Elevation Training Mask 2.0 Reviewed...

     I'll be reviewing the Elevation Training Mask 2.0. It's essentially a face mask that restricts breathing. The sales pitch is that it mimics high altitude training. Why are you willing to spend $80.00 to mimic high altitiude training?
    The basic idea is that training at altitude makes you more efficient at sea level. Because there is less oxygen in the air at high altitude (usually considered above 4500-5000ft.) your body will have to compensate. Increases in ERYTHROPOIETIN (EPO) which is a hormone produced by the kidneys will cause bone marrow to start producing more red blood cells. More red blood cells means more HEMOGLOBIN (also spelled haemoglobin).  Hemoglobin is a metalloprotein that contains iron and is attached to red blood cells (RBC's) and carries oxygen. By now you should be figuring out how this would help athletes. More hemoglobin means more oxygen transport in blood which means better performance.
     Onto the review... First up is the mask itself. Upon opening the box it contains the mask, the pieces to adjust the valves, a decent booklet, and it was supposed to have a training DVD. I say supposed to because mine didn't come with the DVD. It's a lot more stream lined and user friendly than version 1. It doesn't have a fell face sheild to cover your face and looks kind of like a rebreather mask that contractors and painters wear. It's light weight and the neoprene straps stretch quite a bit to give a good amount of adjustability.
    I immediately took it out, set it up for the hardest settings (it adjusts btween 3000ft. and 18000ft.), and sat around playing video games. It didn't seem all that hard (how "hard" it is to breath will be talked about in a bit.) After reading to instruction booklet something odd hit me...
       Not a lot of talk was spent on training at high altitude and the physiological changes that come from breathing at high altitude.  A little bit of reading and you can quickly figure out why. Restricting breathing at sea level does not make you breath in less oxygen. In high altitude there is less O2 in the atmosphere so if you are breathing at the same rate and the same depth that you would at sea level you are getting a smaller percentage of oxygen by volume of air taken in. When you go through the booklet  they explain that what you are doing by wearing the mask is actually strengthening all of the structures you use for breathing. So using the mask won't trigger your body to release more EPO and make more RBC's but in theory it will make you better at breathing.
     So underestimating the resistance of the mask i headed to the gym and jumped on a treadmill. it took all of about 30 seconds to realise I needed to dial it back a bit. I currently have it set to "9000ft." This is where I'll keep it for the next month or so. Breathing is restricted just enough so that I can really feel the extra effort but not enough so that i can't push through the workouts. While wearing the mask the first thing I noticed is that the shape of the ear cut-outs was a little low for my head and the straps pulled on the tops of my ears. It was a minor annoyance and within a few minutes I had quit noticing it. That is probably my only real complaint about wearing the mask and it's a minor one. You will need to make sure you keep it clean because you will sweat in it, a lot.
    Now is the part where I would love to say buy it or don't buy it, unfortunately it's not that easy. It's called the Elevation Mask but it can't do what training at elevation is supposed to do. Instead it says that it trains all the structures and anatomy involved in breathing (it definitely makes it harder to breath while working out). Is that a good thing? Does making something harder make it better? I can't give an objective yes or no in this review. If you are interested in trying new things and have $80 to spend, go for it, but you could get the same result breathing through a straw while working out or using a painter's mask. The good news is that I recently found a portable pulse oximeter at work. What these do is measure oxygen saturation of your blood so now I can do some testing that is a bit more objective.   I'll use the pulse-ox for the next month and track results. It should give a bit better indication of wether or not the Elevation Mask 2.0 is worth the money.