Ten days of simulated live high:train low altitude training increases Hbmass in elite water polo players

Objectives Water polo requires high aerobic power to meet the demands of match play. Live high:train low (LHTL) may enhance aerobic capacity at sea level. Before the Olympics, the Australian women's water polo team utilised LHTL in an attempt to enhance aerobic fitness. Methods Over 6 months, 11 players completed three normobaric LHTL exposures (block 1:11 days at 3000 m; block 2+3:9 days at 2500 m, 11 days normoxia, 10 days at 2800 m). Haemoglobin mass (Hbmass) was measured through carbon monoxide-rebreathing. Before each block, the relationship between Hbmass and water polo-specific aerobic fitness was investigated using the Multistage Shuttle Swim Test (MSST). Effect size statistics were adopted with likely, highly likely and almost certainly results being >75%, >95%, >99%, respectively. A Pearson product moment correlation was used to characterise the association between pooled data of Hbmass and MSST. Results Hbmass (mean±SD, pre 721±66 g) likely increased after block 1 and almost certainly after block 2+3 (% change; 90% confidence limits: block 1: 3.7%; 1.3–6.2%, block 2+3: 4.5%; 3.8–5.1%) and the net effect was almost certainly higher after block 2+3 than before block 1 (pre) by 8.5%; 7.3–9.7%. There was a very large correlation between Hbmass (g/kg) and MSST score (r=0.73). Conclusions LHTL exposures of