Introduction: Haemoglobin is one of the key determinant of maximal oxygen uptake. Many studies indicate that natural altitude training may lead to an increase in total hemoglobin mass (tHb-mass), although the reported results are contradictory. The aim of this study was to examine the impact of 3-week classical altitude training on tHb-mass. Methods: Six elite female kayakers (age: 20.5±7.8 years, height: 1.71±0.03 cm, body mass: 68.4±3,01 kg) participated on the study. They stayed at 2011 m and trained at 1700-3100 m above the sea level during 17days. The following indices were measured: tHb-mass by optimised CO-rebreathing method according to Schmidt and Prommer, haemoglobin concentration (Hb) and hematocrit (Ht) in venous blood using a hematological analyser Advia 120; plasma volumes were also computed. All measurements were taken at baseline and on the second day after training camp. Differences in mean changes between consecutive measures were analysed using Wilcoxon`s signed-rank test (p<0.05). Results: After training camp, the tHb-mass and Hb increased significantly (p<0.05) on average, by 3.2% and 3.1% respectively. Individual responses of these indices varied from 0.4% to 7.7% for tHb-mass and from 0.7% to 5,6% for Hb. Mean value of PV remained on the same level on the second day after training camp, but varied individually from -6.0% to 4.1% . Conclusions: The tHbmass responds to training under hypoxia conditions. Despite the lack of significant changes in mean value of plasma volume, high individual variability of this parameter indicate that tHb-mass is the better indicators of evaluation of the effect on altitude exposure than Hb.
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