What are the physiological and metabolic benefits attributed to intermittent hypoxic training, and how might this training modality influence overall health and performance?

Intermittent hypoxic training is a training or therapy that is very similar to training at high altitudes. You are intermittently giving your body lower amounts of oxygen.

By giving your body little doses of hypoxia, which means a lack of oxygen, you can create an amazing adaptation. You’re giving a small amount of stress intermittently to cause the body to rebound, adapt and become even stronger.

Benefits

• Improved performance

• May help with chronic lung disease

• May help with bronchial asthma

• May help with hypertension

• May help with diabetes

• May help with brain damage

• May help with radiation toxicity

• Increases your antioxidant network

• Increases the number of mitochondria

• May increase the number and size of red blood cells

• Helps release excessive amounts of calcium from the cells

• Increases oxygen to the tissues

• Decreases oxidative stress

How to do intermittent hypoxic training

You can get intermittent hypoxic training equipment—such as a small mask that fits over your nose and mouth. The mask restricts air and has different settings that will simulate different altitudes. You may start at 3,000 ft. and slowly work your way up to 19,000 ft. If you reduce the oxygen so it’s too low or reduce it for too long, it could be dangerous.

One pattern might look like this: 3 to 5 minutes of hypoxic air, where you’re breathing more CO2. Then, 2 to 5 minutes of ambient air (normal air). You might do these, back and forth, for about 45 minutes.

There is another method where you’re on a bicycle, and you’re breathing in a lesser amount of oxygen and more nitrogen.

You can also get a pulse oximeter, which will measure the amount of oxygen in your blood.