Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Lauren Calver
Professor Russel
KINE 3393-01
Living at high altitudes exposes an individual to the decrease in the oxygen partial pressure at an
exponential rate, the increase of altitude and the resulting hypoxic conditions can lead to
cognitive and physical alterations caused by a decreased oxygen intake. This article compared
the rate of perceived exertion for respiratory and leg muscles, using a 10 point Borg scale. For
this experiment, the researcher used 10 healthy male subjects during an incremental cycle
exercise at sea level and then at a high altitude. The researchers wanted to determine whether
hypoxia exposures alter the relative contribution of a limb as opposed to respiratory muscles
perceived a sensation of effort as limiting the exercise intensity. The main finding of this study
was that during incremental exercise RPE,resp scaled uniquely with the power output of the
respiratory muscles, regardless of differences in air density and hypoxic drive. RPE, legs for any
given level of power output of the corresponding muscle group was exacerbated by high altitude
This article is extremely relevant as it covers what happens to your body when exposed to
high altitudes and training in these conditions, we talked a lot about this in class in particularly
the live high train low concept. In class we learned that the higher altitude and the higher
duration activities that place demands on oxygen transport and uptake by tissues are the are those
that are most severely affected by the hypoxic conditions at altitude. This article also shows the
differences between the athlete’s performance at sea level compared to performance at altitude.
Calver 2
I really enjoyed this enjoyed this article it was very detailed and included graphs to make
the results clear especially when it came to comparing ventilation rates between sea level and
altitude. I believe the testing was very accurate especially because it took into consideration the
subjects height, weight and fitness levels to make the testing fair and accurate. It was very clear
in the graphs that everything done at sea level was better performed then at altitude. The results
of this testing were accurate to what I learned in class this semester, in the fact that the athlete’s
ventilation rate increased, heart rate increased, a decrease in stroke volume increased cardiac
output, increased Vo2, increased lactate production and decreased blood pH. These are all the
effects of what happens to athletes when exercising at altitude and the effects of acute hypoxia at
submaximal exercise intensity. However, I do not believe that this information in the article is
for the general public as it is not easy to understand as it abbreviates a lot of terms and presents
the material scattered and in a smaller font so I don’t believe everyone would enjoy or
understand this article as well as I could comprehend. The only real clear thing in this article was
the graphing between altitude and sea level vo2 differences and power output.
Link: https://ac.els-cdn.com/S1569904811000966/1-s2.0-S1569904811000966-
main.pdf?_tid=cc8124b1-ef04-46eb-b9e0-
d292f67cdd04&acdnat=1543413173_e563b46579f0cbe3f94d46486210f5f0