Impact of moving from sea level to high altitude

skylark94

I currently live at sea level on the coast of Florida, but I'm trying to talk my husband into moving so I can go to school in Colorado Springs (6,000 ft).

Has anyone ever made this sort of a move? How did it effect your workouts? I take a lot of pride in being in pretty good shape now and I think my ego may be bruised a bit if I tried to workout at altitude. How long does it generally take to adjust?

drmerc

I have. It will suck at first, you'll be out of breath when you exercise

But then your body will adapt and you won't notice anymore

jaygreen55

Take it easy when you first get there and work up to your usual workout over a couple of weeks. I took a vacation in Santa Fe and found myself quite winded when I tried to play tennis. I also got a really nasty headache. Here are a couple of interesting articles



http://www.nytimes.com/1988/08/22/sports/on-your-own-fitness-exercising-at-high-altitude.html



http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/fitness/exercises/exercise-at-high-altitudes-how-to-avoid-oxygen-deprivation.html#b

http://www.ideafit.com/fitness-library/exercising-into-thin-air

cwolfman13

Just take it easy at first...in general, your body will have a lot of acclimating to do, so don't push it. I was stationed in San Diego when I was in the Marines and moved back home to Albuquerque (6K feet) when I got out. I was obviously in great condition, but not at all used to the altitude...even coming home from the Marine Corps, I had to take it easy for the first few weeks until my body acclimated.

_reno_

I am a native of Colorado so I can't comment on the move, from lower altitude. 6K isn't really that high you should be fine in a few weeks. Just take it easy at first. Once you are comfortable start going to higher altitudes, soon you will feel right at home at 6K

I can run almost 1min per mile faster at sea level at the same heart rate

skylark94

Thanks everyone for the input and links. It's good to hear that the effects are temporary.

MrsPong

I have moved from Ohio to NC...back to Ohio then to Illinois (where I'm at now...) and will probably move again in the next year or so.
I will say each move I do gain a bit of weight.... It takes me awhile to get back into the swing of things because Im not a person of change and have anxiety. So it takes me awhile to get comfrontable in a new gym... (Been to my new gym like 8 months and I still dont really like it....)

My tip: find a gym right away....start going even for 30 mins a day until your settled and can go full out.
Good luck.

skylark94

I have moved from Ohio to NC...back to Ohio then to Illinois (where I'm at now...) and will probably move again in the next year or so.
I will say each move I do gain a bit of weight.... It takes me awhile to get back into the swing of things because Im not a person of change and have anxiety. So it takes me awhile to get comfrontable in a new gym... (Been to my new gym like 8 months and I still dont really like it....)

My tip: find a gym right away....start going even for 30 mins a day until your settled and can go full out.
Good luck.

I'm a P90X devotee, so no need for a gym. I love workout out at home!

_reno_

I'm a P90X devotee, so no need for a gym. I love workout out at home!

Like a pterodactyl backing out of trouble...CAW

Spatialized

I did a similar move last May (sea level to 6500-7000 ft) and the first couple of weeks sucked. Headaches, short of breath, general irritability - but they all went away. Stay hydrated, try to rest, slowly ramp up your exercise level and you'll be fine.