Adoption of Elevation Mask increasing in MMA

Elevation Training Mask Item# etm-1001 $89.99st the UG Store

The 1968 Olympics held in Mexico City is remembered for some unusual happenings. Carlos & Smith were suspended for black power aalutes on the medal stand (by contrast Goerge Foreman jogged around the ring with an American flag after winning gold as a heavyweight amateur boxer). Drug testing was used for the first time, resulting in the disqualification of Swedish pentathlete Hans-Gunnar Liljenwall (he drank a few beers just prior to competing). And elevation training entered the field of sports performance.

The high elevation of Mexico City (7,350 ft above sea level) influenced many of the contests, notably in track and field. The thin air contributed to many record-setting throws, vaults, flops, and leaps, as well as all of the men’s track events of 400 meters and under. Bob Beamon of the USA long jumped 29.2 ft, improving the previous world record by an unimaginable 22 inches.

For athletes running longer than 400 meters (around two minutes and up) the times suffered. There was however one exception – the ’68 Olympics saw the rise of African long-distance runners. African runners won at least one medal in all events from 800 meters to the marathon; most of these runners came from high-elevation areas of countries like Kenya and Ethiopia.

Thus the principle of training at elevation was discovered. The principle is simple, the body adapts to the relative lack of oxygen by becoming more efficient, increasing the mass of red blood cells and hemoglobin, or altering muscle metabolism.

Over the following decades coaches have gone to great lengths to bring the benefits of altitude training to an ever wider pool of athletes. The ideal choice is to be accepted into The United States Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado (6,035 feet above sea level), and move there.

Cost: A lot, and no one is asking you to join the US Olympic Team.

Then the altitude tent was developed. Oxygen was sucked out of a sealed tent you slept or did cardio in, creating high altitude conditions and resulting in better endurance and output.

Cost: $15,000, and there are reports of sleep and recovery issues.

Then some inventive Brazilian trainer duct taped a snorkel to Wanderlei Silva’s headgear, and taped over his nose, and the low oxygen effect was available to all.

Cost: 10 bucks plus duct tape, but there are some major saliva and yaking issues.

The most sucessful effort to bring the benefits of training at elevation to fighters is The Elevation Mask, developed by former UFC Lightweight champion Sean Sherk.

Cost: $89.99 (and comes with free blue name)

Use of the Elevation Mask is broadening in MMA, with Rashad Evans, Junior Dos Santos, Wanderlei Silva, Stephan Bonner, Dominick Cruz, Frankie Edgar, Urijah Faber, and many others all enthusiastically adopting the practice.

Dan Gable said When I’d get tired and want to stop, I’d wonder what my next opponent was doing. I’d wonder if he was still working out. I tried to visualize him. When I could see him still working, I’d start pushing myself. When I could see him in the shower, I’d push myself harder.

Visualizing your opponent in The Elevation Mask could conjure up images of that really uncomfortable scene in Pulp Fiction. But using the Mask allows you to work harder and smarter, making him worry about you, and that is the name of the game.