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[RC] Altitude Training - Bruce Weary DC

I did a brief literature search on this topic as it affects horses, and found some interesting things. It's true that the spleen in the horse stores blood cells and is able to contract and send a significant number of blood cells into the blood stream. Some papers say that this can increase the hemoglobin concentration by as much as 70%. How long this lasts is unclear. In horses that experimentally had their spleens removed, their oxygen carrying capacity was reduced by about 30%.
However, there were several beneficial changes that occurred in horses trained at altitude or undergoing "simulated altitude training," which is an interesting topic itself. Even though the spleen can increase the blood's oxygen carrying capacity, exercise at altitude apparently increases the ability of the blood cell to release oxygen into the target cell for use, thus increasing aerobic capacity. The enzyme activity in the citric acid cycle was shown to increase, producing more energy. The oxidation of fatty acids was shown to increase, also creating more potential fuel. There was an increase in fast twitch muscle fibers, and a "morphing" or changing of other muscle fibers reflecting the effects of working in an environment of decreased oxygen. No doubt some of these changes occur with conditioning in general, but they were enhanced at altitude. I'm still looking things up, but having lived at over 5,000 feet for 20 years, I do feel an advantage when I do a ride at lower elevations. I suppose this will lead to some lively discussion. Dr Q, who's used to his brain not getting enough oxygen



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