This is my review of the elevation training mask which I have thoroughly tested and used for the last eight months. I purchased this before my MMA fight to try and help increase my cardio in the short amount of prep time I had. As you can tell from the my picture, it has had a fair amount of use!
What is the elevation training mask?
The elevation training mask looks like a world war gas mask and its aim is to simulate high altitude conditions (where there is less oxygen), therefore conditioning the lungs. The official product blurb says:
Elevation Training Mask mimics the affect of High Altitude Training. When top athletes want to improve in their performance, they go to high altitude levels to train, and when they come back to sea level to race, they are performing much stronger, faster, and have more endurance due to the type of training they have been doing prior to the event.
Who invented it?
UFC veteran Sean Sherk, aka the cardio machine! Apparently, they used to actually buy gas masks and tape them all up to restrict your breathing. They realised the concept worked so well that they decided to release a product. You may have also seen a similar process of restricting airflow which is used my Wanderlei Silva (a top UFC fighter), although he purchased a snorkel and forced himself to breathe through that in training! I think an actual training mask works a hell of a lot better!
What are the benefits?
- Increases in Lung capacity as your lungs have to work 9 times harder to get the oxygen in
- Increases anaerobic Thresholds
- Gas exchange becomes more efficient
- Energy Production levels rise
- Mental and Physical stamina increase
What’s your conclusion?
I think the mask is awesome, hence the motivation to create this review as I can only see this technique becoming more mainstream! I’m thankful there aren’t too many other people using it at the moment (especially my opponents) but I guess it’s just a matter of time. After wearing the mask for 20 mins I felt like I had an intense hour workout. My lungs felt kinda achy at first but now I can train in the mask with much greater ease and I can actually feel that my lungs are stronger. As soon as I rip the mask off after training, I recover within around 6-7 seconds as my body is used to a lack of oxygen. As a result, when it gets hit with a whole load of precious oxygen (when you take the mask off) you’ll feel amazing!
It is difficult to train with it everyday – I only use it around twice a week when I’m not fight training. It really does get you in the zone!
When in the cage, I sometimes suffered from adrenalin dumps leading to me getting gassed; this mask has greatly helped with that as all the oxygen I take in gets efficiently used.
The mask comes with three attachments for different levels of difficulty. It took around a month of hard training for me to be able to train for around 20 mins with the red attachment (hardest level and the one shown in my picture above).
Where can I buy it from?
Only a couple of sites sell this at the moment. I purchased mine off Amazon as your protected during the delivery process and the price was the same / cheaper than the other slightly dodgy looking sites. Amazon also offer upgraded elevation mask packs (one with a custom bag and one with a tub of energy pills – see amazon widget on the right) which look pretty cool but I haven’t tried these out. Click here for the link to the product I purchased.
