Sea Level Training

hammonjj said:

I'm going to be moving to Pennsylvania soon and I got to think,"Will I be a better rider at sea level?"

What do you think? Can I expect to see inprovements in things like FTP and endurence at sea level? I currently reside in Boulder,CO, which is over a mile high.

I would expect to see some improvement in FTP, since training and living at altitude does not impart any performance advantage and to some degree limits peripheral adaptations due to reduced oxygen flux.

Yes. But I think it wil be short lived because you will adapt quickly. I am sure someone will correct me if I am wrong.

My understanding is that you will also see a change in the style of racing between the east coast and Colorado. Our races are shorter and faster. Your races are longer and hillier.

How long have you lived in Colorado? If your entire life, then the improvement, although small would be lasting. If you lived and raced outside Colorado for a long period, I agree that the improvement might be transient or even nil if you move here in the off-season.

hammonjj said:

I'm going to be moving to Pennsylvania soon and I got to think,"Will I be a better rider at sea level?"

What do you think? Can I expect to see inprovements in things like FTP and endurence at sea level? I currently reside in Boulder,CO, which is over a mile high.

I've seen some literature on this, off the top of my head I belive you'll see aroughly 7-9% percent gain in medium to long term power output at sea level. It probably won't mean you're a better rider relative to your competition, however, since your competitors in Pa are also that same 7-9% more powerful than if they lived at altitude..

whoawhoa said:

I've seen some literature on this, off the top of my head I belive you'll see aroughly 7-9% percent gain in medium to long term power output at sea level. It probably won't mean you're a better rider relative to your competition, however, since your competitors in Pa are also that same 7-9% more powerful than if they lived at altitude..

On the contrary, you should be able to beat quite a few of them as you will have more oxygen-carrying capacity in your blood stream due to living in thinner air. You will benefit from what's known as altitude training, but the benefits will wear off as your body becomes accustomed to the more oxygen-rich air at sea level.

Unless your competitors have all moved down from the mountains, they won't have benefited from the move to oxygen-rich air.

So enter lotsa races and win em while you can!

grahamspringett said:

On the contrary, you should be able to beat quite a few of them as you will have more oxygen-carrying capacity in your blood stream due to living in thinner air. You will benefit from what's known as altitude training, but the benefits will wear off as your body becomes accustomed to the more oxygen-rich air at sea level.

Unless your competitors have all moved down from the mountains, they won't have benefited from the move to oxygen-rich air.

So enter lotsa races and win em while you can!

He will be better, but he still won't have the sea-level FTP to beat these guys. Now, if you live at altitude and train at sea level...