The Effects of Ketone Ester Supplementation During a 5 Week Live High, Train Low Altitude Training Camp

Not Applicable

Recruiting

Interventions: Dietary Supplement: Placebo supplement
Dietary Supplement: Ketone ester supplement

Brief Summary: This study aims to investigate the effects of post-exercise and pre-sleep exogenous ketosis via oral ketone ester supplementation during a 5 week simulated altitude training camp.

Detailed Description: Altitude training camps, where you train at sea level but live at altitude, have become a popular way for athletes to prepare for upcoming races or events. The main aim of such training camps is to benefit from the adaptations following prolonged hypoxic exposure (increased EPO concentrations leading to an increase in oxygen carrying capacity in the blood). Recently, ketone bodies have been shown to cause similar adaptations. Therefore, this study aims to investigate whether the combination of exogenous ketosis and an altitude training camp is more beneficial compared to an altitude training camp on its own.

Participants will follow a 5 week simulated altitude training camp where they spend 75 hours per week at altitude (2000-3000 meters), while taking ketone or placebo supplements after every training sessions and before going to sleep. During these 5 weeks, they will adhere to a prescribed training plan, consisting of 5 to 7 training sessions per week. Before, after and 1 week after the training camp, their exercise performance, EPO concentrations, hemoglobin mass and VO2max will be tested.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria

Exclusion Criteria

Any kind of injury/pathology that is a contra-indication to perform high-intensity exercise
Any kind of injury/pathology that is a contra-indication for exposure to hypoxia
Ongoing pregnancy or breastfeeding
intake of any medication or nutritional supplement that is proven to affect exercise performance during the last month prior to the start of the study
Involvement in elite athletic training at a semi-professional or professional level
Exposure to altitudes higher than 1500 m during the 3 months prior to the start of the study
Blood ferritin levels below 30 ng/mL
Current participation in another research trial
Any other argument to believe that the subject is unlikely to succesfully complete the full study protocol

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Placebo Comparator	Placebo supplement	Training intervention: 5 weeks of live high, train low followed by an additional 1 week of reduced training (to simulate preparation for an upcoming event or race) Dietary intervention: placebo supplement
Experimental group	Ketone ester supplement	Training intervention: 5 weeks of live high, train low followed by an additional 1 week of reduced training (to simulate preparation for an upcoming event or race) Dietary intervention: Ketone ester supplement

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Total hemoglobin mass	Day 0, Day 35, Day 42	Using the optimized CO-re-breathing method, total hemoglobin mass will be estimated
Skeletal muscle capillarization	Day 0, Day 35, Day 42	Changes in muscle capillarization are measured using immunohistochemical anlyses
Cycling exercise performance	Day 0, Day 35, Day 42	maximal average power output during a 30 minute time trial, cycling efficiency test and repeated sprint test

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max)	Day 0, Day 35, Day 42	Using ergospirometry VO2max will be measured during a graded exercise test
Change in peripheral blood flow	Day 0, Day 35, Day 42	Measured using duplex ultrasonography
Serum EPO concentrations	Day 0, day1, week1, week2, week3, week4, week5, day35, day42	Serum EPO concentrations will be measured using a commercially available ELISA kit
Sleep Architecture	Day 0, day1, week 3, day35, day42	Polysomnography will be used to measure sleep architecture

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