Question

Consider the statement "train high, complete low." How does this statement apply to oxygen needs during exercise. Some gyms now have hypobaric chambers and masks. How do these things increase an athlete's ability to complete? Be sure to mention ATP in your answer.

Answer 1

Cellular respiration is the process in which your muscles use oxygen to produce ATP energy. The process is simple. Your body obtains oxygen from the ambient air you breathe. It enters the blood stream and is carried to your muscles, where some of it is used immediately, and the rest is stored by a compound called myoglobin. Whether you’re exercising or not, the oxygen in your body is used to break down glucose and create the fuel for your muscles called ATP.

Muscles will stop working without oxygen, especially if you are going to be exercising for more than a couple of minutes. How much oxygen your muscles utilize depends on two processes: first, getting the blood to the muscles; second, extracting oxygen from the blood into the muscle tissue.

When muscles are working, they take oxygen out of blood three times as well as when muscles are at rest.

The body can increase the flow of oxygen-rich blood to working muscle in several ways

• rate and depth of breathing increases
• oxygen is unloaded faster from hemoglobin in working muscle

These will increase the blood flow to your working muscle by nearly five times. So when the muscle is working during exercise, the amount of oxygen the muscle utilizes can be increased by almost 15 times.

The altitude chamber allows athletes who live at sea-level to simulate “living high.” While asleep in the chamber, an air unit pumps in up to 150 liters of air per minute through the chamber while exporting carbon dioxide. The body works harder to produce more red blood cells, increasing oxygen delivery to the muscles.

In high-altitude environments, you draw in less oxygen per breath than you would at lower altitudes. ... When they compete at lower altitudes, they get a natural boost to the muscles when additional oxygen is available. This blood expanding effect can enhance performance in elite athletes by 1 to 2 percent.