Training Mask

[Long Nguyen]

Has anyone heard of this?? http://www.trainingmask.com/

I wonder if it's a gimmick or actually beneficial??
Any inputs would be helpful!!
Thanks!!

[Devin Reed]

I've never seen this before, but I have seen the use of a snorkeling mask set-up for MMA.

[David Sailor]

I can't verify definitively if they improve performance but I got one on ebay for $20. It is a military gas mask which must be essentially the same thing. I use it occasionally. It definitely makes you more aware of your breathing and increases the difficulty of the workout.

[Jared Ashley]

hmm... it might work, but the method of reducing air supply is substantially different.

At high altitude, you breathe normally (or if anything faster and deeper) but get less O2 because of the density of the air.

With the mask, you breathe against resistance (meaning probably slower and less deep, because the respiratory muscles have to work so much harder) and get less O2 because of reduced volume of air.

there's no question it would make the workout harder, but wheather it would provide the same physiological effects as altitude is a more complex question. for example, would the mask help to increase the elasticity and therefore volume of the lungs? Since partial pressure of the air you do breathe in is the same, would it stimulate the growth of additional pulmonary capillaries to improve gas exchange?

And the biggest issue: if you train for several weeks at altitude, your body is forced to adapt by increasing red blood cell count. It will do this when you're at altitude, even if you are not training (though obviously training will increase the body's response). With the mask, you're simulating altitude for say 1/2 hour or 1 hour at a time, not weeks or months. It takes something like 3 weeks to build a red blood cell. Is this intermittant effect enough?

[Tarun Nagpal]

Originally Posted by Jared Ashley

hmm... it might work, but the method of reducing air supply is substantially different.

At high altitude, you breathe normally (or if anything faster and deeper) but get less O2 because of the density of the air.

With the mask, you breathe against resistance (meaning probably slower and less deep, because the respiratory muscles have to work so much harder) and get less O2 because of reduced volume of air.

there's no question it would make the workout harder, but wheather it would provide the same physiological effects as altitude is a more complex question. for example, would the mask help to increase the elasticity and therefore volume of the lungs? Since partial pressure of the air you do breathe in is the same, would it stimulate the growth of additional pulmonary capillaries to improve gas exchange?

And the biggest issue: if you train for several weeks at altitude, your body is forced to adapt by increasing red blood cell count. It will do this when you're at altitude, even if you are not training (though obviously training will increase the body's response). With the mask, you're simulating altitude for say 1/2 hour or 1 hour at a time, not weeks or months. It takes something like 3 weeks to build a red blood cell. Is this intermittant effect enough?

I am not really sure you would end up with less O2 per se, so much as end up using more accessory muscles to breathe in to the same volume (unless you exhaust those which seems like a bad idea to me). I think it would be relatively easy to test with a Pulse Ox...

[Kris Twombly]

To me, the thought of training with a mask on is hilarious, but what do I know.

I wear a mouthguard when I train on a heavy bag. Maybe a similar effect?

[Andrew Bell]

Don't know if it works or not, but here's a video of someone doing a cf workout in one:
http://www.sicfit.com/speaker/9477-R...les-Death-Mask (NOT wfs - language)