banning altitude tents?

"M. Bakunin" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

interesting piece just posted online:
"Three of the top United States cyclists in this year¹s Tour de France
use a special method to enhance their performance, and it is legal. They
sleep in altitude tents or altitude rooms that simulate the low-oxygen
conditions of high altitude. This prompts the body to make more
oxygen-carrying red blood cells and can lead to improved endurance."
the all story at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/26/sports/othersports/26altitude.html?hp&e
x=1153886400&en=37985d6063c51880&ei=5094&partner=homepage

There's no mention in the article of there being any harmful health effects
to this.

The problem with doping isn't with performance enhancement per se, it's with
the side efffects. Increasing the danger of strokes, or changing your
hormonal balance -- these aren't good things for your body.

That's the logic of allowing caffeine -- it might enhance performance, but
it's not harmful.

The whole "spirit of the sport" thing seems odd. Why are massages consistent
with the spirit of the sport, but sleeping in a tent isn't? Is Coke (TdF
sponsor) consistent with the spirit of the sport, but Pepsi isn't?

One part of the article is pretty funny if you are a fan of whining:
"runners from Kenya do not have that problem because many of them live at
high altitudes.'How many Americans or Western Europeans do we have that are
competitive with the best athletes in the world? Very few,' Salazar said.
'We've got such small numbers, do we need another handicap? '"

Poor little Americans and Western Europeans, lacking all those advantages of
growing up in Kenya -- one of the poorest countries on earth.

Mike Kruger said:

"M. Bakunin" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

interesting piece just posted online:
"Three of the top United States cyclists in this year¹s Tour de France
use a special method to enhance their performance, and it is legal. They
sleep in altitude tents or altitude rooms that simulate the low-oxygen
conditions of high altitude. This prompts the body to make more
oxygen-carrying red blood cells and can lead to improved endurance."
the all story at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/26/sports/othersports/26altitude.html?hp&e
x=1153886400&en=37985d6063c51880&ei=5094&partner=homepage

There's no mention in the article of there being any harmful health effects
to this.

The problem with doping isn't with performance enhancement per se, it's with
the side efffects. Increasing the danger of strokes, or changing your
hormonal balance -- these aren't good things for your body.

That's the logic of allowing caffeine -- it might enhance performance, but
it's not harmful.

The whole "spirit of the sport" thing seems odd. Why are massages consistent
with the spirit of the sport, but sleeping in a tent isn't? Is Coke (TdF
sponsor) consistent with the spirit of the sport, but Pepsi isn't?

Perhaps in their next "spirit of the sport" pronouncement WADA will
take the position that an athlete that trains harder and/or longer than
their competitors is acting unethically. ;-)
It seems to me anyway that WADA is forgetting that their name is the
World *Anti-Doping* Authority and that their mandate is to combat the
use of performance enhancing *drugs*, not to act as arbiters of the
ethics of training methods.

Regards,
Bob Hunt

Mike Kruger said:

Quoted message said:

"Three of the top United States cyclists in this year?s Tour de France
use a special method to enhance their performance, and it is legal. They
sleep in altitude tents or altitude rooms that simulate the low-oxygen
conditions of high altitude. This prompts the body to make more
oxygen-carrying red blood cells and can lead to improved endurance."

Following a disappointing showing in the 1968 Summer Olympics (Mexico
City, 8000'😉, the USOC established its training center in Colorado
Springs, which by an amazing coincidence is at six or seven thousand feet.
The skaters who train at the Olympic Oval near my house (4700'😉 live in
Park City (+/- 7500'😉 with the downhill skiers.
If altitude is a "drug," at least it's a natural one.

Bill, who has been "high" and "performance enhanced" most of his life.

------------------------------------------------------------------
| What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans and the |
| homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name |
| of totalitarianism or the holy name of liberty or democracy? |
| -- Mahatma Gandhi |
------------------------------------------------------------------

"M. Bakunin" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

interesting piece just posted online:
"Three of the top United States cyclists in this year¹s Tour de France
use a special method to enhance their performance, and it is legal. They
sleep in altitude tents or altitude rooms that simulate the low-oxygen
conditions of high altitude. This prompts the body to make more
oxygen-carrying red blood cells and can lead to improved endurance."
the all story at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/26/sports/othersports/26altitude.html?hp&e
x=1153886400&en=37985d6063c51880&ei=5094&partner=homepage

Ridiculous to ban something like this. It's called "conditioning." It's no
more a violation of the "spirit of the sport" than any other non-cycling
conditioning program -- weight training; yoga; prayer; calorie-counting.

RichC

Nothing wrong with that. Many cyclists live and train in high altitude
regions for the same effect. Since not everyone has that privilage,
simulating it by artificial means just makes the game more fair for all,
IMO.

- -
Comments and opinions compliments of,
"Your Friendly Neighborhood Wheelman"

My web Site:
http://geocities.com/czcorner

To E-mail me:
ChrisZCorner "at" webtv "dot" net

Rich Clark said:

Ridiculous to ban something like this. It's called "conditioning."
It's no more a violation of the "spirit of the sport" than any other
non-cycling conditioning program -- weight training; yoga; prayer;
calorie-counting.

I think I'll try praying to get faster. Now pass the chips!

Bill "bad diet: last bastion of self destruction" S.

"Bill Sornson" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Rich Clark said:

Ridiculous to ban something like this. It's called "conditioning."
It's no more a violation of the "spirit of the sport" than any other
non-cycling conditioning program -- weight training; yoga; prayer;
calorie-counting.

I think I'll try praying to get faster. Now pass the chips!

Be sure to check that your god is UCI approved.

Mike Kruger said:

"M. Bakunin" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

interesting piece just posted online:
"Three of the top United States cyclists in this year¹s Tour de France
use a special method to enhance their performance, and it is legal. They
sleep in altitude tents or altitude rooms that simulate the low-oxygen
conditions of high altitude. This prompts the body to make more
oxygen-carrying red blood cells and can lead to improved endurance."
the all story at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/26/sports/othersports/26altitude.html?hp&e
x=1153886400&en=37985d6063c51880&ei=5094&partner=homepage

There's no mention in the article of there being any harmful health effects
to this.

The problem with doping isn't with performance enhancement per se, it's with
the side efffects. Increasing the danger of strokes, or changing your
hormonal balance -- these aren't good things for your body.

That's the logic of allowing caffeine -- it might enhance performance, but
it's not harmful.

Caffeine is harmful if you take too much. If you have even marginally
high blood pressure it raises it (my case) and if you take too much to
get really wired the comedown is worse than a hangover. I learned that
by taking a whole box of no-Doze during a 1,500 mile plus drive when I
was about 21. At the end there was no amount of caffeine that would keep
me fully alert and when I got back to L.A. after touring the state and
decided to sleep it all off I learned the consequences. My body wound
down as expected but the headache from caffeine overdose / withdrawal
made death seem like a good alternative. After about 8 hours of still
being awake with the world's worst (to me) headache I finally fell
asleep for about 14 hours and woke non the worse for wear but swore off
caffeine for good.

Quoted message said:

The whole "spirit of the sport" thing seems odd. Why are massages consistent
with the spirit of the sport, but sleeping in a tent isn't? Is Coke (TdF
sponsor) consistent with the spirit of the sport, but Pepsi isn't?

One part of the article is pretty funny if you are a fan of whining:
"runners from Kenya do not have that problem because many of them live at
high altitudes.'How many Americans or Western Europeans do we have that are
competitive with the best athletes in the world? Very few,' Salazar said.
'We've got such small numbers, do we need another handicap? '"

Poor little Americans and Western Europeans, lacking all those advantages of
growing up in Kenya -- one of the poorest countries on earth.

We just all need to move our athletes to Denver.
Bill Baka (Not Denver, they would choke on the smog)