Answers

12 answer(s)

<< First   < Prev   [1]   [2]   [3]   Next >   Last >>

Reply	Adam Laycock says: I think the main reason that training camps are at a high altitude is to improve the stamina and respirational efficiency of the athletes, to make them fitter in the long term, due to the lower oxygen levels in the air. I'm not sure it has anything to do with allowing them to go faster due to lower air reistance  (no votes) Tags: human body, planet earth, plants.
	posted on 2009-01-22 19:56:00 | Report abuse

Reply	Anonymous says: i think we need to be careful not to overlook the fact that if people are running and cycling at a hight altitude, they are probably running down hill and that might be why they are fasterthanks,nick  (no votes) Tags: human body, planet earth, plants.
	posted on 2009-01-23 13:55:00 | Report abuse

Reply	Anonymous says: Training at higher altitudes increases the number of red blood cells in the body due to the low levels of oxygen - this means that an athlete training at high altitude will have a higher endurance at lower altitudes. This is because back at lower altitudes, the air has a higher level of oxygen AND the athlete has more blood cells available to take up and carry oxygen!  (no votes) Tags: human body, planet earth, plants.
	posted on 2009-01-23 16:06:00 | Report abuse

Reply	Drew says: The questioner asks about *racing* and not training. In cycling, ~35% of energy is exerted in fighting wind resistance (this is why drafting is so important in racing), whereas in running, the effect is mainly psychological. So, Eddy Merckx' hour record was set at high altitude; assuming one has the fitness to cope, the thin air helps for some sports.  (no votes) Tags: human body, planet earth, plants.
	posted on 2009-01-26 18:34:00 | Report abuse

Reply	David Vaughan says: While cycling or long jumping might benefit most from lower air resistance the principal advantage in athletics would fall to short-distance events where the body draws substantially on its internal oxygen reserves (in the blood) to exploit the lower resistance before oxygen starvation sets in. One would expect the greatest advantage in sports which require explosive action through medium air resistance or otherwise suffer from very high air resistance in the short term.  (no votes) Tags: human body, planet earth, plants.
	posted on 2009-01-27 09:30:00 | Report abuse

<< First   < Prev   [1]   [2]   [3]   Next >   Last >>