When things get hard at altitude, the first thing to go isn't your legs. It isn't your aerobic fitness either. It's your breathing.
Most people getting ready for a high-altitude expedition train hard. They build leg strength and aerobic capacity, and they put in months on the trails and the stairs. That work matters. But it leaves your breathing out.
As you climb higher and there's less oxygen to go around, it gets harder to keep your blood oxygen saturation up and your performance steady. Holding onto efficient, controlled breathing becomes a real effort. That matters more than most climbers expect, because the way you breathe feeds into your performance, how clearly you think, and how you feel as the days wear on.
We've guided climbers and trekkers on the world's highest mountains for decades, and we see this every season. Breathing is still one of the least-trained parts of expedition preparation.
Adventure Consultants has partnered with Anthony Lorubbio, founder of Recal Training. Anthony has helped more than 300 climbers and trekkers prepare for and climb the world's highest mountains.
Recal's focus is the part most fitness training skips over: breathing efficiency, CO₂ tolerance (so you feel less out of breath), and respiratory muscle strength. Those are the physiological factors that shape how well you perform and adapt once you're up high.
Recal Training run regular workshops for anyone preparing for a high-altitude trek or expedition. They're free and they're live, and they cover what actually happens to your body in thin air.
In the session you'll learn:
- Why breathing, not fitness, is the limiting factor when trekking or climbing at altitude
- How your body responds to falling oxygen levels
- Practical techniques to improve breathing efficiency and stay in control when things get stressful
Before you can train your breathing, it helps to know where it stands. Recal Training's Breath Index Assessment takes about 5 to 10 minutes and gives you a clear read on how you breathe right now, including any sub-optimal habits you might not know you have.
It's a quick way to find out whether your breathing is something to work on before you head for the mountains.
