Oxygen Tents?

[kingjreid]

hey if you've read Lance Armstrong's books, you'll have noticed that he talks alot about sleeping in oxygen tents...and then there's all this stuff about guys at altitude doing better than guys at the coast (like me:)

 

my question is this... why aren't oxygen tents more readily available and why aren't more people using them? are they very expensive?

 

[Cois]

As I understand it lowers the O% in the air.  And yes it is like the guys staying at the coast vs inland.

For me it is a form of doping.  You can rather move to the alps and ride there to get results that wasn't helped by science.

 

[Craven]

3600 Pounds just for the generator, you still have to buy the actual tent then.

Suppose that might explain why you dont see many of them around...

 

http://www.altitudecentre.com/shop/product_info.php?cPath=61_69&products_id=134&SID=1d9532b2aa509ac458f048474ff61161

[dirtrider]

Cois a oxy tent is not really science !!! and doping !!!?? Can we compare altitude training with training in an oxy tent ? BTW rather just go to Dullstroom , people from the Alps go there to train .

[Oiltrash]

When does the person actually get into the oxygen tent? Just before the race?

[Pieter Henning]

I'm not entirely sure, but I think there are two different types:

 

Oxygen chambers (for enhanced recovery) that have a higher percentage of oxygen inside them.

 

VS.

 

Altitude Tents (for training) which re-creates the effect of breathing at a high altitude when you are inside them.

 

Anyone know more about this?

Phen2008-04-09 13:56:02

[Craven]

Altitude tents are put up around your bed, creating a low oxygen envirnoment (like at high altitude) where your body is forced to produce more red blood cells.

Theory goes that you should train at low altitude so that the body gets the oxygen it needs to function. Then sleep at altitude so that the body creates more red blood cells.

 

Are you refering to Hyberbaric chambers Phen? They are used for decompression for divers with the bends, old people who get some or other medicinal benefit out of using it somehow (???) and testing lab rats (my favorite lab test ever, riding in a hyperbaric chamber full of helium  But we were not allowed to talk )

 

Would love to experiment with a tent!

[gianni]

the ordinary joe soap like us (Craven excluded of course! ) doesn't need an oxygen tent.....just ride the bike more.

 

[boeing]

Alright.

 

The tent that simulates high altitude is a hypoxic chamber/tent. Hypoxia is a reduction in oxygen.

Oxygen tents are used in the recovery process after injury, however it will not have any benefit on the cardiovascular system!

 

Hypoxic tents are cheap (a couple of thousand) but the generators needed to suck out the air in the tent start at roughly R40 000. There was talk of the tents being banned as they stimulate EPO production in the body (naturally). This is the same as if you were at high altitude. Personally, there is no reason to ban them but the same dangers exist as in EPO or blood doping i.e blood thickening; therefore you need to closely monitor your progress. They are not illegal though. They do work.

 

The idea behind altitude training is training low and sleeping high. The majority of the body's adaptations would occur at rest, so every night you would have to sleep in the tent. It isn't a quick adaptation though. The benefits only really occur after a year! Personal Some tents are designed to train in too as some people feel that training at high altitudes will have the same benefits

 

[Pieter Henning]

 

Are you refering to Hyberbaric chambers Phen? They are used for decompression for divers with the bends' date=' old people who get some or other medicinal benefit out of using it somehow (???) and testing lab rats

[/quote']

 

I think that might be what I was thinking about, but they also use it for athletes with injuries (???). A friend of my sister was an Olympic 800m athlete and he said they put him in one of those for two hours at a time for a couple of days to speed up the recovery when he was injured. Think it was a hammstring injury. Will see if I can find out more.

[Cois]

 

Cois a oxy tent is not really science !!! and doping !!!?? Can we compare altitude training with training in an oxy tent ? BTW rather just go to Dullstroom ' date=' people from the Alps go there to train .[/quote']

Oom DR you know mos.. Anything with a on and off switch is science to me.

The effects you get in a oxy tent is the same and as one of the posts said it might have the same effect as EPO.

Where is Dullstroom again.  I know I must know this but I don't. 

One can clearly see that a oxy tent will effect your performance, and I believe that any thing except training and hard work must be seen as doping.

Inc most energy drinks and supplements. 

That is reason 1 why I am not racing while I am on my medical trails...

 

[L'Bie]

Cois a oxy tent is not really science !!! and doping !!!?? Can we compare altitude training with training in an oxy tent ? BTW rather just go to Dullstroom ' date=' people from the Alps go there to train .[/quote']
Oom DR you know mos.. Anything with a on and off switch is science to me.
The effects you get in a oxy tent is the same and as one of the posts said it might have the same effect as EPO.
Where is Dullstroom again.  I know I must know this but I don't. 
One can clearly see that a oxy tent will effect your performance, and I believe that any thing except training and hard work must be seen as doping.
Inc most energy drinks and supplements. 
That is reason 1 why I am not racing while I am on my medical trails...

Cois, I think you are a purist and to me that is a good thing. Respect the man for his views!

The EPO thing though, while sleeping in a tent is rubbish. When sleeping in a tent simulating a high altitude, you can not overdose and risk the same side effects as with EPO since your body makes the changes. Doping with EPO is a process you apply to the body and hense the risks. Yes there are benefits in having more red blood, but the natural process can not compete with the levels of performance from doping. The tent only cuts out the traveling necessary to achieve the same results. Anyway, by the sound of things the equipment are just as expensive as the traveling.

[Racing Hart]

 

Are you refering to Hyberbaric chambers Phen? They are used for decompression for divers with the bends' date=' old people who get some or other medicinal benefit out of using it somehow (???) and testing lab rats

[/quote']

 

I think that might be what I was thinking about, but they also use it for athletes with injuries (???). A friend of my sister was an Olympic 800m athlete and he said they put him in one of those for two hours at a time for a couple of days to speed up the recovery when he was injured. Think it was a hammstring injury. Will see if I can find out more.

 

I believe reading a story about jean de villiers before last year's world cup. And he made an unbelievable quick recovery. I remember they said he is out for the tournament and at the 1st or 2nd game he was already back.

[boeing]

 

Cois a oxy tent is not really science !!! and doping !!!?? Can we compare altitude training with training in an oxy tent ? BTW rather just go to Dullstroom ' date=' people from the Alps go there to train .[/quote']

Oom DR you know mos.. Anything with a on and off switch is science to me.

The effects you get in a oxy tent is the same and as one of the posts said it might have the same effect as EPO.

Where is Dullstroom again.  I know I must know this but I don't. 

One can clearly see that a oxy tent will effect your performance, and I believe that any thing except training and hard work must be seen as doping.

Inc most energy drinks and supplements. 

That is reason 1 why I am not racing while I am on my medical trails...

Cois, I think you are a purist and to me that is a good thing. Respect the man for his views!

The EPO thing though, while sleeping in a tent is rubbish. When sleeping in a tent simulating a high altitude, you can not overdose and risk the same side effects as with EPO since your body makes the changes. Doping with EPO is a process you apply to the body and hense the risks. Yes there are benefits in having more red blood, but the natural process can not compete with the levels of performance from doping. The tent only cuts out the traveling necessary to achieve the same results. Anyway, by the sound of things the equipment are just as expensive as the traveling.

 

There is a certain amount of risk using a tent if it is not monitored properly etc

 

[ewep]

Pricing here:

http://www.competitivecyclist.com/road-bikes/product-accessories/2008-colorado-altitude-training-150-tent-cat-9-generator-3404_712_TRUE.html

[bob_the_builder]

 

hey if you've read Lance Armstrong's books' date=' you'll have noticed that he talks alot about sleeping in oxygen tents...

 

[/quote']

 

Yeah? Him and Michael Jackson both... what's the point?