SEMINAR: Up Down Up � Revisiting the Science of Altitude Training for Team Sports

Seminar: Historically, altitude training emerged in the 1960s and was limited to the “Live High Train High” method for the endurance athletes looking for increasing their hemoglobin mass and the oxygen transport. This “classical” method was completed in 1990s by the “Live High Train Low” (LHTL) method where athletes, including team-sport players, benefit from the long hypoxic exposure and from the higher intensity of training at low altitude (Girard et al.2013). Innovative “Live Low Train High” methods were proposed recently as repeated sprint training in hypoxia (RSH), resistance training in hypoxia or remote ischemic preconditioning, presumably with peripheral adaptations postponing muscle fatigue (Brocherie et al. 2017). RSH efficiency likely relates to the compensatory vasodilatory effects on fast twitch fibers behavior leading to an improved oxygen extraction by these fibers. Observations of greater amplitudes of muscle blood perfusion variations post-RSH, suggesting enhanced muscle blood flow, support the above hypothesis of greater oxygen utilization by fast twitch fibers after this particular intervention.

Beyond all these recent improvements, a combination of different hypoxic methods can be used for maximizing the benefits and reducing the main drawbacks of each one. Compared to“traditional” LHTL, by combining LHTL and RSH (“Live High Train Low and High”; LHTLH) where athletes live high and train low except for few intense workouts in altitude additional benefits regarding RSA (twice larger gains that were maintained at least for 3 weeks post-intervention) have been reported in elite field-hockey players, while gains in hemoglobin mass and in specific aerobic performance were similar (Brocherie et al. 2015). The superiority of LHTLH to LHTL was further demonstrated by an up- regulation of the mRNA expression of factors implicated in the regulation of oxygen signaling and transport, mitochondrial biogenesis as well as enzymes of mitochondrial metabolism (Brocherie et al. 2018).

In summary, the panorama of the hypoxic methods for team sports is now wider than in the past with the recent development of innovative methods to improve various aspects of in-game physical performance. This presentation aims to present the recent updates on altitude/hypoxic training (advancements and limitations) for team sports. Practical recommendations for implementation of these new methods will also be discussed. For instance, mobile hypoxic inflatable marquees - directly located on the playing ground - are now available; this opens new boundaries in future advancements of hypoxic training applications in team sports.

Speaker: Dr. Olivier Girard is a research scientist who has spent 15 years in the field of exercise physiology and biomechanics on developing and facilitating performance outcome- based solutions for players, coaches and the rest of their support team. He has completed his Doctoral Degree (2006) in Human Movement Sciences at the University of Montpellier in France. For 8 years (2008-2014 and then 2016-2018) he has been working as Research Scientist at Aspetar – Qatar Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Hospital. He was also employed at Lausanne University, Switzerland for 2 years (2014-2016). His research is focused on identifying, quantifying and explaining mechanisms responsible for fatigue during high- intensity intermittent exercises performed by team- or racket-sport athletes under challenging environmental conditions (i.e. heat stress or hypoxia). He also has a keen interest in the neuro-mechanical determinants that limit human performance, with a special focus on (repeated) sprinting mechanics and underpinning neuromuscular factors. Currently, his research is focusing on therapeutic use of hypoxia to improve cardio-metabolic health of ‘at risk’ patients (obese, injured athletes). He has published over 110 articles in peer-reviewed journals and 20 book chapters (>3500 citations; H-factor of 30) in the field of exercise physiology/sports biomechanics and he has presented his work on more than 130 national and international conferences.