Build your altitude endurance: how breathwork training can elevate your fitness for Aconcagua
By Anthony Lorubbio, Founder of Recal
As a fitness junkie and “aspiring” mountaineer (yeah, we’ll call it that) who’s spent his fair share of time in the mountains, I know first-hand that high altitude trekking demands more than just good cardiovascular fitness and strong legs. High altitude requires a level of fitness that can sustain you when the air gets thin, steps get steeper, and unexpected challenges test your mental fortitude. Breathwork, as I’ve discovered over my years as a coach, researcher, and experimental guinea pig (fun!), can be your secret weapon to accomplish your summit goal at Aconcagua.
I, through my company Recal, place my focus on breathwork training and took a deep dive into all of the research in the this niche category of fitness training. What resulted was a distillation of the most practical exercises and protocols that we crafted into a 5-week training program for mountain athletes to utilize in their pre-acclimatization block of fitness (the period right before their expedition).
And it can be a game-changer for someone like you gearing up for Aconcagua.
Let’s talk about what breathwork training is and how you can use it to elevate your training plan for your upcoming climb at Aconcagua. There are three key sides to our breathwork training plan:
1. Establish Better Breathing Mechanics: N-S-L
This is the foundation: better breathing mechanics.
One of the biggest hurdles in high-altitude climbing is maximizing your oxygen intake and uptake (inside your body) in an oxygen-scarce environment. When we train our breath, we’re not just filling/emptying our lungs; we’re changing how we utilize every ounce of oxygen. Proper breathing mechanics focus on a steady, controlled intake, which minimizes the shallow, panicked breaths that can set in at high altitudes. We go by the moniker Nose, Slow, and Low (N-S-L) to know we’re breathing effectively. Breathe through your nose, do it slowly and with control, and engage your diaphragm to send the air low into the bottom of your lungs.
When you’re climbing, this increased efficiency can translate directly to better endurance, more sustainable energy, and less perceived effort (and thus more endurance) during your long ascent of Aconcagua.
Research insight: this study showed how a study group that did slow and controlled breathing at high altitude (4,600m and 5,400m) were able to increase their oxygen saturation by as much as 10%.
Personal insight: in one of my many foolish breathwork experiments over the years, I decided to run a marathon. However, instead of training by actually running, I wanted to put breathwork to the test and use that as my own means to train. Then, when I ran the marathon, I taped my mouth shut to ensure I breathed through my nose only. What I was able to do was fascinating: by tapping into proper breathing mechanics I’d trained, I was able to fend off muscle fatigue for FAR longer than I should have been able to do over the course of the 26.2 miles (42 km). My insight? Keep it N-S-L, my friends, and you won’t be S-O-L (shit outta luck).
2. High-Altitude Simulation: Make Adaptations in your Body
A significant part of what our breathwork training at Recal does is simulate the physiological stress of high altitude – before you even hit basecamp. There are a series of breathwork protocols, for example, “intermittent hypoxic, hypercapnic training” (IHHT), that you can do, at any elevation, that can make physiological adaptations in your body as if you’re already on the climb.
There are two key adaptations you can make:
1 – Increase your CO2 tolerance. Do you know that feeling of breathlessness when you’re at the end of a set of high intensity exercise? Most people assume they’re “out of oxygen” at that moment. But actually, that feeling is caused by an increase in CO2 in your blood. What intermittent hypoxic, hypercapnic (high CO2) training (IHHT) can do is become more tolerant of this feeling. Subsequently, when you’re working hard at altitude, you can feel less breathless – and ultimately maintain the proper breathing mechanics we discussed in point #1.
2 – Increase your hemoglobin concentration. You may have heard of “blood doping” to boost oxygen delivery in endurance sports? What that relates to is increased EPO, or erythropoietin, which instigates the creation of new red blood cells. Well, my friends, you can do that naturally through hypoxic breathwork training protocols. This newfound oxygen-carrying capacity in your blood will increase your VO2 max, something that takes a hit while at high altitude. So, focus on the pre-acclimatization process here and give your blood a boost before you even start the acclimatization process on your climb with Grajales.
Research insight: this study showed that after 8 weeks of an IHHT plan, athletes had a 5.35% increase in their hemoglobin concentration, resulting in a 10.79% increase in VO2 max.
Personal insight: while training for another of my guinea-pig-like experiments (dubbed the Sea Level to 14er challenge), I trained using IHHT – at sea level. It was clear that my CO2 tolerance improved – not only did every assessment metric show it, I tested it out by taking only 60 breaths in 60 minutes. Yes, that translated to the mountain; I felt less breathless and was able to maintain proper nose-slow-and-low breathing mechanics on the climb. So, after training at sea level and never having stepped foot at high altitude before in my life, I cruised my way above 14,000 feet. Conclusion: you really can make helpful adaptations from anywhere in the world.
3. Respiratory Muscle Training: Thin Air Means Harder Work
Respiratory muscle training (RMT) is another pillar of our approach to breathwork training, and it’s something I can’t recommend enough for a climb like Aconcagua. The thinner air up there demands more work from your breathing muscles, and RMT is the answer. Think about it: air flows from a higher pressure volume to a lower pressure volume, right? So, when the air outside your lungs is at a lower pressure, that means the air won’t move as easily into your lungs. The result? You must work harder to pull the air into your lungs. This translates to higher metabolic and energetic demands from your respiratory muscles – and less left over for all the other muscles you need to get you to the summit of Aconcagua. Having well-conditioned respiratory muscles won’t just enable you to get oxygen into your body; they’ll allow you to increase your overall movement economy and conserve energy you need to reach your goal.
Research insight: this study by Dr. Mitch Lomax on endurance at altitude showed a substantial increase in oxygen saturation levels at high altitude (4,800 m and above) as a result of RMT
Personal insight: my friend, Martin Zhor, a former FKT (fastest known time) holder at Aconcagua, recently summited an 8,000er – Manaslu (8,163 m / 26,780 ft) – and I talked to him about the experience. He said that the single greatest limiting factor that he faced on the climb was respiratory muscle fatigue. His insight? Don’t sleep on respiratory muscle training. If these muscles go down, the whole system goes down. If you train your respiratory system adequately, you can improve your chances of success at Aconcagua.
How Breathwork Training Sets You Up for Success at Aconcagua
Aconcagua is no minor climb—it’s the highest peak in South America and one of the Seven Summits. The challenges are real, but adding breathwork training to your preparation, and in the sure hands of Grajales and their guides, you’ll be going the extra mile to ensure a strong, safe, and successful climb.
At Recal, we’ve done the hard work of pulling the practical bits of breathwork out of the research lab and into a training program specifically designed for mountain athletes like you. So, as you prepare for Aconcagua, consider breathwork as your secret weapon for a safer, more rewarding climb.
Contact Grajales Expeditions at expediciones@grajales.net for their special client only perks !