On the use of mobile inflatable hypoxic marquees for sport-specific altitude training in team sports

Franck Brocherie (1, 2) , Olivier Girard (3) , Grégoire P. Millet (1, 2)

1 ISSUL - Institute of Sport Sciences of University of Lausanne
2 UNIL - Université de Lausanne = University of Lausanne
3 ASPETAR Research and Education Centre

Background/aim With the evolving boundaries of sports science and greater understanding of the driving factors in the human performance physiology, one of the limiting factors has now become the technology. The growing scientific interest on the practical application of hypoxic training for intermittent activities such as team and racket sports legitimises the development of innovative technologies serving athletes in a sport-specific setting. Methods Description of a new mobile inflatable simulated hypoxic equipment. Results The system comprises two inflatable units-that is, a tunnel and a rectangular design, each with a 215 m 3 volume and a hypoxic trailer generating over 3000 Lpm of hypoxic air with FiO 2 between 0.21 and 0.10 (a simulated altitude up to 5100 m). The inflatable units offer a 45 m running lane (width=1.8 m and height=2.5 m) as well as a 8 m×10 m dome tent. FiO 2 is stable within a range of 0.1% in normal conditions inside the tunnel. The air supplied is very dry-typically 10-15% relative humidity. Conclusions This mobile inflatable simulated hypoxic equipment is a promising technological advance within sport sciences. It offers an opportunity for team-sport players to train under hypoxic conditions, both for repeating sprints (tunnel configuration) or small-side games (rectangular configuration).

Domaines: Sciences de l'Homme et Société; Sport; Physiologie du sport

Franck Brocherie, Olivier Girard, Grégoire P. Millet. On the use of mobile inflatable hypoxic marquees for sport-specific altitude training in team sports. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 2013, 47 (Suppl 1), pp.i121-i123. ⟨10.1136/bjsports-2013-092794⟩. ⟨hal-02127387⟩