If it is impractical to stay at altitude for a long period before a competition

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Players scheduled to compete at altitude must consider the fifa 15 coins physiological consequences of such an engagement. Detailed preparatory recommendations have been outlined by de Looy et al. (1988) and much of the advice is appropriate to soccer teams.

It is not advisable to do strenuous training for at least two to three days until the stage of vulnerability to acute mountain sickness has passed. After that, prolonged training sessions should be reduced in intensity to the same perceptual load as at sea level; full work-outs are not advisable for seven to ten days after arrival. Recovery periods between intense short-term efforts should be lengthened when intermittent exercise is being performed: this applies both to conditioning work and to games practice.

Rehydration following training at altitude must be complete as more fluids than normal may be lost during exercise. The diet should contain a greater than normal proportion of carbohydrate, especially in the first days at altitude. This will compensate both for the increased reliance on glycogen as a fuel for exercise and for the fall in the tension of CO2 in the blood consequent to hyperventilation.

About 14 days should be allowed before competition for acclimatization to altitudes of 1500–2000 m and 21 days before matches at 2000–2500 m. These periods may be shortened if the players have had previous exposures to altitude in their build-up to the tournament. Unacclimatized individuals need about one month to adapt to altitudes above 2500 m and may lose match fitness in the process. Fortunately, soccer play at this altitude is uncommon for sea level dwellers.

If it is impractical to stay at altitude for a long period before a competition, some degree of acclimatization may be achieved by frequent exposures to simulated altitude in an environmental chamber. Continuous exercise of 60–90 minutes, or 45–60 minutes of intermittent exercise performed four or five times a week at simulated altitude of 2300 m has shown good results in three to four weeks (Terrados et al., 1988).

Portable simulators that induce hypoxia are available for wear as a backpack. These lower the inspired-oxygen tension and accentuate exercise stress but also increase the resistance to breathing. There is no convincing evidence that they promote the kind of adaptations that are experienced at altitude or that result from prolonged exercise in a hypobaric chamber. Nevertheless they may h ave psychological benefits for players in accustoming them to hypoxia. Portable simulators were used by the Danish soccer team, along with exercise tests in a hypobaric chamber (Bangsbo et al., 1988) in preparation for the 1986 World Cup in Mexico.