6 Health and Wellbeing Benefits of High Altitude Training and Its Connection to Freediving
If you’re a freediver, you’ve probably heard a lot about breath control, lung capacity, and adapting to different conditions. But one intriguing environment that can enhance these aspects—and your overall well-being—is high altitude. Training and spending time at high altitudes, typically above 2,500 meters (8,200 feet), has unique benefits for health and athletic performance. While many associate high-altitude training with elite runners or climbers, freedivers can gain some amazing advantages from it, too.
Here’s a closer look at how the altitude experience can improve health, optimize your freediving, and boost your overall sense of wellness.
1. Enhanced Oxygen Efficiency
At higher altitudes, oxygen levels are lower, and your body has to work harder to capture and transport it. This adaptation is especially relevant to freedivers who rely on efficient oxygen use for longer dives. When you spend time at altitude, your body responds by producing more red blood cells and hemoglobin to improve oxygen transport—a process called hematopoiesis.
How It Benefits Freedivers: With increased oxygen efficiency, freedivers experience improved endurance and stamina underwater. When you’re holding your breath, each precious second counts, and the adaptations you gain from high-altitude exposure can help extend your breath-hold capacity.
2. Increased Lung Capacity and Strengthened Respiratory Muscles
High altitude training places unique demands on the respiratory system. The body is forced to breathe more deeply and more often to take in sufficient oxygen, which can expand lung capacity and strengthen the respiratory muscles, particularly the diaphragm.
How It Benefits Freedivers: Lung strength and capacity are fundamental for freediving. As a freediver, you need strong respiratory muscles for controlled breathing, equalization, and peak performance underwater. Spending time at altitude encourages the body to breathe deeply and more efficiently, which translates to stronger lungs and enhanced resilience in the water.
3. Boosted Red Blood Cell Production
One of the best-known adaptations to high altitude is the boost in red blood cell production. With a reduced oxygen supply, the body increases its production of erythropoietin (EPO), a hormone that stimulates red blood cell creation. This leads to an overall increase in oxygen-carrying capacity once you return to sea level.
How It Benefits Freedivers: With more red blood cells, the body becomes more adept at transporting oxygen. For freedivers, this means better endurance underwater and a reduced risk of fatigue. The body’s heightened ability to carry oxygen can also give you more confidence and comfort as you dive deeper, knowing your system is well-prepared for extended breath-holds.
4. Strengthened Mental Resilience
High-altitude environments are tough—cold, windy, and physically demanding. Training here fosters mental resilience, requiring focus, determination, and the ability to push past physical limits. This mental strength directly benefits freedivers who often rely on calmness and focus to make challenging dives possible.
How It Benefits Freedivers: Freediving is as much a mental sport as it is a physical one. Spending time at high altitudes encourages you to face discomfort and manage physiological stress. Freedivers benefit from this type of mental training as it translates to better relaxation, focus, and control in challenging dive scenarios.
5. Improved Acclimatization and Reduced Altitude Sickness
Regular exposure to high altitudes helps the body acclimatize more quickly to low-oxygen environments. With repeated exposure, the symptoms of altitude sickness lessen, which means your body adapts better and faster to hypoxic (low-oxygen) conditions.
How It Benefits Freedivers: Although freedivers don’t often encounter altitude sickness in the ocean, their bodies do face hypoxia—especially at depth. Training at altitude builds familiarity with low-oxygen conditions and can make it easier for freedivers to manage hypoxia while remaining calm. This skill can become a safety advantage, particularly during deep dives where hypoxia risk is higher.
6. Enhanced Breath-Holding and Tolerance to CO2
Altitude training promotes a tolerance for higher levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) as your body must adapt to intermittent hypoxia. For freedivers, CO2 tolerance is key to extending dive time. By increasing the body’s CO2 threshold at altitude, freedivers can potentially boost their ability to hold their breath longer and more comfortably in the water.
How It Benefits Freedivers: Breath-hold training is critical for freedivers, and higher CO2 tolerance makes it easier to stay relaxed and focused during longer dives. Time spent at altitude can train your body to manage CO2 build-up, allowing for deeper, more relaxed dives without the intense urge to breathe.
Bringing Altitude Training into Your Freediving Practice
Integrating high-altitude exposure into your training routine doesn’t necessarily mean a drastic lifestyle change. You could try spending a few days or weeks at a high-altitude destination or plan specific training camps in mountainous areas that allow you to enjoy the benefits of nature alongside your freediving prep. For example, the Andes, Himalayas, or even destinations like the Rockies provide ideal altitude conditions that can enhance freediving skills.
If a high-altitude journey isn’t in your immediate plans, consider altitude masks or hypoxic training exercises that simulate low-oxygen conditions. While not quite the same as the real thing, these tools can provide some benefits similar to high-altitude exposure.
Final Thoughts: Elevate Your Performance with High Altitude
Whether you’re a seasoned freediver or just beginning your journey, training at altitude can be a powerful addition to your practice. From enhanced lung capacity to strengthened mental resilience, high altitude provides a well-rounded set of benefits that extend beyond performance, enhancing both health and personal growth. This form of training isn’t just about physical gains; it’s an opportunity to learn about your limits, develop patience, and push past comfort zones—all skills that can transform your freediving experience.
If you’re ready to take your freediving practice to new heights, consider incorporating high-altitude experiences into your training schedule. Your body—and mind—will thank you when you dive back down to sea level.
For more on optimizing freediving techniques and building a well-rounded training program, check out our resources on BookFreedivingRetreats.com for expert tips and our latest freediving retreats designed for all levels of experience.
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With the right approach, high altitude can become a secret weapon in your freediving toolkit—one that goes beyond just deep dives to impact your entire well-being. Ready to dive deeper? Start by climbing higher.