Internal View of Athletic Chamber supplied by QRA INTERNATIONAL
Recently, our national sprinter Ms. Shanti Pereira has made the front pages of the news by coming in 2nd in the women's 100 m sprint and attaining the gold medal in the recently concluded Asian Games (2023 edition) in Hangzhou China.
Kudos to her and her team of coaches, sports scientists, nutritionists and officials for reaching the pinnacle of her sport and has made her the current darling of Singapore sportsmen and women. The team behind her success is instrumental in ensuring that her performance is approaching world standard. There is also a whole depth of scientific work and sports preparation for many months and even years to get her performance to world class level and as a result slash her 100 m and 200 m times by so much. All legal and employing the highest levels of science and technology, coaching techniques etc - it is worth it.In my humble opinion.
Two particular pieces of equipment which I wish to highlight ; the Singapore Sports Institute offers hypoxic sleep rooms with O2 levels of 3000 m or 18.6% O2 per cubic metre of air. Normal sea levels have 20.9 or 20.8% of O2 per cubic metre of air. They also have an athletic chamber of approximately 70m3 size (which my company supplied in 2016) whereby the athletes can train from the various temperature and humidity ranges :
The Technology
Temp : 0 to 50 C
Hum : 20 - 95 % rH
O2 : Sealevel or 0 m (20.9% O2) to 5000 m (16.5%)
Additionally there are special components called : CO2 scrubbers which filter out (scrub) the CO2 from the air inside the chamber.
Fun Fact
People who are trapped in sealed enclosed spaces for long durations (freezer cold rooms for example) die or faint from CO2 poisoning rather than from a lack of oxygen. The build up of CO2 caused by our breathing will rise to 8000 ppm and that is where faint headedness, dizziness, nausea sets in. If the environment is not rectified in time, by either
1. Releasing or scrubbing the CO2 away (by filters)
2. Opening up the room and allowing the mixing of fresh air with O2 in and CO2 out
then the worse will happen ; disorientation, fainting and possibly death.
The Theory - General
Scientific studies have shown that elite athletes with well conditioned bodies (I highlight the words) can benefit from high altitude training. In the old days, many athletes went up to the mountains where the air was 'thin' and O2 levels were far lower than at sea level.
Live High (LH)
This is where people who live high up the mountains, and endure low O2 levels for long stretches of time, for example, the Sherpas in the Himalayas. They have exceptionally well conditioned bodies. The reason ? Their haemaglobin levels in their blood are up to 50% more than ordinary people living at sea level height.
Train Low (TL) and Train High (TH)
Training Low means to train at sea level.Training High is to train at altitude.
The Theory - Specific
Our bodies have both aorta and veins, and smaller tubes called capillaries.In each cm3 of blood vessel tube, for example have (say) 10 haemoglobin molecules or small buckets whose sole function is to carry Oxygen molecules from the main O2 supplier (lungs) to the various parts of the body.
With the proper use of oxygen, the body breaks it down and burns in for produce energy for all manner of daily bodily movement from breathing, walking, running, everything.
So at sea level, if for 1 cm3 of blood there are 10 buckets of haemoglobin to carry 10 air molecules worth 1 oxygen content in size, so the effect is 100 HO of energy potential - for example. (not scientific). So if he runs at sea level, at a certain speed which he is used to, he can use up to 100 HO of energy potential, and this is limited by the number of haemoglobin buckets in his per cm3 of blood.
In high level (3000 m - which is base camp Everest), the number of O2 molecules is far less say 10 molecules air but with 7 oxygen content per fixed volume of air. Then the person's energy capacity would be reduced to 10 x 7 or 70 HO. Thus, he would feel lethargic and not be able to run at the same speed.
Hence, your body's performance is limited by the O2 concentration in the air leading to anything from disorientation, altitude sickness, light headedness and slower work rate.
To enhance his performance, the person would have to CONDITION his body by living in low O2 conditions for up to 2 weeks, so that :
1. The amount of haemoglobin grows in the blood vessels (it is amazing but true and backed by scientific research). It typically grows by 30 to 50% . So for 1 cm3 of blood, there can be up to 15 haemoglobin buckets in 1 cm3 of blood vessel - after conditioning in hypoxic rooms (rooms with low levels of Oxygen) for up to 2 weeks.
2. After 2 weeks, the athletes have (say) 15 buckets of haemoglobin and 15 molecules of air with 0.7 oxygen content, then the energy capacity is 15 x 0.7 or 105 HO. Over time and LH and TH, he can run at approximately the same speed but with less oxygen in the air.!
Magic ? No, the body is a tremendous adaptable machine !
LHTLH or LHTL ?
Science has shown that athletes with the program of Living High LH (3000) and Training Low TL (sea lavel) have the best results.
This means, that after 2 weeks of altitude training - either by living in the mountain at 3000 m height, and then going to train on the track in the sea level (0 metre), what happens ?
What happens ?
The height conditioned body now has 15 haemoglobin buckets and at sea level (0 meters), there are 15 molecules with 1 oxygen content.
The persons energy capacity increases to 150 HO or 15 x 10 HO !
He (in theory) can run by up to 50% faster than his original speed !
The effect is temporary as the haemoglobin level reverts back to 10 if the athlete stays at sea level - but the effect can last up till 2 weeks after return to sea level.
TL or TH ?
Science has also shown that there are tangible benefits to train at both low and high levels of Oxygen.
So here it is, the technology explained in layman terms
Hence with the right team, technology, discipline and dedication, success for all our national athletes is a reality !
The Completed Chamber Front View
Interested ? Gym Owners, Recreational, serious and elite athletes please contact :
QRA INTERNATIONAL PTE LTD.
Subject : 1. Athletic Chamber
2. Walk - In Chamber for Humans
3. Gym Pod
Email : 1. qrasales@qra.com.sg
2. mark@qra.com.sg
Price Range : from S$ 100, 000 (US$ 75, 000) upwards
