Jordan Johnson, Montana ready for Wyoming

[snowpoke]

Those without lung disease should be able to adapt to an altitude of 7200 ft pretty much immediately. I think the value of acclimatization doesn't hit until around 9-10,000 ft or so, where it will take time for the body to make physiological adjustments. Coming from sea-level would actually be an advantage in a sport like football because it is based on speed and the recovery at sea-level is faster. Training at low altitude long-term allows an athlete to train harder and faster and develop more fast-twitch muscle. However, since we are working out at this tough altitude all the time we should have better fitness. Football is not an endurance sport per se but the game is a couple hours long and recovery is important. Even though athletes from different elevations would be equal at 7000ft we SHOULD have the conditioning advantage, they will have the speed advantage. I would think the mental influence would be significant too. Both athletes suffer equally but it feels much scarier to the low-lander not being able to catch his breath.

Also, taking on oxygen during a game is totally cheating in my book. I never understood why they allowed that. The increase percentage of oxygen concentration from the canned air definitely makes up for the lack of oxygen due to pressure (correctly explained above). This would enable an athlete to recover faster on the sideline and also decrease muscular fatigue over the course of the game. Now maybe those guys in the Tour are shooting up with EPO in their hotel rooms but you sure as hell wouldn't see them pull up to the team car in the middle of the race and huff down some pure O2 on live TV- ridiculous!

[laxwyo]

I always thought aerial photos and headsets were totally cheating as well. If you can't see what's happening on the field as the game is happening to make adjustments, then you shouldn't be a coach

[kansasCowboy]

I agree with LAX. I live at 2,000 feet in Kansas. I go backpacking in WYO in the summer. I don't smoke and Ive kept myself in decent shape. Hiking up to "The Cirque of Towers" almost kills me! When living in Rock Springs just five years ago I was able to do it without hardly breaking a sweat.
Snowpoke, you can adapt, but not in a day or two. This is why Olympians train for months at a time at elevation.

[fromolwyoming]

I agree with LAX. I live at 2,000 feet in Kansas. I go backpacking in WYO in the summer. I don't smoke and Ive kept myself in decent shape. Hiking up to "The Cirque of Towers" almost kills me! When living in Rock Springs just five years ago I was able to do it without hardly breaking a sweat.
Snowpoke, you can adapt, but not in a day or two. This is why Olympians train for months at a time at elevation.

Yeah it takes about 2-3 weeks for your body to more or less adapt to a higher elevation.

[snowpoke]

I believe it KansasCowboy! That hike up from big sandy lake is no joke. The reason you're struggling is because you are past that break point where the body can quickly adapt to altitude. War Memorial is significantly lower and most people should adapt just fine.

As far as altitude camps go, they are thought to increase fitness by spurring red blood cell production in response to the low oxygen. This is basically what I was referring to when I said we should have a fitness advantage over other teams. Even if there is very little immediate physiological consequence of coming to 7,000 ft we are basically at a full time altitude camp and should be in better shape than our competitors.

Going to MSU and being constantly disappointed by losing to UM, even when we were supposed to be the better team, has me a little worried about this game. I think we pull it out though.

[MrTitleist]

...it is definitely the offseason.

[Wyokie]

...it is definitely the offseason.

One of two reason I hate summers. The other reason is the hellish humid heat here in Oklahoma.

[billings]

ReD Blood cells, capillaries, and atmospheric pressure. NOT lung capacity

Some nice charts here.

http://anthro.palomar.edu/adapt/adapt_3.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[kansasCowboy]

I believe it KansasCowboy! That hike up from big sandy lake is no joke. The reason you're struggling is because you are past that break point where the body can quickly adapt to altitude. War Memorial is significantly lower and most people should adapt just fine.

As far as altitude camps go, they are thought to increase fitness by spurring red blood cell production in response to the low oxygen. This is basically what I was referring to when I said we should have a fitness advantage over other teams. Even if there is very little immediate physiological consequence of coming to 7,000 ft we are basically at a full time altitude camp and should be in better shape than our competitors.

Going to MSU and being constantly disappointed by losing to UM, even when we were supposed to be the better team, has me a little worried about this game. I think we pull it out though.

I do agree to a point. But when I just go for a small 4-6 mile run in Rock Springs (6,500 ft) I am winded one mile in. That's the difference, a And I'm below Laramies elevation.

[Wyo2dal]

IMO this picture says it all.

[WestWYOPoke]

So, you're saying westwyopoke is incorrect in his assertion that taking oxygen during the game is worthless? That's my point. If there was enough oxygen for healthy lungs, there would never be a need for an unhealthy lung, which we know is false.
I live at 6200ft and recently hiked from creek (7800) to peek (10200) and my lungs could have used some extra O2. It's not that my lungs aren't getting enough O2, it's that they must start working harder, sooner than they normally would

In this case it doesn't have to do with oxygen, it has to do with red blood cells. Someone coming from sea level has less RBCs in their blood than someone in Laramie. Those guys breathing in Laramie are using all the RBCs they can, but it isn't enough, they need more RBCS, not more oxygen in the air. Thus using oxygen is pointless because they are physiologically unable to process more.

Also, I've had several people with Doctorates in Exercise Physiology tell me that visiting teams using O2 in Laramie is pointless, so I'll believe them.

[09Griz]

You guys talk about altitude like we talk about how cold and loud our stadium is.

[BJC]

it's the offseason......we are sort of reaching for topics.....I refresh this page constantly. We need the season to start!

[laxwyo]

And we'll argue what shade of blue the sky is

[Wyo2dal]

Think of it this way, CFL is playing during the NFL offseason and now we can hope Brett makes the Toronto roster so we can watch him instead of nit pick and argue for 6 months while we are all bored to tears!