[sebastien murat]

Dear all,

For those contemplating purchasing such things as hypoxicators and altitude tents to boost their haematocrit (Hct) there is a much simpler and cost-effective solution:

Breath-holds (dry) on 'empty' lungs after prior hyperventilation will give you even more pronounced effects (I say dry because hyperventilating prior to holding the breath in water can obviously lead to drowning). In my case, for example, Hct is 63%, which is way beyond anything that has even remotely been achieved with these devices evn after continous use. Moreover, such breath-holds permit one to reach lower O2 saturations and more frequently, which is an important factor in the magnitude of the adaptive response.


Such a simple technique is not only easy and cheap to effect as it requires no time and no cost at all but is in itself applicable to employment by a variety of athletes involved in endurance activities.


Cheers,
Sebastien
Australia