan after you read my reply. That’s a risk I’m willing to take.

When I hit search, I held my breath. “Please don’t be gimmicky, please don’t be gimmicky.” Repeating a wish more than once makes it more likely to come true, did you know that? I digress.

When this image popped up, I figured the wearer was safe in the event of a toxic spill, but I had no idea how the product was going to simulate training at high altitudes. At that point, I figured I had some homework to do.

Before we launch into the product, let’s discuss what makes training more difficult at a higher altitude. I like this simple explanation from ericwongmma.com:

Altitude training is based on the premise that when you’re at altitude, there’s less oxygen in the air, making exercise a lot harder. The higher you go, the less oxygen there is, the harder exercise is.

So, theoretically, training with a device that simulates training under these conditions could arm an athlete to perform better in a competition at the top of a mountain, for example. Here’s the issue. There have been studies conducted that suggest that altitude training isn’t a dependable system for high altitude competition.

Basically, that when hypoxic training (training at altitude) was compared to normal training, subjects on a 4 week interval training program showed NO DIFFERENCES IN RESULTS.

That means there were NO CHANGES in:

Aerobic fitness (VO2 max)

Anaerobic power (Wmax)

Anaerobic lactic power (OBLA)

The ability of your body to transport oxygen (hemoblogin and hematocrit)…

… between training at altitude vs. training normally at sea level.

Check out the entire piece for the in depth science and a really cool breakdown.

As always, Charles, my reply to your inquiry isn’t about this device, per se. It’s much more about gimmicks, shortcuts and expending our limited bandwidth on them. Instead of mining the easiest way, which training devices (not always) and supplements are generally focused on, I suggest zeroing in on the training programs and food that works well for our bodies.

With that, I’ll close with some acceptance. A workout with a mask, a pair of compression shorts, a weight belt and some energy gum is better than sitting on your porch ripping on a blunt.

Baby steps,

Kap

Hit me with your thoughts.