Training for altitude

Kyle M. Meintzer

One of the most common problems that high country hunters have is adapting to the thin air at high altitude. This is especially true for us flatlanders who live at low elevations. Yet there is an easy way to help reduce the effects of going from 1,000 feet to 8,000 feet or higher, if not eliminate the effects altogether.

What I recommend is “interval training.”  Go to your local high school track and sprint the straights and jog or walk the turns. Do as many reps as you can handle.  The first time I did this workout, I did an easy two mile run to the track. Then I did 24 reps on the track and ran easily again on the way home. After I’d been home for a while, my legs felt like rubber. I mean they literally got wobbly!  But two days later, I did the same workout and the recovery was much quicker and without rubbery legs.

I’d recommend you start the interval work 3-4 weeks before you head to the mountains. Do it twice a week, but no more than twice a week. Don’t do it at all the last 5 or so days before you start your hunt. You should also warm up well before you start those sprints. The last thing you need is a muscle pull three weeks before your hunt!  Post run stretching will also aid your recovery.

Interval training is anaerobic exercise, meaning exercise “without oxygen.” Which is exactly what you need to train your body to adapt to for high altitude hunts.  This regimen will help train your body to deal with less oxygen. When you then get to the high mountains, you’ll adapt more quickly, or may even be fully adapted when you arrive. I’ve personally never had any altitude problems. Part of that may be my body makeup, but I strongly believe that my training in general, along with these type of workouts, have helped a great deal.

Another thing that I always try to do is go for an easy 4-7 mile run the evening before I start the hunt or go into camp. I do these runs after a long day’s drive on the way to the hunt. I’ll over-night in a place like Park City, UT, for example, at 7,000’ elevation, check into the motel, then go for the run. This run helps me relax after the eleven-hour drive, but most important, it has me exercising at altitude. So my body adapts evens quicker.

This routine works, guys! Give it a try and I think you’ll notice the difference!