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SUNDAY, Jan. 11 (HealthDayNews) -- Want to give your fitness training a real boost?

Get high.

High altitude training is commonly used by serious athletes because it's the only scientifically acceptable and legal way to increase an athlete's oxygen intake, according to the High Altitude Sports Training Complex (HASTC) at Northern Arizona University.

Here's how it works. As an athlete trains at a high altitude where there is less oxygen, the athlete's cardiovascular system is stressed to deliver oxygen to muscles responsible for aerobic performance.

Aerobic performance refers to exercise or events that last longer than three to seven minutes.

As an athlete's body adjusts to exercise in high altitude conditions, the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood increases. That can lead to major improvements in athletic performance.

While there's disagreement over an exact figure, an average estimate offered by sports scientists is that high altitude training gives athletes a 3 percent to 5 percent increase in performance, HASTC says.

When it comes to elite athletic competitions such as the Olympics, even that seemingly minor performance improvement can be the difference between victory and defeat.

Researchers have determined that the optimal altitude for this kind of training is about 2,000 to 2,500 meters above sea level.

It usually takes about two weeks for an athlete to acclimatize to high altitude. However, that varies from person to person. Some may have more difficulty and experience severe altitude adjustment symptoms, such as nausea, headache, insomnia and weakness, for a longer period of time.

More information

Find out more about high altitude training at the University of New South Wales.

(SOURCE: High Altitude Sports Training Complex, Northen Arizona University)

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